How Les McIntyre went from aspiring rodeo athlete to voice of Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races
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Little did he know that he would instead become the voice of the Rangeland Derby, calling all 10 nights of chuckwagon racing action for fans in the stands at GMC Stadium.
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After life threw some curveballs his way, McIntyre wound up hitting it out of the park when he took over from the legendary Joe Carbury as the Stampede's track announcer in 2009.
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'I'm fortunate because I was blessed with a strong voice,' said McIntyre, who's also celebrating his 40th anniversary as a track announcer on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association circuit. 'I try to make it entertaining and exciting. Wagon racing can make itself exciting. I've been at shows where the power went off and (fans) didn't hear me at all and it was still exciting. I'm fortunate to be involved in the sport.'
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Growing up east of Vulcan, Alta., McIntyre has vivid memories of watching rodeo events and chuckwagon races at the Stampede with his family.
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'We, as kids, got to go to the Calgary Stampede maybe every other year, every third year, or whatever,' McIntyre recalled. 'We watched it back in the old wooden grandstand with the pillars up the middle.'
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Although his vantage point may have been skewed, he envisioned one day following in the boot prints of the cowboys he gazed down upon.
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'I always wanted it to compete at the Calgary Stampede,' he said. 'I was thinking more rodeo than wagons at the time.
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'I would like to have been a tie-down roper. I would like to have been a bronc rider, but when you're 14 years old and you're six foot two, that's not happening. And when you're 18 years old and you're six foot four, it's really not happening. I would like to have gone down that road just because I grew up at home riding and ranching and stuff.'
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Although his rodeo aspirations didn't pan out, McIntyre turned his attentions toward the chucks, travelling down the road with the likes of Ross Nelson and Ward Willard.
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'Everything happens for a reason and when I got to be older, I got involved in the wagons with a couple of neighbours of mine and then they give me the opportunity to drive a little bit,' said McIntyre, who unfortunately suffered a bad back injury in the mid-1980s that derailed his driving desires.
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