The most accomplished of all active chuckwagon drivers in the world today, Kurt has won four World Championships, four Calgary Stampede Cowboys Rangeland Derby Championships, four Calgary Stampede Aggregate Titles, and two Ponoka Stampede Championships to go with his multiple victories and awards. His first appearance in the COWBOYS Rangeland Derby Championship Final Heat in 2011 marked the first time that three generations of the same family had qualified for the COWBOYS Rangeland Derby’s winner–take–all final joining his father Buddy Bensmiller and grandfather’s Allen Smith and Alan Bensmiller who were all multi–time finalists.
The 2024 season saw Kurt, for the seventh time, have a horse named to the WPCA Equine Outfit of Excellence. He posted twenty-six top ten runs, including three first-place runs and nine runs that also cracked the top five. He had top ten overall finishes at seven shows and qualified for two championship final heats at the Ponoka Stampede and the Strathmore Stampede.
In 2017 Kurt became chuckwagon racing’s first modern day “Grand Slam Winner” when he captured the Ponoka Stampede, the Calgary Stampede Aggregate Title, the Calgary Stampede COWBOYS Rangeland Derby and the World Chuckwagon Championship.
A two-sport athlete, Kurt was part of the Bentley Generals that won the 2009 Allan Cup – symbolic of Canada’s senior hockey champions. Kurt and his wife Ashly have three daughters – Harlee, Hayze and Vahn, and make their home in Dewberry, Alberta.
