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Local recalls fond memory of Klein and wife

For seven years as mayor of Calgary, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein rode in the Stampede parade. Riding alongside his wife, Colleen, the two were astride Pete and Beaver — horses supplied by Darrel MacKinnon and his family.
Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein, left, and his wife Colleen rode Pete and Beaver for seven years in the Calgary Stampede parade. The horses were provided by Darrel
Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein, left, and his wife Colleen rode Pete and Beaver for seven years in the Calgary Stampede parade. The horses were provided by Darrel MacKinnon, who lives just a few miles outside of Cochrane.

For seven years as mayor of Calgary, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein rode in the Stampede parade.

Riding alongside his wife, Colleen, the two were astride Pete and Beaver — horses supplied by Darrel MacKinnon and his family.

Now living just a few miles outside of Cochrane, MacKinnon remembers those years with fondness.

“Ralph and Colleen wanted to ride in the parade, but didn’t want to ride the horses provided by the Stampede,” he remembered, adding the contact had put him in touch with the then-mayor. “I had two horses that my sons rode. The horses had been ridden by my boys and had been taken to events and parades. They were pretty well fool proof — just great horses.”

Beaver, a sorrel, carried Ralph, while Pete, a roan, held Colleen. Both were quarter horses.

So, on Stampede parade day, MacKinnon and his family would get up at the crack of down, polish up the horses, load them on the trailer, and head to Calgary before rush hour.

“I’ve been around horses all my life, so it just wasn’t that big of a deal,” said MacKinnon.

In return, the MacKinnon family received four tickets to watch the Stampede from the infield.

MacKinnon showed the Cochrane Eagle a photograph that was sent to his family once the Kleins relocated to Edmonton.

On the back of the photograph are handwritten messages from the couple, signs of their gratitude.

“I did it for the Stampede, and I did it for Ralph,” he said. “And what a great memory to have.”

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