Horse euthanized after suffering fracture during chuckwagon races at Calgary Stampede

A horse was euthanized after suffering an injury during the chuckwagon races Saturday night at the Calgary Stampede.

A horse was euthanized after suffering an injury during the chuckwagon races Saturday night at the Calgary Stampede.

Stampede CEO Joel Cowley said the horse, part of the Obrey Motowylo team, suffered a “racing-related injury -- a fracture,” during the eighth heat of the Cowboy’s Rangeland Derby Saturday evening.

“After consulting with veterinary team, the owner made the decision that it was the most humane thing to euthanize that horse,” Cowley said.

Earlier this week, two horses and a steer were euthanized after being injured at the Stampede.

The steer was injured Monday during the steer wrestling competition. An outrider horse that was part of Chance Thomson’s team was injured during the chuckwagon competition on July 6, and a second horse that was a member of Danny Ringuette’s team was injured during an incident of “wagon interference” during the sixth heat on July 5.

Cowley said the Stampede “works very, very hard to minimize these types of incidences,” pointing to a number of changes the Stampede has made over the past three years to make events more animal-friendly, including reducing the number of teams in each chuckwagon heat, introducing lane delineators and ground penetrating radar to ensure level surfaces, as well as closely monitoring the moisture content of the surface during events.

Earlier this week, Stampede president Will Osler appeared on CTV Morning Live Calgary and addressed the earlier animal deaths.