Travel

Visit Calgary for the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth and get a taste of true cowboy life


COWBOYS croon at weary travellers from a stage in the arrivals lounge while staff in Stetsons holler out a cheery “yee haw!”

Just beyond, horses cast in bronze appear to gallop past Duty Free.

 If you've ever wanted to see an authentic rodeo or get a taste of cowboy life, the Calgary Stampede is the perfect place

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If you’ve ever wanted to see an authentic rodeo or get a taste of cowboy life, the Calgary Stampede is the perfect place

Calgary already feels like the set of an old western and I’ve not even left the airport.

I’m in the largest city in Alberta, Canada, for the annual Calgary Stampede.

The rodeo and festival is held every July in the shadow of Calgary’s modern skyscrapers and is billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth.

Spectators have flocked to see real-life cowboys compete on the same grounds here for more than 100 years.

 The annual rodeo and festival is held every July in the shadow Calgary’s modern skyscrapers

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The annual rodeo and festival is held every July in the shadow Calgary’s modern skyscrapers

Getting dressed up is fair game for non-cowboys during Stampede season as the entire city gets cowboy fever.

I slip into blue jeans, boots and my new white Smithbilt hat (the traditional choice for Calgarians) and join the throng of wannabe cowboys in the 220-acre park.

Top of the must-see list is rodeo, a non-stop competition featuring everything from bull riding to barrel racing and bareback skills.

I visit behind the chutes, where the cowboys get ready to bolt out on the back of an angry bull or bronco, all of which are specially bred on Calgary Stampede’s own ranch.

 It has even been billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth and spectators have flocked to see cowboys compete on the same grounds here for over 100 years

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It has even been billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth and spectators have flocked to see cowboys compete on the same grounds here for over 100 years

Many of the competitors are from farming families living on ranches in Alberta and neighbouring provinces British Columbia and Saskatchewan. They gravitate to the rodeo from a young age.

Backstage in the arena, career-cowboy Jake, who has been competing since he was 15, says: “They’re fast and exciting and you either learn or you get hurt.

“When you’re first learning, it’s really tough. The horse doesn’t know that you’re just a kid. He just wants you off his back. The bull too. You learn from the school of hard knocks.

“Then when you start winning some money in a rodeo, you’re really hooked because you think you’re never gonna see another poor day.”

 At the Calgary Stampede there's everything from bull riding to barrel racing, bareback riding and more

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At the Calgary Stampede there’s everything from bull riding to barrel racing, bareback riding and more

Along with 20,000 fans in the huge arena, I watch, wince and whoop as the men and women hold on to their horses for dear life.

And then there is Rangeland Derby, the high point of the Chuckwagon Racing calendar, a breakneck sport involving horse and wagon.

It is nicknamed the “half-mile of hell” or the “dash for cash”, and nothing prepares you for the clang of gates crashing open and hooves pounding the arena.

In the standing pit you get so close to the action that mud splatters you as half a dozen chuckwagons thunder by, each pulled by four horses.

 A must-see is the Rangeland Derby - a breakneck sport involving horse and wagon that is the high point of the Chuckwagon Racing calendar

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A must-see is the Rangeland Derby – a breakneck sport involving horse and wagon that is the high point of the Chuckwagon Racing calendar

Up to 25,000 people in the stands gasp in unison, then cheer and clap before a horn blows, signalling the next heat.

Each heat offers prize money, but the final weekend of the ten-day festival brings an amazing £1.2million payout for the winners.

Away from the main arena there are endless other attractions, from a fantastical Stranger Things funfair to a chilled-out Wine Garden bar and kids’ farm.

The Elbow River camp is a showcase of First Nations culture centred on Canada’s indigenous people.

 The rodeo also offers shows and attractions like a Stranger Things funfair to a chilled-out Wine Garden bar and kids’ farm

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The rodeo also offers shows and attractions like a Stranger Things funfair to a chilled-out Wine Garden bar and kids’ farm

Their daily pow wow, a happy display of families singing and dancing in colourful dress, and ambassadors offering handcrafted art for sale, reveals another side of the country.

I pick up a pair of earrings with porcupine quill and feathery dream-catchers to take home as presents.

Then I tip my hat to a mural of Calgary Stampede founder Guy Weadick in the lobby of the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown and hit Highway 22, aka The Cowboy Trail out of town.

Heading for Waterton in the Canadian Rockies, I drive through 60 miles of rolling foothills that resemble green velvet, and yellow canola fields as far as the eye can see.

 If you can tear yourself from the rodeo revelry, head for a hike at the beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park

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If you can tear yourself from the rodeo revelry, head for a hike at the beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park

Tear yourself away from the view and Alberta’s first craft distillery, Eau Claire, is worth a stop. The tasting and tour is £12. Don’t miss the Spring EquineOx vodka, with kiwi and elderflower.

Waterton is a hamlet in Waterton Lakes National Park. Its handful of streets are home to family-run businesses with high standards of hospitality. The Belgian pancakes at Waffleton Cafe are a must.

When they were married, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds visited this tiny mountain community to escape prying eyes.

They stayed at The Prince Of Wales Hotel, built by the Great Northern Railway during Canada’s short-lived prohibition era.

I follow in their footsteps on a hike they took, snaking around the lake to Bertha Point and taking in the majestic views of Montana’s Glacier National Park in the distance.

Cowboy hat firmly planted on my head, I take in the pristine air that cleanses the city grime from my lungs.

A brown bear rambles across my path 100 yards away, taking no notice of me. This, I think, is better than any Western.

 The breathtaking views of Montana’s Glacier National Park and the pristine air make the walk worthwhile

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The breathtaking views of Montana’s Glacier National Park and the pristine air make the walk worthwhile

Go: Alberta

Getting/staying there: Eight nights’ room-only is from £2,289pp based on two adults sharing with flights from Heathrow in July 2020, nine days’ car hire, Stampede tickets, three nights at Sandman Hotel Calgary City Centre, two nights at Delta Banff Royal Canadian Lodge, one night at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and two nights at Heritage Inn Pincher Creek.

See canadiansky.co.uk or call 01342 889355.

Out and about: Stampede admission is from £14 for adults, rodeo tickets are from £11. Calgarystampede.com. For more information see travelalberta.com/uk.


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