Chariot and Chuckwagon races have long been a staple fare at the Yorkton Exhibition.
Dozens of drivers and trailer loads of horses converge on the city each year for three days of racing, arriving in the early morning hours Wednesday straight from racing in Weyburn Tuesday evening.
When the final race is run in Yorkton Friday they load and head down the highway to race in Sheho Saturday.
Over the summer members of the Eastern Professional Chariot & Chuckwagon Association (EPCCA) will hit some 18 communities driving some 40 days of races, all of it for the love of the sport.
At least that is what keeps Kevin Gareau of Domremy, SK. driving.
“I drive three carts and two wagons,” he said Thursday morning, a quiet time before the action of racing began in the afternoon.
Gareau hits the road in June and the final races are in September. In July he will see home for only six days.
“I get holidays and this is what I do. I don’t go to the lake,” he said, adding for all the drivers “this is our round of golf.”
Gareau is busy during the actual races, driving not just his own rig, but for friend Casey Peterson who was injured in a training run and can no longer drive.
The 40-year-old is equally busy off the track as he is in his second year as president of the EPCCA, an organization representing some 75 drivers.
The involvement in the sport was basically hereditary.
“My dad drove. I’m a second generation driver,” he said. “… You see that all the time, second and third generation families … Not many people start right off the street.”
And that tradition is repeating as 15-year-old Shae Lynn Gareau, Kevin’s daughter is into her second season driving chariots.
Dad admitted watching his daughter go round the track for the first time was both gratifying and scary.
“It was nerve racking for me,” he said, but he added “I had confidence in her,” that helped him recognize she could do it. “… You have to trust in the horses and the people with you.”
Gareau has two more children, ages 12 and nine, and he admitted he will be proud if they choose to race one day.
Of course Gareau could remember his own first race too on a track at Mistawasis in 1996.
“The first time I was not sure what to expect. I had done it lots at home,” he recalled.
But, Gareau made it around the track safely, and he said that is something he still looks at as a lesson that in the end, win, or lose, safe trips are paramount.
Gareau said drivers are aware there is a danger to the sport, but they focus a lot on keeping everyone safe.
“It’s in the back of your mind. That’s what makes you careful. Everybody knows the danger of it,” he said.
The first race also gave Gareau a sense of pride.
“It’s a sense of accomplishment that’s pretty neat … I still hold on to that to this day,” he said.
As for family, Gareau’s father, 73, no longer drives, but he and his wife do rail down the road following their son at most of the meets.
“They like to come and camp and watch the races,” he said, adding racing is an integral part of their family.
“It’s what we talk about at Christmas and Easter, the outfit, or ‘did you hear what happened to this driver?’”
For all the drivers it is just a hobby --Gareau admitted his winnings Wednesday would not fill his gas tank -- albeit one that comes with a significant cost. You can start with young horses that might cost only $2,500, but top rigs are running thoroughbred stock worth upwards of $10,000, said Gareau.
The horses are only part of what you need, but are the critical aspect of the sport.
“Everybody does it for the love of the horses,” said Gareau, adding he takes some exception to those who think the horses are ill-treated by the sport.
“I would challenge anybody in any equine event or business to provide more consistent care. These horses are well cared for.”
Gareau said the horses are athletes and as a result get the best feed, and care so they can perform at the top level.
And competition is keen.
Gareau pointed to the races in Yorkton Wednesday where the first place wagon rounded the track in 65:07, with the 43rd place wagon, (two did not earn times), ran a time of 72:31, so the entire field was within a narrow seven-and-a-half-second window.
The three-day Yorkton meet is the biggest event of the summer as a joint event with the Manitoba Pro Chuckwagon & Chariot Association. This year the meet attracted 45 chuckwagons and more than 50 chariots, which Gareau said adds some extra excitement for drivers.
“The competition is real good,” he said, adding having the Manitoba drivers means some different match-ups. “We see some faces we’ve known for a long time but don’t see every weekend.”
For fans, they tend to like the chuckwagons best.
“They’re the highlight. Chariots are exciting and they’re good, but lots of people are there to watch the wagons,” said Gareau.
So what makes the wagons so popular?
“There’s just more going on. There’s more horses. It’s a very exciting sport,” offered Gareau.
