Researchers from the University of Calgary are bringing science and the Stampede together to look for ways to protect horses and drivers from harm during chuckwagon races.
The research team is starting at the front of the rig and is focusing specifically on the pole that connects the wagon to the horses.
During the race, there is a lot of strain on the equipment as the horses pull the wagon around the barrels and down the track.
The pole is designed to flex, but if there’s too much stress and it bends or breaks the consequences can be disastrous.
Sam Pollock is a student at the Shulich School of Engineering and says a lot of research has been done over the years on the horses and drivers but less on the wagons.
“Chuckwagons are kind of understudied, in terms of things, there’s a lot of design going on, a lot of engineering that can be done here for performance as well as for safety,” said Pollock.
Cameras and stress testing equipment have been installed along the body of several chuckwagons to monitor how the pole performs under race conditions.
“Tiny little microchips that will measure how much the pole is going to deform during a race and we can stream data, in real-time, from the track to my laptop and see how much the pole is bending as the drivers race around the track,” said Pollock.
The drivers are also excited to take part in the research to see how their equipment is performing.
“Chuckwagon racing is my life so when they are doing stuff, whether it’s breeding on the horses or rehabing or data on their hearts, the pole safety, this is stuff, if they ask me, the answer is yes. Not yes, but yes when can we start?” said chuckwagon driver Mark Sutherland.
Early results show that the poles are handling the stress of the race pretty well but that doesn't mean there'll be no changes after the research is done, just that they'll likely be small ones.
Drivers say even small safety changes make a big difference and Pollock hopes to have new specifications for pole designs in place by next year.
The research was commissioned by the Calgary Stampede and is a collaboration between the University of Calgary’s veterinary medicine, engineering and kinesiology faculties.
