Vern Nolin – Record High Bid At 2025 Grande Prairie Stompede Tarp Auction Gala
Photo By Kass Patterson
The unofficial start to the 2025 WPCA Pro Tour kicked off tonight in Grande Prairie, Alberta with the 2025 Grande Prairie Stompede Tarp Auction Gala. Forty-Four of the best chuckwagon drivers in the World today were up for sale for a unique advertising opportunity and a once in a lifetime experience to be part of the 2025 WPCA Pro Tour.
The 2025 Grande Prairie Stompede Tarp Auction Gala shattered all previous Grande Prairie records this year, eclipsing a new record total of $853,000.00. This broke the old total of $514,650.00 set in 2023 when 44 chuckwagon drivers were also sold. This year’s record total was $356,250.00 higher than the 2024 total of $496,750.00 when only 40 chuckwagon drivers were sold.
Veteran driver Vern Nolin, who has returned after a two year absence, received the high bid of $55,000.00 for the five day show from The Highwood Group. This beat the previous record high bid of $40,000.00 set by defending Grande Prairie Stompede Champion Jamie Laboucane in 2024.
The low bid for the sale was also a new record high of $7,000.00, up $2,000.00 from the highest previous low bid. The average bid came in at $19,386.36, nearly $7,000.00 higher than 2024’s average bid of $12,418.75, while the median bid was $18,000.00 up $7,750.00 over 2024’s median bid of $10,250.00. Every category in 2025 was a new record high for the Grand Prairie Tarp Sale.
The next chuckwagon canvas auction will be next Thursday, April 10, 2025 for the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby presented by Play Alberta at The Big Four Roadhouse on Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta. You can watch th livestream of the auction on watch.wpca.com. Check wpca.com for more details.
Billy Melville
| Driver | Sponsor | Amount Bid |
| Vern Nolin | The Highwood Company | $55,000.00 |
| Cruise Bensmiller | Prairie Iron Rentals | $42,000.00 |
| Ryan Baptiste | Sunchild Law | $37,500.00 |
| Jamie Laboucane | Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd. | $32,000.00 |
| Chad Fike | TOMCO Group of Companies | $32,000.00 |
| Chanse Vigen | Medallion Energy Services | $30,000.00 |
| Kurt Bensmiller | Triple Threat Diesel | $29,000.00 |
| Layne MacGillivray | Cascade Energy Services | $27,000.00 |
| Rae Croteau Jr. | Bar L 5 Ranch | $26,000.00 |
| Evan Magee | FluidPRO Oilfield Services Ltd. | $26,000.00 |
| Kris Molle | Hansen Ford | $25,000.00 |
| Dustin Gorst | Bannister GP | $25,000.00 |
| Jason Glass | Birchcliff Energy Ltd. | $24,000.00 |
| Dean Dreger | Regulator’s Oilfield Hauling Ltd. | $24,000.00 |
| Obrey Motowylo | Dynamic Energy Group Inc. | $23,000.00 |
| Mitch Sutherland | CDN Controls Ltd. | $22,000.00 |
| Cody Ridsdale | Evolve Energy Services Corp. | $20,500.00 |
| Wade Salmond | Optimum Equipment Solutions | $20,000.00 |
| Tuff Dreger | Hearts and Hoofprints | $20,000.00 |
| Todd McCracken | Dobi Vegetation Management Ltd. | $19,500.00 |
| Luke Tournier | Pidherney’s | $19,000.00 |
| Todd Baptiste | Friends of Baptiste Racing | $18,500.00 |
| Layne Flad | Keddie’s Tack and Western Wear | $17,500.00 |
| Troy Dorchester | Zoro Energy Services | $16,000.00 |
| Jordie Fike | Full Force Ventures Ltd. | $16,000.00 |
| Darcy Flad | CARBONEX Contractors Ltd. | $15,500.00 |
| Ross Knight | R/T Rentals Inc. | $15,500.00 |
| Chance Bensmiller | Weiser’s Oilfield | $15,500.00 |
| Evan Salmond | De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. | $15,000.00 |
| Dayton Sutherland | Nordic Energy Canada Corp. | $12,500.00 |
| Josh Hrynyk | Bootlegger’s Charity Association | $12,000.00 |
| Doug Irvine | Swab Pro (2018) Ltd. | $12,000.00 |
| Chance Thomson | Thatchwood Ventures Ltd. | $11,500.00 |
| Preston Faithful | Sundown Oilfield Services Ltd. | $10,000.00 |
| Chance Flad | Astro Oilfield Rentals Ltd. | $10,000.00 |
| Dallas Dyck | Compass Access Solutions Ltd. | $10,000.00 |
| Randall Stanley | D&L Oil Fluid Hauling Ltd. | $10,000.00 |
| Logan Gorst | Northstar Hydrovac Inc. | $9,500.00 |
| Colby Stanley | Grande Prairie Airport | $9,000.00 |
| Dale Young | Ken Sargent GMC Buick Ltd. | $8,500.00 |
| D.J. King | J. DeSutter Oilfield Consulting Services Inc. | $8,000.00 |
| Roger Moore | BDP Traffic Management Ltd. | $7,500.00 |
| Rocky Bremner | The Paddle Club | $7,500.00 |
| Troy Flad | Shadow Rathole Drilling Ltd. | $7,000.00 |
| Total Amount Bid | $853,000.00 | |
| Average Bid | $19,386.36 | |
| Median Bid | $18,000.00 | |
| High Bid | $55,000.00 | |
| High Bid | $7,000.00 | |
| 2024 Total | $496,750.00 | |
| Difference Over 2024* | $356,250.00 |
- Total number of wagons sold up from 40 in 2024 to 44 in 2025.
