This blog may take me off the 'Favorite List' (if I ever was on that list), but here goes ...

Some of you may know that the 10-day Exhibition and Stampede in Calgary, Alberta is almost over. It seems that there are two constants every year ... thousands of people attend from all over the world ... and animal rights groups working hard to make the headlines.

Yesterday, in the steer wrestling competition, accidental injury to the steer caused the three vets, who were working the infield, to make the decision to euthanize the animal because there was no treatment available for the injury. Even though it was deemed to be a rare accident, there was such an uproar from Animal Rights group from outside of our province, who are demanding that the competition be eliminated from the Stampede immediately and forever. Steer wrestling is done on the ranches all the time ... how else can a rancher get control of a steer to get him branded? Would it work to ask the steer to be nice and lay down so that the branding iron can make its mark? You tell me!

But what really irks me is what happened today ... a bull rider was bucked off and then stomped in the stomach by the bull ... and that event received only a brief comment in the news. What? Steers are more important than cowboys? I don't think so!

It is the 101st year of this event, and extremely popular internationally. Competitors are from our own backyard, and from many areas of the U.S. and Australia, and then come back year after year. My dad was a cattle driver when he was single and I grew up in farming and ranching country. That's where I developed this opinion ... and I'm stickin' to it!

Tags: Competition Cowboys Animals