January - World Professional Chuckwagon Association

Transcription

Official Truck of the WPCA
The Official Newsletter of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association
TURNING THE BARRELS
January 2016
Volume 5 Issue 39
halfmileofhell.com
IN THIS ISSUE
FACES AT THE RACES
The story behind our GM Tom Barrow.
One from the Archives
See Page 2
A MERRY DORCHESTER CHRISTMAS
See Page 6
RISING STAR
A profile of driver Cody Fraser.
See Page 7
CHASING THE DREAM
A profile of driver Logan Gorst.
See Page 9
The 1981 High River outriders.
NEW SPONSOR
The WPCA is pleased to welcome Western
Financial Group as the Official Insurance
Provider to the WPCA. Western Financial
Group serves more than 800,000 customers
across western Canada for their home, vehicle,
life, business and farm insurance needs.
Top, left to right: Jim Nevada, Ken McMillan,
Rick Fraser, Randy Armstrong, Jim Lyster,
Lyle Pambrun and Brent Woolsey
Middle: Jim Shield, Ross Nelson, Gary Lauder, Randy
Fisher, Mike Vigen and Doyle Mullaney
Bottom: Chuck Coe, Greg Gillard, Reg Johnstone,
Mindy Shingoose, Gary Goldthorpe, Dale
Greenwood and Dallas Dorchester
Photo courtesy of Billy Melville archives
WPCA / (403) 236-2466 / 3779 Grey Eagle Drive (Hotel), Calgary, AB T3E 3X8 / halfmileofhell.com
TURNING THE BARRELS!
PAGE
2
Faces at the Races: Tom Barrow
IN HIS FIRST year on the job as WPCA General
Manager, Tom Barrow has quickly established
himself as the face of the organization. During wagon
racing season, you’ll see him around the barns, in the
grandstand, and meeting with sponsors, committees,
and media. In the off season, he is hard at work lining
up committee contracts, meeting with potential
partners, and working with WPCA office staff and the
board to improve and enhance the chuckwagon racing
experience for drivers, outriders, sponsors, and fans.
Tom was born in Calgary. His parents moved to the
city from Flin Flon, Manitoba. Tom’s father was a
police officer, and the family first lived in converted
PMQ (Police Married Quarters) housing.
Above: Tom Barrow with Doug
Ross of Grove RV, sponsor of
the WPCA trailer.
Flin Flon is an important place in the story of Tom’s
Photo by Ed Wittchen
family. They spent many summers there, fishing and
exploring the north country. The family’s Flin Flon Right: Tom with his wife Lynel
roots go deep. Tom’s maternal grandfather played for and their daughters Cassandra,
the Boston Bruins before a sawmill accident ended his Kaylea and Ryleigh-Wynn.
pro career. He later went to Flin Flon where he was
Photos courtesy of Tom Barrow
instrumental in the famous Flin Flon Bombers hockey
unless otherwise specified
team’s history. Tom’s paternal grandfather was a
champion amateur boxer during World War II in both light
Tom played a lot of
heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. On his return to
sports when he was
his hometown of Springhill, Nova Scotia, he could see the
growing up. He played
dangers that would eventually lead to the mining disasters
in 1956 and 1958. He too moved his family to Flin Flon.
hockey until he was cut
from the Calgary Spurs
junior team. After a couple of years off, he returned to play
Back in the days when Tom was growing up, police officers
senior hockey. These days, he plays on two beer league
like his dad often needed second jobs. Tom Barrow, Sr.,
teams. Tom also played football, for the Calgary Colts
worked spring and fall for a farmer east of Strathmore. It
was here that young Tom learned to ride horses. He also
(PJFL) and Alberta Crude (Senior Men’s), and rugby for
the Calgary Saracens.
learned at about age five that if you kick a horse in the
flank, he will buck. (The beginning of Tom’s rodeo career!)
Tom was educated in Calgary. He attended J.G.
In the winter, his father’s sideline was tuning skis at
Diefenbaker High School and then went on to the
Abominable Ski. Along with the extra pay, he would also
get a deal on lift passes for the family. (The beginning of
University of Calgary to earn a Bachelor of Science.
During his time at the U of C, Tom was into wrestling and
Tom’s ski career!)
PAGE
3
Faces at the Races: Tom Barrow, continued
was part of two Canada West
championship teams. He also
attended Mount Royal
College to study behavioural
sciences and went to SAIT
f o r e m e rg e n c y m e d i c a l
technician (EMT-A) training.
