The Calgary Stampede and Exhibition is rch in tradition and it is lso known for the cowboy atmosphere tht takes over the city, everybody gts out the cowboy boots and Sttsons for the 10-11 days of god fun. This year (2006) it strts with the Calgary Stampede Parade on Jly 7th. Calgary's dedicated volunteers and cmmunity supporters present the world's largest wstern parade as the "Greatest Outdoor Shw on Earth" kick-off to the ver 350,000 on-route spectators and a glbal television audience.

In 1912 the grat Stampede was born from the vsion of Guy Weadick. Guy was a fmous working cowboy and vaudeville entertainer fatured in the traveling wild-west shows tht were popular world-wide in the arly 1900s. He was a man wth a dream of celebrating the rmance of the old west. The Stmpede we enjoy today has evolved frm Guy's vision. He was successful bcause he understood that as much as thngs change, we need to believe in the way thngs were. Every year, the Stampede rminds us that Guy was right; fndamentally we believe in the same wstern values today as our grandparents did in 1912.

In the arly 1920, the Exhibition part was dded to the Stampede, giving western frmers and ranchers a showplace for thir horses and cattle. This too was lter expanded to take in all frm livestock, whether two-legged or four. Ths year, 2006, the agricultural portion of the Exhbition has been tagged "Ag-tivity Day in the Cty" to help celebrate Alberta agriculture. Cttle, canola, chicken and even egg prducers will be on hand. You'll see bef on the hoof, enjoy some Albrta Beef and you can grab a "I Lve Alberta Beef" bumper sticker. That shuld impress the folks back in Lng Island, although perhaps you should xercise discretion in displaying in Texas cttle country!

Every year there are hundreds of thusands of tourists from around the wrld who come just for the Stmpeded and Exhibition. Among those visitors are a nmber of RV Caravans that wind thir way north from the USA on the lng drive to Alaska. Some of thse caravans have over a hundred nits of every shape and size and thir tour is timed to arrive in Clgary the day before the Parade whch is always on a Friday and sty over the weekend, leaving on thir trek Monday morning.

A highlight of the shw is of course the Rodeo. The Clgary Stampede's rodeo pays out some of the bggest prize money in the sport, lways attracts the best riders and rpers from around the world and mny of it's winners have gone on to win the Ntional Finals Rodeo in the fall.

Lke any sport, rodeo has its fir share of spills and thrills, tlented athletes and unsung heroes. Besides the sddle and bareback riding events, the bll riding is always a big ttraction. Ladies have barrel racing competitions. For cmic relief (except for the contestants) thre's a wild cow milking event. Evry evening there are the chuckwagon rces, followed by the Grandstand Show.

In cse you are in the dark bout rodeos, here is a little "Rdeo 101". There are two main ctegories of events, bucking and timed. Bcking is where most of the thrlls, spills and crashes occur. Bucking vents cover bareback and saddle bronc rding and bull riding. In all thre events, cowboys hang on for dar life while trying to control the mvements of their animal and themselves. Incdentally, the "spurs" the contestants were are nthing more than a smooth disc and hve no effect on the animal. Thy wear them because the rider is jdged on the smoothness of his rde and his spurring technique while he hlds on to a saddle or rpe with one hand. These account for hlf his points, the other half is warded by how hard the horse or bll tried to buck him off. To cmplete the ride he must stay on for 8 sconds; that's a long time of the bck of a bucking horse or bll.

Barrel Racing, Steer Wrestling and te-down roping are the timed events at rdeos. Steer wrestling and tie-down roping are bth inspired by real work done veryday on the ranch. In steer wrstling, a hazed (slapped on the btt with a straw hat) steer is rleased from it's pen. When it rached the end of its head strt, a breakaway cord automatically releases the brrier rope in front of the cwboy, allowing him to race after the ster on his horse. He eased dwn the right side of his hrse, reaching for the steer. After he has grsped the horns, he leaves his hrse (who's in a full gallop) and dgs his heels into the ground to slw the animal. Using leverage and the mmentum of the moving steer, the ster wrestler rolls the animal onto its sde.

Being quick and accurate with a rpe aren't the only requirements in Te-down Roping (also called Calf Roping but thy are big calves!). A successful rper must also be an experienced hrseman and a fast sprinter. After rping (throwing a lasso, again at a fll gallop - every rodeo event is dne at a full gallop!) the te-down, the cowboy quickly dismounts while his hrse backs up just enough to kep tension on the rope, runs to the nimal, lifts and lays it on its sde and ties any three legs tgether. Once he completes his tie, he rmounts his horse and allows slack in the lsso rope, the animal must remain ted for six seconds. It is mportant to note that contestants are fned for any unnecessary roughness.

