Not one, but two drivers walked away with the championship belt buckles in local chuckwagon action over the weekend.
Brad McMann, from Chauvin, AB, and Todd Baptiste, Cando, SK resident, tied for first with an aggregate time of 4:25.23 during the Spirit of Bonnyville Chuckwagon Races.
McMann said, "It was pretty awesome and neat to finish it out with a tied championship."
From Friday, June 28 to Sunday, June 30, fans filled the grandstands at the Bonnyville Rodeo Grounds to cheer on the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA) drivers and their teams.
McMann started the weekend off strong on Friday night with a time of 1:28.71. His second day was a little slower at 1:30.50, but his run on Sunday would make up for it clocking in at 1:26.02.
Baptiste would prove to be neck and neck with McMann all weekend. He finished Friday's race with 1:28.65, followed by a time of 1:30.24 on Saturday, and he ended the weekend with 1:26.34.
Both McMann and Baptiste were surprised when they found out their times were the same.
"This was the first in my career as a show winner with another driver," Baptiste added. "But, it has happened before in the past with the CPCA and they awarded both drivers with aggregate winners for the weekend."
Mervin McCallum was the runner-up with an aggregate time of 4:25:83. Jamie Laboucane, St. Walburg, SK, was close behind with 4:27 flat.
Bonnyville's Danny Ringuette came in 13th, after finishing the weekend with a total time of 4:30.85 over the three days.
According to Corey Styba, president of the Bonnyville Ag Society, bringing the CPCA to town allows residents to enjoy watching some of the best in the sport.
"It's traditionally been a chuckwagon community, in addition to the rodeo. It's been a long time kind of coming and going all the way back to the days of George Normand. There's been a quite a few names in the chuckwagon world that come from this area, and it's just a bit of a heritage for this community."
It's also the chance to introduce visitors to the community to the sport, who haven't experienced the sounds of thundering hooves and the clanging of the wagons. Among those in the grandstands experiencing the racing for the first time was Kris Pagan.
"It's a little different than what I'm used to, but it was exciting and people are into it," he said.
Although the rain wasn't ideal for the races, the grounds crew worked hard to make sure it was ready when the bullhorn went.
Styba noted the races only continued when the officials made sure the track was safe for the horses and riders.
"It was definitely hard with big, long tracks like this... with the deeper it is, it's harder on some of those horses that aren't use to pulling that much weight for that long. It definitely allowed the horses that are a bit more leggy and a bit more powerful to pull through the mud versus the kind of slicker, faster horses," he continued.
Baptiste believed the track held up well considering the weather. While the weekend didn't have the fastest times, the important aspect for everyone "was it was safe for the horses, the drivers, the outriders, and that's all you can ask for in conditions like this," Baptiste said.