While at university, Tom
worked summers as a fishing
guide at Paradise Lodge (near
Flin Flon on Lake
Athapapaskow). After
graduation, he joined the
Canadian Armed Forces
Reserves, where he served
from 1984 to 1987. From
1988 to 1989, he was the Ski
Patrol Director at Fortress Mountain.
In February 1990, Tom made the career decision that
changed his life immensely. He joined the Calgary Police
Service. At the time, he was the fourth youngest member.
He was first assigned to patrol in District 3 and then moved
downtown to what was known as the Electric Avenue beat,
where he stayed from 1994 to 1997. Tom’s assignments also
included
• Hotel Investigation Unit
• General Investigations Unit (Districts 1, 2 and 5)
• High-risk Offender Program
• Operation Steadfast (a task force investigating the
attempted murder and bombing of Calgary Police Chief
Christine Silverberg)
• Southern Alberta Gang Enforcement Team
• Targeted Enforcement Unit (Organized Crime)
• Homicide Unit
Meanwhile, with his university wrestling career long behind
him, Tom was looking for a new way to continue his
physical training. A colleague challenged him to try steer
Above: Tom steer wrestling with Baillie Milan.
Left: A young Tom Barrow with his father Tom
Barrow, Sr., whom he followed into the Calgary
Police Service.
wrestling at the Calgary Police Rodeo. After a valiant
attempt, he felt it was prudent to get some instruction. He
attended a school run by Mark Roy, who was then the
reigning world champion.
For the next few years, Tom put on a lot of miles competing
at rodeos on the Foothills Cowboy Association, Chinook
Rodeo Association and Central Alberta Rodeo Association
amateur circuits. Each year, he would also pass through the
Calgary Police Rodeo where, in addition to steer wrestling,
he would participate in every other event...except riding
bulls (Tom says he isn’t stupid).
Over the years, he managed to collect a number of buckles.
He is most proud of his four All-Around titles for his
combined successes in steer wrestling and bronc riding.
Coincidentally, he won the steer wrestling event in each of
the years that his daughters were born. Those buckles will
make a special gift for them somewhere down the road.
In 1994, Tom decided to sit as a volunteer on the board for
the Calgary Police Rodeo Association, since he enjoyed the
PAGE
4
rodeo and the people involved in
it so much. He eventually served
as its president for several years,
turning over the reigns in 1997.
Soon after, Tom was approached
by John Third, who chaired the
Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon
Committee. John was looking for
someone to ride with its Track
Crew. Tom ended up serving as a
volunteer for a couple of years
and was then asked to sit on the
Executive Committee under
Mark Damm. Four years later,
he was approached by the
WPCA to sit on its board and to
chair the Discipline Committee.
Tom’s role on that committee
included writing the Code of
Conduct policy.
It was not until he approached his
potential police retirement date in
early 2015 that Tom considered
taking on the General Manager
position with the WPCA. As the
board worked on creating the
responsibilities of the position,
however, his interest in it grew
and the timing seemed right.
Despite Tom’s busy career and extracurricular schedule, the
biggest focus of his life has always been family. He enjoys
telling how he met the love of his life, Lynel, at a rodeo in
1991. He literally picked her up, threw her over his shoulder
and took her out to a field where they were playing football.
Tom and Lynel have been together ever since. They were
married in High River in 1995 during the High River show,
riding a horse saddled with his 1967 Riley-McCormick
Top left: Last ride at Hell
or High Water.
Top right: Tom at the
wild horse race at the
Calgary Stampede.
L e f t : To m w i t h t h e
Calgary Stampede Track
Committee.
Centennial saddle (number one hundred of only a hundred
ever made). Lynel is a corporate lawyer with Smart
Technology, the company that created the interactive
whiteboards (Smart Boards) often seen in schools.
Tom and Lynel have three beautiful and talented girls.
Cassandra, in grade 11, is an incredibly talented singer. She
was born two months after Tom’s mother, Winnie (Winifred)
PAGE
5
Tom’s wife Lynel (left) on the day they
first met (at a rodeo, of course).
Tom and Lynel today. He describes
her as “the love of my life.”
Davie, who was also a gifted singer, passed away. (His
mother died from colon cancer; Tom urges everyone to get a
colonoscopy, as that would have saved her life.) Cassie
hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps, with her sights set
on law school. Kaylea, in grade 8, is a wonderfully
sensitive daughter who shares Tom’s passion for horses. She
spent much of the 2015 season travelling with him, and
enjoyed meeting the wagon kids and selling Billy Melville’s
spectator guides. Ryleigh-Wynn, in grade 5, is an endless
source of energy. She is their youngest and probably
smartest. Last year Ry created a microbial fuel cell where
Left: Bobby Orr’s biggest little fan, circa 1972.
