Horse euthanized following Saturday chuckwagon races at Calgary Stampede

A horse from Chad Fike's team was euthanized Saturday night following the eighth heat of the 2025 Rangeland Derby at the Calgary Stampede. (Photo: X/WPCA/ShellieScott)

An injured horse was euthanized following the chuckwagon races Saturday night at the Calgary Stampede.

Stampede CEO Joel Cowley confirmed the incident in a Sunday press conference.

“Last night, there was an unfortunate incident,” Cowley said. “Chad Fike, in the eighth heat of the Rangeland Derby, had a right wheel horse -a horse named Rider - suffer a fracture to his left front cannon bone.

“Upon consulting with the veterinarian on the track, it was decided that the most humane thing to do would be to euthanize that animal.

“Our condolences go out to the Fike family for their loss.”

Fike pulled up during the eighth heat and received no time.

The race was shown on tape delay on television and there was no mention of the incident on the broadcast apart from mentioning that Fike didn’t finish.

‘Prevent more suffering and deaths’: VHS

Sunday morning, Vancouver Humane Society campaign director Emily Pickett issued a statement, calling for the rodeo and chuckwagon races “to be removed from the Stampede program to prevent more suffering and deaths.”

“The Stampede has built a careful narrative claiming organizers care about animal welfare, but animals die almost every single year. It’s simply not worth the risk. If they truly cared, the so-called Half-Mile of Hell would be a thing of the past,” Pickett added.

Sunday afternoon, Animal Justice issued a release calling for the Calgary Humane Society, which is responsible for enforcing Alberta’s animal protection laws within the city, to investigate the incident and “hold those responsible for causing distress, injury, and suffering accountable.”

“It is 2025, but these completely preventable killings continue to happen,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director at Animal Justice. “It’s absurd that Stampede organizers permit this brutal spectacle to continue where horses are doomed to die nearly every year.”

Saturday night’s horse death was the first one of the 2025 Stampede.

This is a developing story that will be updated throughout the day.

With files from CTV’s Jordan Kanygin