There’s simply no time to stop and smell the roses with your eyes firmly on the finish line.
Foothills County chuckwagon driver Mark Sutherland closed the chapter on his 30 years in the sport at the Calgary Stampede’s 2023 Cowboys Rangeland Derby with a fifth-place finish, just on the outside of the final three Dash for Cash.
“I was just trying to compete,” said Sutherland. “Until I was out of it, that was the main focus. You don’t pay much attention to it, the retirement part comes after the racing part.
“I didn’t make it into the dash so there was disappointment there and there was some secondary disappointment with this being the last time I’m going to take a shot at it and there was some finality in that.”
The Sutherland name has been inextricably linked with the sport for three generations. Mark’s father Kelly ‘The King’ Sutherland is tied for the most Rangeland Derby titles with a dozen to his credit, with his uncle Kirk, cousin Mitch and son Dayton all chuckwagon drivers.
Fittingly, the tenth and final day of races on Sunday saw Mark and Kirk in the same heat alongside Rae Croteau Jr. Layne MacGillivray won the Rangeland Derby championship, the first of his career.
“Uncle Kirk was there when I started, him and dad travelled together so he helped me a lot,” Sutherland said. “I talked to Kirk about a few things this week and my son gave me some advice, shockingly, that I listened to on the last night, about driving some of the good ones.
“I said, ‘I’ve got nothing to prove with these horses, I just want to give them a rest.’ We had a conversation and I changed my mind and drove the stars and I was glad I did, I got to drive them one more time.”
Sutherland competed in the Rangeland Derby 22 times over his career, making the Dash For Cash final twice and most recently in 2018.
“I didn’t really want a swansong and a parade or anything, that just wasn’t how I wanted to go out,” Sutherland said. “I had some very competitive horses and a good outfit put together and so I was trying to win, just like I have for 30 years and we didn’t get it done.
“it’s not that I didn’t have some reflection because I did, there was some sad times when we had the horse sale. These horses have been pretty good to me and pretty special.”
With many of his horses finding new homes, Sutherland said it was important for him to know they’ll be well taken care of down the line.
Some of the new owners include Mitch, Kirk, who also retired from racing after the Stampede, along with friends on tour in Jason Glass, Troy Dorchester and Croteau Jr., to name a few.
“Rae Croteau outrun me last night with one of the horses he bought from me, he really started and charged and he out-turned me,” Sutherland said. “He was smiling and happy, we’ve been talking about these horses all spring, so he knew what he was buying and I said, ‘Rae, you’re going to be happy with that one.’”
When asked what he’ll miss most, Sutherland was quick to say it will be working with the horses adding that his gift to the sport was to advocate tirelessly for horse care and safety practices throughout his career.
“I had an opportunity, so I felt I had an obligation,” he said.
From the Stampede to the High River Ag Grounds, the chuckwagon action continues locally over the next two weekends with the Battle of the Foothills from July 21-23 and July 28-30. Dayton Sutherland will be among the competitors. Tickets are available through highriverag.com.
In rodeo action at the Stampede, it was a banner Showdown Sunday for Canadian competitors with three Albertans taking home $50,000 cheques.
Provost’s Scott Guenther bulldogged the steer wrestling championship, Stettler’s Beau Cooper corralled the tie-down roping, Dawson Hay, from Wildwood, snared the saddle bronc belt and Maple Creek, Sask.’s Jared Parsonage captured the bull riding title. Texan Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi won the barrel racing and Kade Sonnier, from Louisiana, reigned supreme in the bareback.
Former Okotokian Jordan Hansen missed out on the final four by just .5 of a point in the bull riding while Millarville bronc rider Layton Green was ninth.
Earlier in the competition, Okotoks steer wrestler Jonny Webb was sixth in Pool B and Longview barrel racer Kylie Whiteside finished tenth in Pool B with younger sister Bradi tenth in Pool A.
For more information, visit calgarystampede.com.
