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Wainwright Stampede Association

The Wainwright Frontier & Exhibition Agricultural Society has had 13 presidents over the past 65 years.

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It is well known that without the efforts of many interested & devoted members, non-members, service clubs, & our business community, the stampede would never have survived.

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Founding Day

Wainwright Frontier Days & Exhibition Association was formed.

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February 7th, 1954

1954

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Things Come Together

Corrals, chutes, catch pens, & arena were laid out & built by hand, from poles cut in the coulee.

First Wainwright Stampede

After such a whirlwind begging there was no looking back.

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June 24th & 25th, 1954

1955

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More Improvements

Outside fences were built & the old curling rink was moved onto the grounds.  The lobby was taken off & served as the rodeo office & ticket booth, the rest was used for barns.

First Appearance of Buddy Heaton

World famous bullfighter & clown, Buddy always added to the show & his clown acts were a real crowd-pleaser.  He was considered the happiest rodeo clown that ever set foor in the arena.

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1956

1956

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The Search for Water

Two attempts to find water on the grounds failed & water was hauled in tanks until 1968 when town water was available on taps.

New Buildings

The administration building, ticket office, & new bleachers were added.

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1957

1958

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Extensive Repairs

Extensive repairs to the corrals, chutes, & grounds.  More bleachers were added as well.

Large Bleachers

More large bleachers added.

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1960

1962

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Adjustments Made

The bleachers added in 1960 were moved south of the arena because the association felt that the bleachers were to low & needed to be further back in order for everyone to better see the performances.

West Bleachers Built

An engineer was hired to draft plans to give the public a better view on the bleachers from the west.  Large sections of the present bleachers were built, the finished bleachers added 3,300 seats bringing the seating capacity to 7,000.

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1963

1967

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Always Improving

The original corrals, chutes, & announcers booth were rebuilt.

"Biffies"

The "biffies" were replaced with modern washrooms & town water installed.

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1968

1972

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New Buildings

Rodeo Office & Beer Gardens were built.

More

Even more horse barns were built.

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1973

1976

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More Room

The east side bleachers were taken down & a solid fence was built.  This allowed more room for contestants who traveled to the event, to park their campers & trailers.

Repairs Continue

Updates & repairs to the bleachers continued, & a new secondary fence was built on the east side.

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1977

1980

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Steel

Old chutes & pens were torn down & replaced with new steel ones.

More Improvements

A new loud speaker system was installed.

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1981

May 12, 1982

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3 Days

We expanded to 3 days of action to aim for a family audience.

Dream Come True

Completion of the new covered grandstand with seating capacity of approximately 3,500.  This new structure is very permanent & was designed so that it can be added onto for years to come.

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1988

June 19th, 1996

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Joint Venture

We began a joint venture with the Elks Club to construct a 15,000sq' building.  The new building served to hold many functions associated with the Elks Club, & has served as the rodeo office, public washrooms, & ticket booth.

Top Ten

Wainwright Stampede becomes one of the top 10 largest rodeos in Canada.

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March 9th, 2004

2012

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Expansions Continue

Expanded even further to the east, giving more room for the chuckwagons & their animals.

Brightening Up

Enhanced the arena lighting.

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2013

2016

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Outdoor Fun

Beer garden buildings added.

Another Milestone

Celebrating the 70th Annual Wainwright Stampede

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2023

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