Right: Still playing hockey.
she actually generated
electricity out of dirt!
Tom’s brother Brett Tom, Lynel and the girls on
h a d a s u c c e s s f u l vacation in Venice.
country music career in
the 1990s. Brett was a
regular in honkytonks throughout the region, including
Ranchman’s, where he played in the house band.
Tom’s in-laws, the Poelmans, are important to him too. Bill
and Marie Poelman raised their family on a small farm east
of the High River rodeo grounds. They now live west of
Turner Valley. Lynel’s brother Gordie (a dentist) and his
family live in San Diego. Gordie and Tom are close and
have gone to the National Finals Rodeo every year since
1994. Lynel’s sister Corene (an endodentist) and her family
also live in San Diego. It’s easy for the Barrows to decide
where to go for winter holidays! The youngest Poelman is
Susan (a doctor), who lives with her husband and three
children near Spruce Meadows. That’s three doctors and a
lawyer in the family. In fact, Lynel’s law degree is a Juris
Doctorate, making her a doctor too. Tom says that he hopes
his girls get their smarts from Lynel’s side of the family!
If you would like to talk to Tom about chuckwagon racing,
you can reach him at [email protected].
PAGE
6
A Merry Dorchester Christmas
Above: The Dorchester Clan.
Left: Garry Dorchester, Sharon
Wulff, Joyce Muller, Gordie
Dorchester and Dennis Dorchester.
Right: Sue Fraser and Santa.
Photos courtesy of Sue Fraser
the lively bunch. This year,
everyone enjoyed watching
the Dave Lewis tribute from
the 2015 WPCA Awards
Night.
THE DORCHESTER CLAN has found a great way to get the
family together. They average 55 strong each Christmas at
their family Christmas gathering. Rick and Sue Fraser
have been hosting the Dorchester Christmas for the last
three years. Sue says that they are fortunate enough to have
Santa come visit the kids...and that includes big kids too!
Rick and Sue plan to keep
hosting the event for as long as they are able and family
wants to travel to attend. They feel it is so important for all
the families to get together at least once a year, whether
they need it or not, to keep those family stories alive.
There are still five of the seven Tom and Joy Dorchester
offspring alive today. When Garry Dorchester, Sharon
Wulff, Joyce Muller, Gordie Dorchester, and Dennis
Dorchester and their families get together, they are quite
Troy and Rick see some of the cousins throughout the
summer, but not all of them. Even though the miles
separate them, they are still a close bunch when they get
together on occasions like this.
PAGE
7
Rising Star: Cody Fraser
CODY FRASER
the sport.
IS
another young driver who was born into
His father, Rick Fraser, is a two-time world champion and
perennial contender. Rick’s mother was Joan Dorchester,
daughter of another chuckwagon legend, four-time world
champion Tommy Dorchester. Cody’s other grandpa was
former world and three-time Calgary champion Dave Lewis.
His uncles include champion drivers Dallas Dorchester and
Gary Dorchester, and his cousin is Troy Dorchester. With
bloodlines like that, it is no surprise to see Cody on the
track.
Cody was born in Grande Prairie in 1991. Growing up, he
took part in 4-H and liked playing hockey and
snowboarding. Cody is a certified welder and recently
started his own company, Wayne’s Welding (Wayne is his
middle name).
First win in 2014.
Photo courtesy of Sue Fraser
He is single but off the market, as he is in a long-term
relationship with Alexandra (Allie) Silbernagel, whom he
has been dating for over two years. Allie just started her first
year of nursing at Red Deer College. During the race season,
you can find her pitching in around the Fraser barns.
Cody’s goals have already been partially met. In his first
time driving in a chuckwagon meet, he won the 2014
Western Chuckwagon Association Dawson Creek
championship in dominating
fashion. Then he qualified for
the 2016 WPCA Tour by
finishing on top at the
qualifying run-off in Bashaw
last August, thus becoming
Qualifying at Bashaw.
Photo by Ed Wittchen
Cody against the rails at a
WCA race in Dawson Creek
in 2015.
Photo by Sue Fraser
PAGE
8
Rising Star: Cody Fraser, continued
Left: A young
Cody with Rick
at the Ponoka
Stampede.
