I created a monster

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that I was married when I came home to Alberta, but if I didn't, now you know.  No big, it happened 6 years ago and I'm sure that he's doing just as fine as I am.  Anyway, Ian (or the Former Husband-Unit) is BC bred and born (grapefruit-growing-kiwi-eating-tree-hugging variety that they are) and had rarely been to a rodeo, never mind to a chuckwagon race. 
The spring after we moved home I heard that there was a rodeo and 'wagon races in High River a few short miles down the road and threw it out there with "Do you want to go to the rodeo and wagon races this weekend?".  To which he responded "What's a wagon race?"  Oh my, a wagon virgin!
Wagon racing originated in the days of the very large ranch with no fences.  Every spring (some ranches did it in the fall as well) the ranches would send an 'outfit' to the agreed upon gather spot and set up camp.  After the hands had gathered the cattle in the vicinity and sorted out whose cattle were whose and branded the babies, it was on to the next rendezvous.  Well one thing led to another, and one cookie said to the other,"Beat you there!".  And so, there you have it, wagon racing is born.
Picture this, Gentle Reader, 4 chuckwagons hitched to 4 horses each.  Each wagon has 4 outriders associated with it for a total of 32 horses involved in each race.  There are 2 barrels for each team set up in the arena and each team lines up at their assigned barrel and waits for the horn to blow.  The driver is in the wagon of course, one outrider holding the lead team of his outfit, 2 holding simulated 'tent pegs' getting ready to throw them in the back of the wagon, and 1 holding a simulated 'camp stove' ready to throw it too in to the back of the wagon.  You have to keep in mind that all of the outriders are on the ground and holding their own horses while waiting for the horn to go. 
As soon as the horn goes, all hell breaks loose.  The driver slaps the reins across the rumps of his team, the outrider in the front gets the hell out of the way and tries to mount his own horse, who is by now trying to take off because all of the horses are off the flat track and once one goes, they all go; the 3 guys in the back have loaded their associated gear and are trying to mount their respective horses and once they do, they have to complete the figure 8 pattern that the wagon has already completed and head out to the track.  And now the race is on. Most often the guy who hits the track first is in the lead and the others are playing catch-up but it gets pretty exciting when they're battling for position down the backstretch and positioning changes.  By the time they hit the top of the turn for home sometimes they end up being 2 or 3 abreast coming down to the wire.  I've seen races where there are 3 across at the finish line and that's what would be called a Great Race.  Outfits are penalized for not completing the barrel pattern, for late outriders, or even for outriders finishing in front of the wagon.  In High River you get a whole lot closer to the action than you do in Calgary at the Stampede so you end up really hearing the thunder of hooves as they head for home and the clink of harness chains as they go by and the FHU was hooked.  I think we spent every weekend that summer 'chasing wagons'.  But what fun!

Now before you go all animal-rights activist on me, these horses are very well cared for and well loved by their owners.  They are purchased off the track where they spend up to 23 hours a day in a stall to go live in an enviroment where they spend a whole lot of time turned out with, you'll never guess, other horses.  Being the herd animals that they are, that's the best psychological environment for them.  I've seen places where an electric fence is set up in the middle of a field at an event and 8 to 10 horses are all turned out together, just hangin'.  When an accident happens, and they do, the owners and their families are just as saddened as we would be if our saddle horse was involved.  These people pay BIG BUCKS for their horses and look after them the same way that you and I would.  There was one horse that was retired last year at the age of 19, which is an admirable age for a horse that works as hard as a wagon horse does (and he was still very healthy and hardy and ready to work, they just figgered that he'd paid his dues).
In case my description fell short, I'll leave you with a video that does a good job of showing the action in the infield and one that shows a whole race (both, BTW, called by Joe Carbury who retired last year at the age of 79).