Two outrider penalties on Thursday and Friday night weren't enough to slow down Grande Prairie's Rick Fraser, as he overcame the added time and rode to the 2014 Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship title.
“Ricky had the best outfit here all week. He had a couple outriding penalties the first couple of nights and he overcame those. There is no doubt he had the best outfit here,” said Outrider Eddie Melvile, who along with Chad Cosgrave, made up Fraser's winning squad.
Fraser sat in second place in aggregate time heading into championship Sunday and was able to capitalize on leader Roger Moore's falter in the final race.
“The (horses) started really hard and they really hustled into that second turn,” said Fraser, talking about Sunday's race. “Roger ended up on the outside and couldn't quite get the engine going. Sometimes another guy's misfortune is your good fortune.”
Fraser's aggregate time of 5:19:25 was good enough to capture his first Bonnyville title and win a trophy he is proud to have his name on.
“It is the George Normand Memorial (trophy) and it means a lot,” said Fraser. “George is one of the greatest chuckwagon racing ambassadors of all time. He set the standard in the modern area with his ability and his personality. When I see George's name on something and I've won it; it means a great deal to me.”
Kurt Bensmiller, fresh off a victory at the Calgary Stampede, came in second posting a four-day aggregate of 5:20:26. Jason Glass' 5:21:22 clinched him third place and Mark Sutherland's 5:21:44 grabbed fourth.
Roger Moore's final day lapse saw him drop from first to 15th with an aggregate of 5:25:60.
Bonnyville fan favourite Rae Croteau Jr. posted an aggregate of 5:24:98 and finished in 10th, matching his placing in the 2013 Bonnyville event.
“It was a decent weekend. With the track conditions the way they were we had a few good runs,” said Croteau. “But it is tough to have good runs every night when you are racing against the best guys in the world. When you get into the later heats with these guys it is a challenge every night to have the race you want.”
Croteau wasn't the only local favourite to have a disappointing showing this weekend, as Doug Irvine, who hails from LaCorey, ran to a 34th place finish with a time of 5:41:19.
Both Croteau and Irvine were clearly beloved by those in attendance drawing cheers every time their names were announced. The local support is something Croteau greatly appreciated.
“It is always fun coming home to the crowd and the friends and family that you see and the support, especially after having a good Stampede and a pretty good summer,” said Croteau.
The others competing in the four-day Chuckwagon competition also had great things to say about Bonnyville and the hosting committee.
“The Bonnyville committee does such a great job here. They tore the whole track up and rebuild the entire thing to make sure if it rained the horses would still be safe,” said Fraser. “I just can't say enough good things about these people. They work so hard to make sure to make this thing go. I really appreciate all of these efforts.”
“We had a really good weekend here,” added Melville. “They put on a great show here in Bonnyville and they did a great job with the track. It was a lot of fun. It is a great show and there is a lot of great community support up here.”
