Steer, two horses euthanized at Calgary Stampede rodeo competition

Advertisement

Advertise with us

CALGARY - A third animal has been euthanized at the Calgary Stampede's rodeo competition.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/07/2024 (762 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY – A third animal has been euthanized at the Calgary Stampede’s rodeo competition.

The Stampede says a steer was injured Monday night during the steer wrestling event.

“Medical attention was immediately provided. Following assessment, the veterinarian made the humane decision to euthanize the steer,” said the statement.

Justin Shaffer, of Hico, Texas, wrestles a steer during rodeo action at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Saturday, July 6, 2024. A third animal has been euthanized at the Stampede's rodeo competition.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Justin Shaffer, of Hico, Texas, wrestles a steer during rodeo action at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Saturday, July 6, 2024. A third animal has been euthanized at the Stampede's rodeo competition.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

“We do everything possible to evolve our programs to minimize risk. This was a highly unusual and unfortunate incident.”

A chuckwagon horse injured in a chuckwagon race Friday was also euthanized.

And another horse, ridden by an outrider during Saturday’s chuckwagon event, was euthanized after it was injured.

“The nature and severity of the injury was not determined until the animal left the track, at which time medical care was immediately dispatched,” said the Stampede.

“Following a thorough examination, and in close consultation between the owner and the veterinary team, the humane decision was made to euthanize the horse.”

The Stampede has offered condolences to the animals’ owners and says it’s doing everything possible to minimize risk.

The Stampede embarked on changes to the sport in 2020, after six horses died during rodeo events a year earlier.

It implemented a program ensuring only fit and healthy animals compete. Every animal is inspected by a veterinarian each day, and chuckwagon horses get mandatory rest days and random drug tests.

The Vancouver Humane Society issued a statement calling for an end to the Stampede’s animal events.

“How many animals will die in these events before the Calgary Stampede does the right thing and leaves them in the past,” Emily Pickett with the humane society said in a release.

It said 105 other animals have died in the Stampede’s rodeo and chuckwagon races since the society started tracking the deaths in 1986.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2024.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

A measure of hope a decade after senseless death, injustice

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Preview

A measure of hope a decade after senseless death, injustice

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 7, 2026

I’m a few hundred kilometres from the farm near Biggar, Sask. — the place where 22-year old Colten Boushie from Cree Red Pheasant First Nation was shot and killed by farmer Gerald Stanley precisely 10 years ago.

“You need to remind people about the 10-year anniversary,” a nearby, rural school principal tells me at the education conference I just finished speaking at.

“That death is a wound that continues to bleed in all of us,” a principal from Regina adds. “I hear about it from our students all the time.”

On Aug. 9, 2016, Boushie’s death entered the Canadian consciousness, representing what then-Saskatoon mayor Charlie Clark declared “a defining moment for this community and this country.”

Read
Friday, Aug. 7, 2026

Luxury and livability

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Luxury and livability

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Those in the market for a new luxury home tend to be looking for two things.

First, the home must be unique — which is to say it possesses defining design characteristics that set it apart from other homes. Second, while the home must be different, it also must be livable.

Problem is, many home builders get too focused on fashion, which often makes for a visually arresting home that, sadly, isn’t as functional as it could be.

Fortunately, that’s not the case in Maric Homes’ stunning bungalow show home at 2 Woodland Lane in Headingley’s Forest Grove Estates.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Fish go cold as Saltdogs put end to franchise record win streak

Staff 1 minute read Preview

Fish go cold as Saltdogs put end to franchise record win streak

Staff 1 minute read Yesterday at 9:17 PM CDT

The Goldeyes went cold for the first time in 13 games Saturday night in Lincoln.

The Saltdogs grabbed a 12-2 win over the visitors, stopping the club’s franchise win streak record at 13.

The Fish still boast a 40-32 record with 27 games left in the regular season. Last year represented a major step back, with a 41-58 record, which led to missing the playoffs entirely. This season, the club has its sights set on first place in the division.

The Goldeyes wrap up the road series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The Fish are back at Blue Cross Park on Tuesday, hosting the Sioux Falls Canaries to begin a six-game homestand.

Read
Yesterday at 9:17 PM CDT

Bombers look to rally vs. Redblacks

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Bombers look to rally vs. Redblacks

Taylor Allen 5 minute read 6:46 PM CDT

Mike O’Shea is guilty of wearing rose-tinted glasses at times.

There have been situations where a certain player, or the team as a whole, has obviously struggled, and the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will downplay the questioning.

But not even O’Shea could take a glass-half-full approach to his team’s most recent performance.

The Bombers, who were on a bye last week, returned to work on Sunday at Fort Garry Lions Field for the first time since suffering an inexcusable 35-19 home loss to the B.C. Lions on July 30.

Read
6:46 PM CDT

Football kept Bombers’ Jaworski going while recovering from car crash

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Preview

Football kept Bombers’ Jaworski going while recovering from car crash

Taylor Allen 4 minute read 7:17 PM CDT

Instead of gearing up for his first full season of CFL football, Matt Jaworski was in a hospital bed wondering if he’d ever get to play again.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end was in a serious car crash in March and has several scars on his face — which he pointed out to reporters on Sunday — to prove it.

The 23-year-old from Buffalo, N.Y., was placed on the retirement list in May. Over the weekend, the Bombers signed him to the practice roster.

“I appreciate Winnipeg taking me back and I’m ready to go,” he said after practice.

Read
7:17 PM CDT

Trucking operation linked to fatality in Brandon shut down by Alberta government

Malak Abas 5 minute read Preview

Trucking operation linked to fatality in Brandon shut down by Alberta government

Malak Abas 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 7, 2026

The Alberta government has shut down Conquer Transport Inc., the trucking company linked to a crash near Brandon in which a 49-year-old woman, who had the right of way, was killed.

Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s transport minister, said the province launched an investigation into Conquer Transport after one of its semi-trucks ran a stop sign on May 27, 2026 at Highway 110 at Richmond Avenue East.

The semi hit an SUV driven by Xiaoyun Zhang, a Chinese immigrant who worked at the nearby pork processing plant. She died at the scene and the truck driver, 35-year-old Brijpal Panwar, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death.

“Our investigative team went out and … saw numerous non-compliance issues, whether it was hours of service with their drivers not being recorded properly, vehicle maintenance and inspections being insufficient, their safety program also being insufficient.”

Read
Friday, Aug. 7, 2026