If his performance first three weeks are any indication of how he will perform for the rest of the competitive season, Keith Wood looks like he is on pace for a very strong 2015 campaign as a competitor of the All Pro Canadian Chuckwagon Taste the Dust Tour.
He won the tour’s first competition at Grande Prairie, which took place from May 27 to May 31, and he earned first place in the chuckwagon portion of the third tour competition, which was hosted at the Saddle Lake rodeo grounds from last Friday to Sunday. Chariot races made up the other half of the tourney.
With a combined time of 3:48.96 — based on three races — he edged out George Sanderson.
He had the lead after Saturday’s races with a time of 2:31.62. He actually lost his Sunday heat against Keith Adamson, but the eight-time North American champion built enough of a lead to ensure ultimate victory.
“Keith Wood is very very good,” says Wilfred Whiskeyjack, a fellow Saddle Lake competitor and event coordinator. “All the riders from Saddle Lake are very tough competitors.”
Riley Desjarlais of Cold Lake earned the chariot races title. He came out on top with a time of 3:43.23. Finishing in the runner-up spot was Cole Adamson.
This was the third of 18 total stops on the 2015 tour. The Saddle Lake leg was well attended. There were enough participants to stage 13 competitive heats for chariot racing and 14 for chuckwagon racing.
Whiskeyjack has an idea as to why this tournament is able to attract a lot of riders.
“It is the course,” he says. “It is one of the best in Alberta. It is a very competitive track. If you start from behind you can end up in front of the race by the end. No one gets to far ahead of anyone.
Indeed, many of the races were extremely tight and exciting. A lot of comebacks were made throughout the course of the weekend.
While most of the racers were Albertans, there were out-of-province competitors, such as Malcolm Apsassin from B.C., who was a contender for both championships as he won both his chariot racing and chuck wagoning heats.
The next stop for the tour is in Cranberry Lake. The four-day contest starts on Thursday.
The tour will return to Saddle Lake for an August long weekend battle (July 31 to Aug. 2).
