Raymond J. de Souza: Calgary Stampede reminder of West's relationship to the land
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I was back home in Calgary for the Stampede this year, the first time in twenty-five years. Even as a teenager, I was less than eager for the midway rides, carnival games and stomach-churning concessions. In any case, those are the same at any civic fair, wherever it may be.
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What makes the Stampede, more than the cowboy hats and pancake breakfasts, is the livestock, the animals, and – in particular — the horse. The agriculture barns, cattle judging, livestock auctioneering, rodeo and chuckwagon races put the animals that built the West front and centre. The official title (used to be, at least) the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, and the former part survives in the agricultural component of the ten-day civic festival.
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This year the RCMP — M for 'mounted' — Musical Ride was on hand, opening their Alberta tour in Calgary. The gleaming black horses and red-serge constables are one of Canada's most distinctive symbols, so much so that they were chosen to lead the funeral procession of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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It's more than impressive equine choreography, though. That's the point the master of the ride was making in his tribute to the horse. The partnership between man and horse is not an equal one, but without the horse, man's capacity to live and explore the vast Canadian West would have been severely limited, if not impossible. Even ancient customs like the Indigenous buffalo hunt were made easier by the use of horses.
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The Spanish conquistadors knew that well, keeping meticulous records of each stallion and mare they brought over from Europe. The American cowboy knew that well, considering horse-thieving a capital crime. The early Parliament of Canada knew that well, passing legislation to create a 'mounted' police force in the newly acquired Rupert's Land — the North-West Mounted Police.
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No horse, no Western Canada — at least as we know it today.
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Williamson's brief apologia for the horse was necessary. The actual 'Cowboys and Indians' of Alberta today were a bit on the defensive at the Stampede. Twenty-five years or more of environmental attacks on the western way of life — agriculture and oil, rodeo and ranching — have left their mark.
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Environmentalists protest bovine belching; ranchers in the agricultural barns argue that cattle keep the grasslands vibrant and the grass keeps the deadly carbon at bay.
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