- During a Calgary Stampede chuckwagon race on Saturday July 12, a horse named Rider suffered a leg injury and was euthanized.
- This marks the first animal death of the 2025 Calgary Stampede and brings the total known animal deaths to 110 since the VHS began tracking deaths in 1986.
- Animal deaths happen almost every year that Stampede. The 2024 Stampede rodeo and chuckwagon races claimed the lives of four animals. Three horses died in the chuckwagon races and one steer died after their neck was broken during a wrestling event.
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Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media
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The Stampede confirmed that a horse named Rider suffered a fracture to his left-front cannon bone during Heat 8 of the Saturday evening race and was later euthanized.
Since the VHS began tracking fatalities in 1986, at least 110 animals have died in the Calgary Stampede’s animal events, 79 of which were in chuckwagon racing.
Despite minor changes attempting to improve the safety of the chucks over the years, horses have continued to die at an alarming rate. The VHS points to the fact that these changes, like reducing the number of horses on the track, fail to address the inherent risk factors of the sport: the close proximity of horses and wagons, the extremely fast pace, and the use of thoroughbred horses, who are typically bred for speed rather than skeletal health.
Public approval of chuckwagon racing continues to fall in the wake of near-annual incidents and a growing awareness about animal well-being. 59% of Canadians and 54% of Calgarians disagree with the use of horses in chuckwagon races, according to a Research Co. poll commissioned by the VHS in July 2024.
Cover photo: Sportsnet