Wild Deuce hosted their 4th Annual Working Mountain Horse Competition & Select Sale this past weekend (September 26-28).  This is a weekend you will mark on your calendar year after year. The owners Chuck & Terri McKinney and Brenda Winder have gone out of their way to bring the best of the mountains to you on Terri’s family ranch.  The response has been shown in the numbers of the folks coming out to watch these amazing girls and their horses.  The weekend went from a two day event to three to fit in everything the girls want to teach and show the public.   The crowd has doubled each year, to a whopping 950 people attending this great one of kind event!

There was so much to see and do, starting with the Backcountry Tradeshow. Excellent vendors the girls  handpicked to help you shop for quality and backcountry gear.  More shopping continued into the STARS charity tent with a wide array of items to bid on from a “Mudd Slinging Kat” stud fee to fresh out of the oven cookies, cooked up almost every hour!  This weekend raised over $3200.00 for STARS, a full $1000 more from last year.

For the folks wanting to learn, the Terri & Brenda went out of their way to find some very impressive speakers for the Demo Ring sponsored by UFA. Every hour you could learn new things, including Packing from long time packer Bill Kewley with well over 20 years under his belt in the mountains by Banff, Backcountry Shoeing performed by Ken McKinney, to a breathtaking performance of a galloping team of 8 percherons driven by master teamster Neil Dimmick.  The girls of Wild Deuce also included themselves with a round penning explaining how they start horses.

The Open Competition ran on Friday, September 26, with 10 competitors entered. Five children ranging from 7-12 competed in the UFA Youth Division.  Wild Deuce, having safety as # 1, had spotters throughout the course with Wild Deuce walking behind each child rider as they negotiated the obstacles. Terri & Brenda explained to the kids that it was about having fun and not points.  The youth competitors proved themselves to be bold riders.  Terri commented how they showed up some of the adults.  The judges were Kam Magregor, Brian Burrington and new judge John Pouliot.

Wild Steer Packing and a free BBQ followed the competition Friday evening.  This wild and wacky event wowed the crowd and was hilarious to watch.  We watched 6 teams of four enter the ring with a go from the audience then rope, pack and cross the finish line with a lot of laughs and giggles!  You don’t want to miss this for next year.  That night there was a Wild Animal Calling Contest, the winner being Tim deHoop with his Bull Elk Bugle, prize donated by the Wild Sheep Foundation of North America (WSF) from Cody, Wyoming.

Saturday the crowd was privileged to watch spectacular sale horses be challenged by the Wild Deuce’s tough course, to which a few new obstacles are added each year.  The sun was out, the demo ring was busy and a lot of shopping was on the go!  Spectators were treated to everything from Craig Reesor leap-frogging onto his horse (Lot #16) from behind, then standing up and cracking a bull whip, to Terri standing on Lot #15 holding a tarp while another horse ran around holding the other end.  Before the fire that night we watched Wild Deuce heading out of the yard with their sponsors in a covered wagon driven by Lyle McKinney.

Sunday started with a Mountain Church Service, followed by all the awards and thank you’s.  Our Grand Champion and winner of the buckle along with $1000.00 donated by Coles Western Wear, was new consignor Camille Reesor of Two C Ranches from Cypress hills riding Lot #16 Quincey’s Gold Spur’s with a 192/200 point score. Reserve Champion, with a prize value of $750.00 donated by Lammles Western Wear, went to Clay Braithwaite on his grade gelding Buck.  3rd place went to John Rosdale riding Lot #22 Rambo Tucker.  Prizes paid out to 6th . Being their own competition, Wild Deuce excludes themselves out of the prize money.  After the tack 26 consigned horses were offered for sale.

  1. High selling horse was a very impressive, big gelding, Lot #18 LENAS PEPPY EBONY owned by Johnie Gillis from JW Quarter Horses selling for $8500.00. Rounding out the top five horses were:
  2. Lot #10 SB Charged by Peppy $8000.00 selling to France
  3. Lot # 4 Bears Poco Dollar    $6500.00
  4. Lot # 21 Murdocks Easy Limit    $6300.00
  5. Lot#15 General Joker Mccue    $5900.00

Top five average was an impressive $7040.00.  20 Horses were sold out of 26 with a average of $4500.00.
The entire sunny weekend was a spectacular place to learn, compete, shop and watch some outstanding riders offer their seasoned horses for sale.  One had a chance to watch these horses prove themselves while competing in a tough course, then head to the steer packing pen to rope and show even more.  Bar none, this sale has set a standard in the horse industry that not only proves honest horses for sale, but gives us a feel for the Wild Deuce way of life (they live in the mountains west of Rocky Mountain House), here in the prairies by Camrose, AB.

Press Release submitted by Wild Deuce.

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