[QUOTE=R Holyoak;3361324]
The outriders are part of the Chuckwagon family for the most part.
Younger drivers and sons and grandsons of the drivers.
It is a very special thing to do what they do some of them will ride every heat[/QUOTE]
Wow…some of them would look perfectly at home on the track!
Dee
Over the 4th of July we have 2 huge rodeos in this area and on Friday the 3rd one of the local stations was having the weather man broadcast from one of the rodeos, we happen to turn it on when they said he would be riding in one of the chuck wagons to give a demo, when they finally got to the segment he was in the back of the chuck wagon and the horse’s were hotter than hell, one of the front horse’s was rearing cause someone was holding him and he wanted to GO and I’m thinking this ain’t going to be pretty, so they let them go and the horse’s are out of control almost from the get go, the driver is turning them in very small circles trying to get some kind of control over them, the weather guy is freaking out screaming Whoa, whoa. after about a minute and them almost flipping over from the way too small of circles this driver is making, the back axel comes off the wagon, then everyone really starts freaking, people are running after them, the driver and poor weather man are screaming, well they finally came to a stop, the weather man was okay, but I don’t think he’ll ever do something like that again, it was pretty scary to watch!!!
DeeThbd - yep, R Holyoak is right: they are generally related to the wagon families, and yes, families - hubby, wifey, and kidlets generally travel as a unit, sometimes grandparents too. In the olden days, Tommy Dorchester and his wife would travel with their kids, and I remember Troy as a toddler. Iris Glass used to travel with her son Tommy until he retired to a second career.
As to the outriders looking right at home, most are too big to be acceptable as exercise riders and some, like Nevada, are way too tall for outriding but he does such a damned fine job that he went back after driving. That said, one of the Cuthbertsons (Alan maybe??) is riding at Assiniboia Downs after outriding for a few years. He seems to be getting mounts, and doing well; gads, he was just a kid when he started outriding and i was always amazed at how this short little kid could mount a moving fairly tallis horse outrider style…I used to need a leg up to gallop. how embarrassing.
snopbobil, I can understand the weatherman’s consternation - wagons are rough, you have to hunker down and hold on to the side, just ain’t anything else to hang on to. Only ones allowed on the driver’s seat are the driver and whomever he has helping, passengers ride loose in the back…I got a couple of rides as a courtesy to see how much different it was than driving race horses. My outriding horse exercising was just done for fun, BTW, did it for several years for the same outfit on dark days, and enjoyed it, but he never would let me drive the horses for some reason…ROFL
sk, believe me, I have seen some GOOD exercise riders who are fairly heavy (185 zone) - and three of the very best are in the 6 foot range. They seem able to get horses around in the morning that will drop the average exercise rider - glad to hear that these boys enjoy success in another venue though!
Curious about one thing…has anybody ever successfully reschooled STBs into chuckwagon horse? It might be a mistaken impression on my part, but if they’re already harness broke, it would be an advantage - though I imagine getting them to gallop would be a potential challenge.
I remember hearing tales about a local horseman when I was a child. He did chariot racing with QH - the “chariot” was a 45 gallon drum fitted with wheels. Wowza!
Dee
Does anyone remember the Disney movie about Hacksaw- the horse who was leader on a team that won at the Calgary Stampede? I remember all of those darn movies, and I have never bothered to look and see if they are still available.
I for one think what these guys do with OTTBs is very cool. Makeshift tie stalls and shipping and the whole thing is a real change from what these horses are used to and kudos to the drivers, they do a good job. The “wagons” are paying some serious coin for their horses. They pay more than the show horse world which is a shame. Kelly S had a lovely moving chestnut on day 1 or 2. Love to know where he was from.
