The VKH Agricultural Society brought the ‘Mini-Horse Chuck Wagon Races’ event to the VKH Fair for the very first time this year, and the announcement created a bit of controversy within my FB Friends List. Chuck-wagon races are mostly an American / Canadian thing, and pretty exclusive to large rodeo Events, like the Calgary Stampede. When the Event was announced in a Facebook post, there were more than a few people who were worried about the size of our Fairground, and whether it was capable of holding an Event like this. I think we all mistook the word “Mini”… I think some people thought it referred to the competitions ring size, they didn’t expect tiny horses.

As much as I don’t like watching horse racing, or even stuff they broadcast from rodeos like the Calgary Stampede – mostly because, if something goes wrong, the primary participant is usually euthanized, I can really appreciate the talent and skill of both riders and horses at Events at the VKH Fair, such as the ‘light horse trial racing’, and the heavy horse pull. This new horse Event was a lot of fun to take photos of, and it wasn’t anything like a ‘regular-horse’ chuck wagon race, it was just 1v1 racing, with no mass of competitors in a mad dash all within a few feet of each other, or really even a serious competition.

It was just a couple of guys, turning their mini-horses in tight fast circles for a few minutes. If the Fair People bring it back next year, I’ll probably take photos of the Event again, but I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable watching this on TV… I think that makes sense.

…it was fun to see the horses, I guess, and there was a decent crowd for the second showcase, and the crowd loved it when the organizers asked kids to take part in races for cash.

Anyway… I did work pretty hard at this year’s VKH Fair, I think I was there for at least 36-hours over four days, and took more than 1,800 photos. I missed a few early-morning Events, because I have kids and a deep need for sleep, but I did try to get to every major one. I was paid by the Fair People in weekend passes for my kids, which was great of them. I think I sent them more than 500 photos, and they published them all on their Facebook page [link: their FB page]. Which was also great of them to do… some of these shots also appeared in The Review [link: their homepage], which was also great. It’s all Great!

So, yeah, if you’re into it, go ahead and click on the first photo to get the carousel going. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them… it’s good to be productive again. Also, I just want to quickly let you know that Comments are most welcome, and if it asks you for an email address, don’t worry I’ll never share it and neither will WordPress. It’s just meant to identify you if you ever comment again. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.