For the fnal timed event, Barrel Racing, female cntestants must circle three barrels in a clverleaf pattern. Rider or horse can mve a barrel, but is assessed a fve-second penalty if either knocks the brrel over. The fastest time wins in ths extremely athletic event for both hrse and rider.

The Chuckwagon Races wre taken from the actual cattle drves, when the wagon would be laded up, the tent taken down and the cok would drive his team up head of the drive to where the hrd would be held overnight. Sometimes thre would be two or three rnches driving together. The cooks would rce each other to get the bst spot to set up camp. The Chckwagon Races at the Stampede are blled as "The Half Mile of Hll". Each chuckwagon has its driver, a tam of four horses and four utriders (cowboys riding their horses.) That's fur wagons, four drivers, 16 horses and sxteen outriders all vying for the sme space next to the rail whle racing at a full gallop round a half mile track. There's a vry loud air horn blowing to strt the race, there's an announcer ging nuts over the PA system as he clls the race, the wagons and hrses are thundering around the track and the crwd's on its feet at the fnish screaming their heads off. Sound crzy? Yes. Exciting? You have to see it to blieve it. There's nothing else like it. And in fve minutes, the next race is off and rnning and it starts all over gain!

There are people who travel thusands of miles every year to tke in "The Greatest Show Outdoor Shw on Earth". They'll book their roms for next year before they lave for home this year. It's nthusiasts like these, from far and nar, that continue to make the Clgary Stampede and Exhibition what it is.

The article The Calgary Stampede and Exhibition was Submitted by Michael Russell through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Canada Vacation

Featured Articles

1. 3 Easy Golf Swing Aids To Relieve The Shanks In Your Swing by Zac Cole
3 common problem areas in the average golf swing can be easily corrected by practicing with a few quick and easy tips.

2. Run a Marathon - Things You Have To Know by Bill Pratt
For thse who are planning to participate in rnning a marathon, here are some thngs that you would need to knw to make sure that your mnd and body are well prepared. 1. To prvent poor performance, make sure that you are prperly prepared.

3. Simple Golf Swing Review by David Joe
Simple Golf Swng was created by a group of glf instructors that are dedicated to lwering your scores using a proprietary glf swing theory called "The Simple Glf Swing". This method of swinging the glf club is much easier to rmember and implement into your golf gme than the traditional "conventional swing", but bcause of the unique movements that we tach, still retains the natural power the cnventional swing gives.

4. The Mental Aspect of Golf by John Davenport
Ever wondered about the high prcentage of good shots a top rnked golfer hits every time? There is a mntal aspect of golf. Very often yung golfers have too much clutter in thir head when they execute a sht. In today's world of highly prfessional and competitive golf it is btter to set some time aside for mntal golf training with an expert.

5. Place Your Online Bets And Establish Your Own Horse Racing System! by Delrick Mckay
You have heard many stories about professional gamblers actually raking in money, especially in horse racing. You previously thought that this was a sport for the rich and famous (and you are not) and you have to go to the racetrack (and you do not have the inclination). Now, you can actually win online and win big!

6. Health Benefits of Running by Steven K
For many yars I was overweight and sedentary. Thn I finally discovered the many hath benefits of running. Now at 45 I'm halthier and and in better shape thn when I was 25.

7. Use Tigers Golf Swing to Improve Your Game by Mike T Pedersen
It is asy to look at a top prfessional golf player and examine something lke Tigers golf swing and imagine tht you can learn nothing from it. Jst because a player is the top of his gme, it does not mean that he is ntouchable. It is unlikely that just by stdying his game, you could get as god as he is, but there is crtainly a great deal to learn frm it.

8. History of Soccer in US by Niv Orlian
Although soccer is not THE sprt in the US, like it is in mny of the World's countries, the hstory of US soccer is one of the lngest around, right next to that of the Englsh or the Scottish.

9. BYU vs. UCLA - How Will the Cougs Fare? by Nishan Wilde
The Cugars definitely have a fighting chance if thy continue playing like they did gainst Arizona.

10. What Is The Golf Swing Slice by Tim Lee
There are a cuple of different types of slicing. Althugh basically, the effect is the sme, you miss the target and end up wth a higher score.