Right: Spring
training with
dad in 2003.
All photos courtesy
of Sue Fraser
another fourth-generation driver on
the circuit.
Cody says that the Calgary
Stampede track is his favourite
because only the best get to
compete there. His ultimate goal is
to win that show someday.
Two of his favourite horses his dad
had while Cody was growing up
and learning about the sport were
Fancy Oats and Smoky. Fancy
Oats was originally owned by Ray
Croteau, Sr. Ray was retiring and
selling off his outfit when Rick
was just starting to race. Cody
remembers Fancy Oats as a kind
and gentle horse. When he was just
a six-year-old boy, he recalls, he
could go right into Fancy Oat’s Left, top: Cody and his sisters Kaylee and Amy back in the day.
stall and pet him. He remembers Left, bottom: Rick and Cody with country music superstar Paul Brandt.
Smoky as one of Rick’s first great Right: Rick and Sue with their “little boy” Cody.
lead horses. Rick bought him from
Cody’s uncle, the legendary Dallas Dorchester.
helped him get started on the WCA. Cody says he will
always be grateful to Lakefield Oilfield and Halwa Electric
Every driver has to have good sponsors to be able to go
(owned by his cousins Kyle and Kiley-Rae Halwa) out of
down the road. Cody has two who believed in him and
Grande Prairie for their early support.
PAGE
9
Chasing the Dream: Logan Gorst
FAST BECOMING ONE of chuckwagon racing’s elite young
drivers, Logan Gorst will start his fifth consecutive year on
the WPCA Pro Tour this spring.
Logan won his first-ever day money as a member of the
WPCA at the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede in
2013. Other major accomplishments include outriding for
both of Luke Tournier’s Calgary Stampede GMC
Rangeland Derby championship outfits and both of Luke’s
Calgary Stampede aggregate winners in 2005 and 2007.
Last year saw Logan take some big steps toward chasing that
championship dream himself. He had two day-money runs,
one in Saskatoon and another in Dawson Creek. He
regularly finished in the top 10. Undoubtedly the highlight
of his year was finishing seventh in the Calgary Stampede
Aggregate and then qualifying for the $100,000 Dash, where
he finished third.
Logan started driving with the CPCA. He won three career
show championships and once qualified for the winner-takeall final for the CPCA championship after just four years on
that circuit. He is a four-time CPCA champion outrider and
won the CPCA High Point Rookie Driver Award in 2008.
Logan Gorst with the Frasers and Layne Bremner at
the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Photos by Ed Wittchen
A third-generation chuckwagon competitor, Logan is the
grandson of former driver Art Gorst, son of current driver
Gary Gorst, brother to driver/outrider Dustin Gorst,
cousin to CPCA driver Layne Bremner and son-in-law of
two-time Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion
Luke Tournier. He and his wife Shalyn have three
daughters: Danika, Tayva and Myla. They make their
home in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Logan works as an
Logan racing with the Chariot Express tarp.
PAGE
10
Chasing the Dream: Logan Gorst, continued
electrician and instrumentation journeyman technician with
Flashpoint Electric at the Cenovus Foster Creek site in the
off season.
Logan was born in Meadow Lake in 1982. He grew up
around wagon racing but still found time to enjoy playing
hockey, baseball and volleyball. These days, he likes to spend
his leisure time fishing and taking his kids to hockey. He says
having kids on two teams and a baby at home keeps him and
Shalyn too busy for much else.
Logan also started his outriding career in the CPCA. He
outrode for 12 years, with the last four as an outrider/driver
before making the jump to the WPCA along with his dad
and brother.
Ti m e f o r s o m e
fishing with the
family!
Top photo courtesy of
Shalyn Gorst
Middle photos by
Ed Wittchen
Bottom photo by
Shalyn Gorst
Logan says his favourite
racetrack is Calgary
because of the hype,
exposure and prestige
involved. His favourite
horses are Canadian
Idol (right lead) and
Warez (outriding horse).
It should not surprise
anyone to see that family
plays a huge role for
Logan, Shalyn and their
three girls, with the whole
G o r s t a n d To u r n i e r
families on the Tour.
There is always a family
member around to share
the good times.
You can follow Logan
@LoganChuckwagon on
Twitter.
Above: Grandma Janice Gorst is
ready to babysit anytime.
Above, right: Dad’s biggest fan
gives the best advice.
Right: Grandma Michele
Tournier gets a turn.

January - World Professional Chuckwagon Association

Transcription

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