Rangeland champ proof success has its rewards
$3.2M raised at Stampede canvas auction as sponsors bid on chuckwagon drivers
When you’re world champ, everyone wants a piece of you.
In the case of Kurt Bensmiller, it’s more like 130,000 pieces.
Bensmiller captured the highest bid at the Calgary Stampede 2018 canvas auction on Thursday evening at the Boyce Theatre, with Versatile Energy Services paying a tidy $130,000 to be associated with the winner of three of the past four GMC Rangeland Derby chuckwagon championships.
“It’s a great feeling,” said the 34-year-old driver out of Dewberry, Alta. “It’s a good indicator for the rest of our summer. This is how I budget my whole year, how many new horses we buy. It’s very exciting to get back into it in a big way.
“All of us get a little antsy. By the time you get onstage, there’s no point being nervous. We’ve been fortunate to do well in sponsorship as well as the actual racing.”
A grand total of $3,243,000 was bid during the evening ’s proceedings, an average of $90,083.33. Last year’s total was $2,420,500.
Bensmiller, by virtue of last year’s standings, was the first driver to take the stage and he elicited the top bid, a lot of faith being put into a man who has done nothing but win of late. And he knows they’ll all be coming after him this season.
“Before I started winning, I definitely tried to point a bull’s-eye on whoever I thought would be Number 1,” said Bensmiller, part of a chuckwagon dynasty. “And because we’ve been lucky to be so successful the last few years, I imagine I have a bull’s-eye on me, but it just makes you a little stronger. We didn’t go home and do nothing to improve. We bought some new horses, we’re trying to be stronger every day, so hopefully it all works out at the end of 2018.
“The horses are coming back healthy and happy right now and we have a strong group of new upand-comers. We should be strong, but anything can happen. We’re excited and worried. You never know until the end of the summer where it shakes out. Until the third week of August, we’ll know how well we did.”
A pair of drivers tied for the second-highest bid of $120,000 — John Walters from Delburne, Alta., and Logan Gorst of Meadow Lake, Sask. Walters’ sponsor is once again Shaw GMC.
“They had us last year for the first time and we’re very excited to have them on board,” said Walters, who turns 55 next week. “Me and my wife Bonnie were hoping they could come on.
“These sponsors, they’re very important to us drivers. Without them we can’t do this. Everybody says you have to have venues to go to, which we do, but if it wasn’t for these sponsors helping us do this sport, we couldn’t worry about going to those venues.”
Walters was second in the world standings in 2017, so he’s champing at the bit to give it another try.
“I’m the first loser this year,” Walters joked. “Everything is looking really good. We had two spring trainings to pick our 16. Only one
This is how I budget my whole year, how many new horses we buy.
won’t make the cut; he hurt his back and hasn’t come back sound. Other than that, we’re looking strong. We came to Calgary last year with some young horses in the lineup; we had a super fall. I’m hoping they pick up where they left off.”
The chuckwagon season gets underway with the Grande Prairie Stompede, May 30 to June 3.
Some fast facts regarding the annual auction:
80 per cent of proceeds go directly to the drivers
the record auction total is $4,015,000, set in 2012 for the Stampede centennial
The evening was a resounding success, according to Calgary Stampede president David Sibbald.
“Ecstatic,” said Sibbald. “Very happy for the organization, in particular happy for the chuckwagon community, the drivers. It came together wonderfully tonight.
“We bring an event to the Calgary community that no one else in the world does like we do. It’s a win-win for everybody.”