Calgary Stampede

7/9/11
This morning we ate sandwiches and hot chocolate with marshmallows floating on top. Then we took the subway from our stop, Banff Trail, to our destination, Victoria/Stampede Park. This time, after buying the tickets for the Stampede, we did not waste time walking around. Instead, we headed for Saddledome immediately.

The first competition was the chuckwagon races. Ten individuals riding on chuckwagons (miniature wagons carrying something that looks like a roll of tissues), and two individuals competed at a time. It was an exciting, fun competition, but the racer didn’t ride as fast as I remembered they did two years ago. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

After the chuckwagon races came the Show Riders. They were twelve cowgirls riding horses, and they formed different patterns and such in the dome. We did not see anything like this when we attended this festival two years ago, and this was a nice surprise. Soon it ended, and the Heavy Horse Show came, in which horses and their riders competed against each other. It was like a beauty contest for horses. Each individual (horse and rider) had to walk and drive to let the judges decide which the best was. The ladies looked elegant, and all the men were bald. The Calgary Symphony was performing there as well, and I liked them a lot. Each note sounded precise, and every instrument fit well with the others, working together seamlessly. This event continued for a long time until 2 o’clock, so my family was left to our own devices.

Thus, we went to the Agriculture building, where we saw many animals, including the horses, donkeys, mules, and strange looking cow. We walked around the building and saw a sheep-shearing contest, in which participants have to shear the wool off two sheep. Each group had three people.

At three thirty, we went back to Saddledome, where we witnessed people putting the next races’ obstacles in the field. The riders have to remember the course and ride their horses through the difficult, challenging obstacles. Many horses were very nervous, and were afraid to pass some of the obstacles. However, their riders were marvelous; they ride so elegantly with ease and looked very relaxed.

Next came the Team Cattle Penning, which is a wonderful, fast-paced competition which really pikes one’s adrenaline. Each group of three people have to work together and drive three cattle of the correct number into the pen, which is a difficult job because they cannot let the cattle of the wrong number go into it, or else they would be disqualified. I liked it a lot; it’s very fun and exciting.

As it was past seven when the competition ended, we decided to leave. We rode the subway back, and decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant for dinner. Dad, Judy, and I ordered beef noodles, the one that had the most kinds of variety of beef. Mom ordered a dry beef noodles with spring rolls. Both were tasty, but Mom’s would be even better if it were saltier. The restaurant is wonderful; each meal is large and delicious. Dad packed two bowls of soup so that the instant noodles we have tomorrow would be even more delicious.