Spoils go to Kurt Bensmiller for third time
Legendary Kelly Sutherland saluted in farewell appearance at Stampede
Kurt Bensmiller completed the hat-trick.
The 34-year-old from Dewberry, Alta., is handy with a hockey stick, but he’s at his best in a chuckwagon box and proved it again in Sunday’s championship heat at the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby, winning the $100,000 showdown for the third time in a four-year span.
“This is our Stanley Cup,” Bensmiller said. “This is the one we want to win.”
This has all the makings of a Rangeland Derby dynasty.
Bensmiller, who won an Allan Cup — Canada’s senior-hockey crown — with the Bentley Generals in 2009, arrived on a hot streak thanks to victories in both High River and Ponoka.
He cleaned up in Calgary, too, claiming the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Award as the aggregate leader, the Safety Award and then beating three other cowboys to the finish line in Sunday’s Dash for Cash.
“This is the first year that I come in and thought, ‘Oh man, if I didn’t win, then I really screwed up because it would be my fault,’ ” Bensmiller said. “I’m glad we got lucky enough to hold it together.”
With West Industrial Ltd. sponsoring his wagon tarp and outriders Shawn Calf Robe and Rory Gervais on his tail, Bensmiller blazed around Barrel 2 and finished his business in 1:11.30 in Sunday’s must-see heat.
After collecting his six-figure cheque and shiny bronze and posing for a pile of photos, all that was left was a negotiation with his father, Buddy, himself a three-time champion of the Rangeland Derby.
You see, Kurt celebrated his mother Darlene’s birthday with a win in High River. Sunday was Buddy’s big day, with 62 candles on his cake and an undetermined amount of cash tucked in his card.
“That’s what I said earlier — he’ll probably want something,” Kurt chuckled.
“He said, ‘Well, it is my birthday. Probably half would be all right.’ But we’ll see what happens.”
Obrey Motowylo (Eagle Builders) settled for the second-place cheque of $25,000 after stopping the clock in 1:12.23 in Sunday’s showdown, while Chanse Vigen (Mavericks Racing Team) was third in 1:12.32 and Logan Gorst (BD&P Put the Boots to Hunger) was dinged for a five-second penalty after crunching a barrel and pulled up the rear in 1:16.42.
STIRRING SENDOFF
It was a farewell fit for a king. The King, that is. Chuckwagon racing legend Kelly Sutherland (Air Canada/Tervita) was treated to a standing ovation from fans — and then hugs from the outriders — after his final spin around the track at the Calgary Stampede, where he celebrated a record dozen Rangeland Derby titles during his incredible career.
With a mandatory retirement age of 65, this is Sutherland’s final season after a half-century in the sport.
The King would have preferred a fairy tale finish in the Dash for Cash but he didn’t disappoint in Sunday’s Heat 5, charging down the home-stretch to edge Doug Irvine in a photo finish.
With a clocking of 1:12.24, he posted the sixth-fastest time of the night.
Other drivers have called it a career immediately after their final runs at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, but Sutherland plans to finish the World Pro Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) schedule, which still includes stops in Bonnyville, Strathmore, Dawson Creek and Rocky Mountain House.
“I think I owe that to the fans because without the fans, we don’t have racing,” Sutherland said.
“I made my whole living and my whole life in chuckwagon racing and without the fans, without the committees, without the venues, without the Calgary Stampedes or Dawson Creeks, I wouldn’t have been a chuckwagon racer.
“And I was blessed with enough skill to win.” Longtime outrider Eddie Melville also received an emotional sendoff.
The 45-year-old Melville — the grandson of chuckwagon great Orville Strandquist and best known for his deck-of-cards helmet — retired after Sunday’s races.
His final romp was on Chanse Vigen’s trail during the championship heat.
AROUND THE BARRELS
Dustin Gorst (Century Casinos) won the Orville Strandquist Award as the top rookie driver … Bensmiller’s wheelers — Slick on the left, Tenth Power on the right — headlined the Equine Outfit of Excellence. The four-legged all-star team also included John Walters’ left leader Hawk and Chanse Vigen’s right leader Dancer, while Chad Harden’s Robert and Vern Nolin’s Bob were honoured as the top outriding horses … Vern Nolin (Dentons Canada LLP) ended his trip to Calgary on a high note. He whistled around the Half Mile of Hell in 1:11.47, Sunday’s fastest run by anybody other than Bensmiller.