Chuckwagon racers from all over will once again be descending on Ponoka’s Half Mile of Hell as part of the week-long rodeo event known as the Ponoka Stampede.
For six straight nights, there will be two chuckwagon performances. The action begins at 6:30 p.m. with the All Pro Canadian Chuckwagons followed by the “Top Wagon Drivers in the World” of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA).
The four teams of four horses hitched to a chuckwagon race around the 5/8 mile track, each hoping to have a clean run and have the fastest time of the night.
Dash for Cash
The WPCA Tommy Dorchester Dash for Cash finale is set to take place on July 2, finishing off nearly a week of World Professional Chuckwagon racing at the Stampede.
Drivers and their teams of outriders will be competing for a whopping $75,000 and bragging rights in one of the top events in North America.
The 2023 event will run the same format as previous years, featuring 36 teams of thoroughbred horses running in nine heats of four chuckwagons per heat, in front of always large Ponoka crowds.
The driver with the best aggregate time over the first four nights wins the title of Ponoka Stampede Aggregate Champion, as well as a one-year lease on a GMC Sierra truck.
Only the top eight wagons in the aggregate standings after the first four days of racing qualify for the semi-final round.
In the semi-final, drivers get to choose their heat and their barrel position.
The top four times from the semi-final round will go into the Tommy Dorchester $75,000 Winner-Take-All Championship final heat. The winner of that final heat becomes the Ponoka Stampede Champion.
