Cowboys and cowgirls will be saddling up for an adrenaline-filled obstacle course to run their horses through for the upcoming Extreme Cowboy Finals.
On Oct. 3 there will be 72 runs taking place from 9 a.m. to finish mid-afternoon at the Cochrane Agricultural Society grounds, open and free to the public with a food truck on site.
“It’s an obstacle course done on horseback,” said Michelle Grasley, Extreme Cowboy Alberta secretary. “It’s a little bit more risky than just your basic trail course. We do things with more of an adrenaline rush.”
The invite-only event requires riders to qualify for the races, only after already riding or completing a minimum of five extreme cowboy races. The rider’s ages range between seven and 80 years, with seven different divisions to compete in, as Grasley explained:
Green – green horse and green rider
Youth – ages 12 to 17 years
Novice – ages 18 and older for “new to the sport riders”
Ride Smart – ages 55 and older
Intermediate – a rider who is ready to move out of the novice division but is not yet ready to compete in the non-pro division.
Non-Pro – a rider that has experience as a rider but does not receive any form of compensation for riding or training horses, ponies or mules.
Professional – Those over the age of 18 who earn a living in the horse industry.
“We had to create a waiting list for people to get into the events,” Grasley said. “[Extreme cowboying] just snowballed and grew so quickly. We can only do so many runs in a day, otherwise we’d be there until midnight.”
The Extreme Cowboy races originated in Texas and were brought to Canada at the Calgary Stampede by founder Craig Cameron, according to Grasley. Obstacles in the course can include riding horses to jump over logs, cross bridges over water, drag a ball or having riders carry a flag, open a gate to run a loop inside and shut the gate, or attempting to shoot a target while riding.
“The list just goes on,” Grasley said with a laugh. “Just leave it up to your imagination what you want to do.”
Cochrane has hosted extreme races with locals riding in the event since 2013. Last year, nine people from Canada took part in the Extreme Cowboy World Championship in Texas, and this year, Michelle Grasley, Heather Burchnall, Megan Donald, David Cowley and Rick Wickland from Cochrane qualified for the 2015 World Championship.
This year, organizers had to limit how many entries to accept and added a cancellation list because spots were sold out.
“You’re watching people race – which has a bit of adrenaline and excitement and they have to maneuver through an obstacle course,” Grasley said. “It’s pretty high adrenaline and that is where the term ‘extreme’ comes in – the last race was during the Cochrane (Fall) Fair and the stands were absolutely full.”
Visit extremecowboyalberta.ca for more information.
