Jordie Fike just kept getting faster and faster as the Calgary Stampede went on.
His steadily-shrinking finish times put the Cochrane chuckwagon racer in the top half of the 36-wagon field by the time the dust had settled on the 101st running of the Stampede’s Rangeland Derby.
And if his BD&P Put The Boots To Hunger outfit hadn’t been forced onto the track by a Mitch Sutherland barrel bobble on Day 10, Fike would have finished higher than 17th overall. His one-minute, 24-second time in the 10th and final heat July 14 came with 12 seconds in penalties he had to eat in order to get out of Sutherland’s way in the barrels. Fike purposely missed the bottom barrel knowing he’d be penalized. It was his first driving penalty of the season.
Still, he took home $22,000 for his 10-day Stampede campaign.
“The last night, I was set up to have a real nice run. But I had to do a little driving to conserve Mitch Sutherland’s outfit,” said Fike, who now runs his chuckwagon effort out of High River. “He was in a real storm.”
Sutherland was assessed 18 seconds in penalties in that heat.
Fike began Stampede with finishing times in the 1:18-1:20 range. By the end of the 10-day show, he’d carved his times down to the 1:11-1:12 zone. He was definitely encouraged by the faster times as the Rangeland Derby went on.
“Oh, for sure,” he enthused. “I had a few new horses in the first races in Calgary and they’ve both shown a lot of promise.
“The horses are looking fairly promising. I just have to stay consistent. I know I’ve got the horse power. They’re really sharp right now.”
Which is a good thing with the Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship coming up. Fike, currently 20th in World Professional Chuckwagon Association standings, is in Bonnyville for the July 18-21 show.
