A foothills area resident will have a birds’ eye view when the 36 drivers race around the track at the North American Chuckwagon championships this week in High River.
Don Houlton of Vulcan will be up in a tower at one of the corners making sure High River’s Jason Glass, Okotoks’ Mark Sutherland or any of the other 34 drivers are keeping things on the straight and narrow.
“I’m usually on one of the towers these days,” said Houlton who has been a judge on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association since 1997. “I’ve been on all four corners but I’m now usually on corner one.”
The corner judges are usually looking for interference, in which one driver will impede the progress of another wagon.
“It is a tough call because there are so many things happening at one time,” Houlton said. “If you have three or four wagons across the track you better be sure of who went into who or who come down on who. It can be difficult assessing it.”
Part of the difficulties is the wagons are traveling at speeds worthy of four-quality thoroughbreds.
“The speed is part of the difficulty,” Houlton said. “For the past three or four years we have had cameras on the corner. So now the drivers can protest the call if they disagree.”
He’s all for the eye in the sky checking the judges’ work.
“It’s a good thing because there might have been something that caused the interference that the judge couldn’t quite see — maybe it was out of their vision,” Houlton said. “Sometimes the decision is upheld and sometimes it isn’t.”
He added two or three other judges give their assessment on the call to ensure the right final decision is made. Houlton said the camera usually indicates the judges have it right the first time.
Houlton will likely be in tower one, the first corner, for the High River show, which starts June 23 and he said he believes it is the most difficult corner.
“It’s difficult because the wagons have just turned the barrels, and they (the wagons) have to be in designated lanes,” Houlton said. “There is more fishtailing of wagons and possibility of interference coming into the first turn rather than anywhere else.”
Houlton said the rules are in place for the sake of the horses and the drivers.
Okotoks’ driver Mark Sutherland said Houlton is a good, consistent judge.
Houlton said that was good to hear, but unlike a lot of the judges’ calls, there might not be consensus.
“Some of the drivers may be debating that,” Houlton said with a laugh.
The North American Chuckwagon Championships are from June 23-26 at the High River Agricultural Society grounds. They will start immediately after the Guy Weadick Memorial Rodeo. The rodeo will start at 6 p.m. on June 23-25 with wagon racing to follow at approximately 8 p.m. The rodeo will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday June 26 with racing to follow at approximately 4 p.m.
For ticket information for the chuckwagon and rodeo call the High River District Chamber of Commerce at 403-652-3666. The cost of one ticket is good for both the rodeo and the chuckwagon races.