DeeThbd
From what I’ve heard over the years, it is not uncommon in driving multiples to “go through” a lot of horses putting together a team. Not just in chuck wagon racing, but in world class 4-in-hand combined driving. In Europe many of the teams are affiliated with national studs and they work through a lot of the prospects to see if horses will fit in the driving program and then into the team. It is not unusual to hear of some of our top drivers importing what I’d consider HUGE numbers of horses to work with and put into the team in various positions to see who’s going to work. None of the ones that “don’t work” are ‘discarded’ but rather sold as the high quality animals they are. They may fit better into another driver’s team or be better suited to another discipline.
I remember some pretty unhappy dressage folks a few years ago when Tucker and Chester were recruiting horses for their teams.
Now the driver(s) you saw at the track may be of a different sort, but I wouldn’t count him/her out because they were buying in numbers. I don’t think the training they’ll get as chuck wagon racing will help them along in another career since most of us want to drive a whole lot slower and more controlled than they do, but it isn’t particularly surprising to hear they will sometimes buy in “bulk” to find what they need for their sport. I would guess they’d sell the others back to the market as I doubt they are looking to lose money on their buy either.
The chukkies are very exciting to watch but when they wreck, its big time and often people and horses are hurt, so I cna’t bear to watch it any more.
What is very cute and funny is that there are now demo teams of minis doing mini chucks at exhibitions. Once you see 4 in hand miniyaks going hell for leather, you’ll ROFLMAO. Little legs just buzzing as they tow that wagon around!
[QUOTE=CatOnLap;3364883]
The chukkies are very exciting to watch but when they wreck, its big time and often people and horses are hurt, so I cna’t bear to watch it any more.
![/QUOTE]
This might be part of the design changes on the chuckwagons, lower height, smaller canvas, smaller wheels.
Having seen some runaway wagons, Praire Schooner type, home made “covered Wagons”, the taller height is very prone to tipping, though luckily none ever DID go over when I was looking. Wagon Trains can be MUCH more exciting than I believed when I started going!
Probably the new wagon design changes have made things “safer?” for those who race on a regular basis.
I look back on what the folks used to drive on CDEs, when we started seeing the first Marathon War Wagons, and modern vehicles are so different. Able to be used in ways we couldn’t conceive of, back then. Each new thing builds on the past experiences.
Vehicles and how we use them keep evolving, times get faster.
[QUOTE=DeeThbd;3361254]
Thomas, darling…don’t EVER insult me by calling me absurd again. I really expected better from you. [/QUOTE]
Then do try reading again and particularly try reading literally and you’ll see I actually did do better than that. I neither insulted you nor said you were absurd!
I merely picked out a single sentence and said that struck me as absurd. I wouldn’t know you from Adam, have never noticed a posting by you before and hence have no reason to insult you.
But this sentence struck me as the most absurd.
Whilst you may assert your horse experience your come back is leading me to know that you have very limited experience of driving multiples. Every single competition multiples driver will tell you that you go through a lot to find the perfect pair or team.
Thomas, I’m sure I “went” thru about 15-20 mini horses trying to put a 6-up of dapple grays together. Some were too big, too small, didn’t work well with others etc etc etc
So true about finding good ones. I believe that I have gone thru a bunch of ponies just trying to get a SINGLE nice Roadster pony.
Kim
^ IME that’s about typical.
I’d love to see a photo of those if you have one please
I’ll dig…I know I have a pic of the 4-up for sure…
Kim
Compare Chuckwagon and chariot in racing, racing were wild. As like in the movies. What different? Are they good or poor experience? and what look like?
Tho
Having just returned from Wyoming and a ranch, it was an education on how horses are treated in different parts of the country. The horses were not mistreated but not as pampered perhaps as many of us treat our guys.
Out there a horse is more a tool than any thing else. But you hear things like–oh that horse broke his leg. You see many injuries on horses. They are not mistreated so much as left to their own devices and if they are not smart enough to not get hurt, then oh well.
The number of horses available was astounding to me for our Wagon Train. There were something like 42 horses and some of those were ponied.
One guy ponied 3 horses whose outriders had quite riding for one reason or another. He did this for two days.
Having watched the chuck wagon race video-- now those are some crazy guys. CDEs seem safe to me in comparison. !!
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