Vigen seeks success, sunnier skies in Strathmore
Enough with the rainy weather already.
Article content
Those were the sentiments of Chanse Vigen after capturing his second consecutive Battle of the Foothills title in High River on Sunday.
Article content
Article content
Vigen and his Volker Stevin Canada/Glover International Trucks outfit battled through muddy conditions to beat Cruise Bensmiller (The Mavericks & Spolumbo's Fine Foods & Deli) across the finish line by just 5/100ths of a second to record his second World Professional Chuckwagon Association victory of the 2025 season.
Article content
Article content
'I love High River, but I'm not going to miss this mud right now,' the 41-year-old Calgary resident told reporters shortly after his winning run off of barrel No. 4.
Article content
Article content
Vigen, who also won his first Rangeland Derby championship on the final day of the Calgary Stampede on July 13, will be looking to keep his hot streak going at the Strathmore Stampede, which runs from Friday to Monday.
Article content
'Hopefully we get some sunshine in Strathmore,' he said. 'The fans deserve some good weather.'
Article content
Aboard his Century Downs Racetrack and Casino rig, Dustin Gorst finished third in High River. Meanwhile Evan Magee (Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance) earned bragging rights by qualifying for his first-ever WPCA Pro Tour final heat, but he had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
Article content
'Three really good competitors on the inside and a hell of a race with young Cruise Bensmiller,' said Vigen in regards to his competitors, who had to battle through the same inclement conditions. '(It was) hard to see – horses really kind of clawing through it. Some got over it better than others. It makes things a little tougher out there, that's for sure.'
Article content
Article content
For the second straight day, Vigen went with Junior and Beau as his lead team, while he switched things up by putting in Nibbles and Beau on the wheel.
Article content
'We had a couple horses that hadn't gone this show and they're not really comfortable on the long barrels,' he said. 'We elected to take four and give them a shot in the mud.'
Article content
The decision paid off in spades as did the continued great work of his outriders Rory Gervais and Ethan Motowylo, who rode Emmett and Coco respectively in the final.
Article content
'I'm so proud of my team and my outriders,' said Vigen, who also used Gervais and Motowylo as his outriders during the Rangeland Derby championship final a couple weeks earlier.
Article content
After not having the start he would have liked to his 2025 season, Vigen has been steadily rising up in the World Standings to his current position of eighth spot.
Article content
'Most of the credit goes the horses,' said Vigen, who finished atop the aggregate standings at the Ponoka Stampede to get the use of 2025 GMC Sierra pickup truck courtesy of Summit Fleet for one year. 'They were peaking at the right time coming into Ponoka and Calgary. I'm just so proud of them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Calgary Herald
5 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Glass takes home the 2025 Strathmore Stampede Championship
Article content It was an outstanding long weekend as the Strathmore Stampede wrapped up on a hot and sunny Monday afternoon. Racetrack conditions were exceptional on three out of the four days, capacity crowds and great chuckwagon racing was the order for the entire event. When everything finally wrapped up, Jason Glass, driving Birchcliff Energy Ltd. Outfit, and along with outriders Tyson Whitehead and Trey MacGillivray, who captured the 2025 Strathmore Stampede Championship. Article content Article content In a penalty free championship final heat, Jason Glass won the Strathmore Stampede with penalty free run of 1:13.94 from barrel position number 2. Defending Strathmore Stampede Champion Chanse Vigen placed second from barrel number 3, 91 one-hundredths of a second behind the champion Jason Glass. Evan Salmond placed third from barrel position number 3, while Lane Tournier, who has been driving for his injured father Luke Tournier since the Ponoka Stampede and was making his first appearance in a Championship Final Heat on the WPCA Pro Tour, placed fourth from barrel position number 1. Article content Article content As per usual, Jason Glass credits his horses for the win. 'My horses have been amazing,' explains Glass. 'I've been driving quite a few new ones the last few shows. I'm very proud of them.' Article content It's the third time that Jason Glass has won the Strathmore Stampede, but the first time under the Championship Final Heat format. 'Just beautiful horses. We shuffle them around a lot and try to keep them fresh,' Said Glass. 'To outrun some of these other drivers you need to be on top of your game and those horses need to love what they do.' Article content On the day, and for the second consecutive year, the Championship Final Heat produced the top four times on the afternoon. Jason Glass was first with the fastest time of the race meet with a 1:13.94, followed by Chanse Vigen, Evan Salmond nd Lane Tournier. Jamie Laboucane rounded out the afternoon with the fifth best time. Article content
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Vigen seeks success, sunnier skies in Strathmore
Article content Enough with the rainy weather already. Article content Those were the sentiments of Chanse Vigen after capturing his second consecutive Battle of the Foothills title in High River on Sunday. Article content Article content Vigen and his Volker Stevin Canada/Glover International Trucks outfit battled through muddy conditions to beat Cruise Bensmiller (The Mavericks & Spolumbo's Fine Foods & Deli) across the finish line by just 5/100ths of a second to record his second World Professional Chuckwagon Association victory of the 2025 season. Article content Article content 'I love High River, but I'm not going to miss this mud right now,' the 41-year-old Calgary resident told reporters shortly after his winning run off of barrel No. 4. Article content Article content Vigen, who also won his first Rangeland Derby championship on the final day of the Calgary Stampede on July 13, will be looking to keep his hot streak going at the Strathmore Stampede, which runs from Friday to Monday. Article content 'Hopefully we get some sunshine in Strathmore,' he said. 'The fans deserve some good weather.' Article content Aboard his Century Downs Racetrack and Casino rig, Dustin Gorst finished third in High River. Meanwhile Evan Magee (Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance) earned bragging rights by qualifying for his first-ever WPCA Pro Tour final heat, but he had to settle for a fourth-place finish. Article content 'Three really good competitors on the inside and a hell of a race with young Cruise Bensmiller,' said Vigen in regards to his competitors, who had to battle through the same inclement conditions. '(It was) hard to see – horses really kind of clawing through it. Some got over it better than others. It makes things a little tougher out there, that's for sure.' Article content Article content For the second straight day, Vigen went with Junior and Beau as his lead team, while he switched things up by putting in Nibbles and Beau on the wheel. Article content 'We had a couple horses that hadn't gone this show and they're not really comfortable on the long barrels,' he said. 'We elected to take four and give them a shot in the mud.' Article content The decision paid off in spades as did the continued great work of his outriders Rory Gervais and Ethan Motowylo, who rode Emmett and Coco respectively in the final. Article content 'I'm so proud of my team and my outriders,' said Vigen, who also used Gervais and Motowylo as his outriders during the Rangeland Derby championship final a couple weeks earlier. Article content After not having the start he would have liked to his 2025 season, Vigen has been steadily rising up in the World Standings to his current position of eighth spot. Article content 'Most of the credit goes the horses,' said Vigen, who finished atop the aggregate standings at the Ponoka Stampede to get the use of 2025 GMC Sierra pickup truck courtesy of Summit Fleet for one year. 'They were peaking at the right time coming into Ponoka and Calgary. I'm just so proud of them.'
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
Nova Scotian cattle penning competitors take on the best at Calgary Stampede
Three Nova Scotians made their debut at the Calgary Stampede last month. Together they finished 13th out of 143 in a team cattle penning event. Luke Ettinger stopped by Creek View Farm in Northport, N.S., to learn more.
