Barreling around the track, chuckwagon drivers raced their hearts out in Dewberry from June 14 – 16. Having held races since 1976, Dewberry came alive with chuckwagon spirit with fans cheering on their favourite drivers. With a 3-day time of 3:32:61, Todd Baptiste won the show. He had split the day money with Kris Molle on June 16 each with a time of 1:10.54, won the day money on June 15 with a time of 1:12.87, and Brad McMann won it June 14 with a time of 1:08.19. 10-Year-old Presly Bensmiller brought her one month old lamb, Lala, to share with other fans as she loves being petted. “Lala is a bottle baby; her mother had four babies and couldn’t produce enough milk for all of them. She makes a very good friend,” said Presly Bensmiller. Between drivers and outriders everyone raced hard during each heat vying for their spot at the top. On June 14, Brad McMann had the fastest time and said, “It’s a record for me, coming from winning the last two days in North Battleford, there’s only a handful of veterans that have three day monies in a row. It’s a pretty awesome feeling to have a new achievement. It’s my 20th year racing (ponies for 16 years and my fourth year with the CPCA); it’s a great family atmosphere and competitive people.” “We’re always excited to host this event and we are thankful to everyone for coming to support it. Without the sponsors, volunteers, and people coming, we wouldn’t be able to put this on said Chuckwagon Committee member, Krystal Becker from Dewberry. Dallas Dyck has lived in Dewberry for the past 17 years and said, “If you break a horse into chuckwagons, you give them a second chance; and good horses will make a good driver look good.” Another hometown driver, Chance Bensmiller, said “I was born and raised here; it’s in my blood, and running in front of family and friends and everyone I grew up with is huge. Chuckwagon racing is the connection between a man and a horse. We run anywhere between 65 – 70 kilometers per hour. The late, great, Vick Smith always said, ‘These horses have wings and we’re the lucky ones that get to fly behind them.’
