Bonnyville's favourite chuckwagon racer is back in business and improving on last year.
Doug Irvine once again took his chuckwagon team to Grand Prairie to open the season. Beginning May 31 and closing on June 4, the Grande Prairie event provided Irvine a good base to build off of for the rest of the season.
Irvine finished the Grande Prairie show this time around in 18th place with 110.5 points. He jumped three places from last year's finish and scored five more points.
“I bought a lot of new horses last year, they've all turned out pretty good. I want to see who the best ones are so I can get my lineup solidified for Calgary. Grande Prairie was a chance to test out new horses and to see where everybody is going to work and how it's all going to come together,” explained Irvine.
He plans to continue cycling through the horses until he finds the perfect fit for what he calls the two biggest events of the year. The first in Ponoka on June 28 to July 3, and the second being the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby July 7-16.
He and his team will make stops in Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, and High River on the way to the Ponoka and then the stampede in Calgary.
Irvine gave a strong showing at last year's stampede, but would like to build on his 18th place finish. He said he will likely continue to move his horses around until he finds the right fit.
“It's all about solidifying the best lineup,” he emphasized.
From June 8-11 Irvine raced in the World Professional Chuckwagon Association tour in Saskatoon, where he placed fifth overall in day one with a total of 32 points.
Information on upcoming races and results for previous shows can be found at wpca.com.
