Defending Champion Kris Molle Shows What A $170,000.00 Smile Looks Like
After Being The Top Seller At The 2023 GMC Rangeland Derby
Photo By Billy Melville
As we celebrate 100 years of chuckwagon racing in 2023, the unofficial start to the 2023 Calgary Stampede kicked off tonight with the 43rd Calgary Stampede Cowboy’s Rangeland Deby Chuckwagon Canvas Auction.
It looks like things could be improving in the Calgary economy if the Chuckwagon Canvas Auction is any indication. The 2023 sale was a tremendous success with the 10th highest total in the 43-year history of the event, bringing in just under 3 million dollars. Thirteen drivers eclipsed the $100,000.00 mark.
$2.3 million was bid on the 22 drivers that will compete full time on the 2023 World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) Pro Tour, with $450,000.00 bid on the remaining 5 drivers who will compete on the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA) circuit in 2023.
A total of $2,750.000.00 was bid on the 27 participating wagons. It was the 10th consecutive year the Calgary Auction crossed over the 2-million-dollar mark. 2023 Cowboy’s Rangeland Derby Champion Kris Molle, and four-time champion Kurt Bensmiller tied for the high bid of $170,000.00, $15,000.00 below 2022’s top bid of $185,000.00 for Bensmiller. The low bid for the sale was $50,000.00, which was up $15,000.00 from 2022, the median bid on all 27 wagons was $97,500.00, up a whopping $30,000.00 from the median bid of 2022.
There will be two more Chuckwagon Canvas Auctions that will involve WPCA drivers. The first will be on Friday, April 21, 2023, for the WPCA World Chuckwagon Championships at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino just outside of Calgary, followed by the Ponoka Stampede’s Chuckwagon Canvas Auction on May 5, 2023, at the Stagecoach Saloon on the Ponoka Stampede Grounds in Ponoka, Alberta. Check wpca.com for further details this coming week.
Billy Melville
2023 Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Canvas Auction Results
|
Driver |
Sponsor |
Amount Bid |
|
Kris Molle |
Graf Mechanical Ltd. |
$170,000.00 |
|
Kurt Bensmiller |
Grey Eagle Casino |
$170,000.00 |
|
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
$140,000.00 |
|
Chanse Vigen |
KMA Construction Inc. |
$130,000.00 |
|
Mark Sutherland |
Friends of Sutherland Racing |
$125,000.00 |
|
Troy Dorchester |
Cam Clark Ford |
$120,000.00 |
|
Jamie Laboucane |
Cowboys Casino |
$115,000.00 |
|
Jason Glass |
Friends of Jason Glass |
$110,000.00 |
|
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
$110,000.00 |
|
Wade Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
$105,000.00 |
|
Layne MacGillivray |
Spray Lakes Sawmills |
$100,000.00 |
|
Doug Irvine |
Lethbridge Lodging Association |
$100,000.00 |
|
Jordie Fike |
Tronic Data |
$100,000.00 |
|
Chad Fike |
Summit Fleet |
$95,000.00 |
|
Preston Faithful |
Natural Law X |
$95,000.00 |
|
Chance Bensmiller |
EllisDon |
$90,000.00 |
|
Ross Knight |
The MobSquad |
$90,000.00 |
|
Mitch Sutherland |
Cross Country Canada Supplies & Rentals |
$90,000.00 |
|
Codey McCurrach |
PCL & Partners |
$90,000.00 |
|
Vern Nolin |
SOMARA |
$85,000.00 |
|
Kirk Sutherland |
Shaw GMC Chevrolet Buick |
$85,000.00 |
|
Todd Baptiste |
S.O.R.E. Oilfield Services Inc. |
$85,000.00 |
|
Danny Ringuette |
The Brakeman Foundation |
$85,000.00 |
|
Obrey Motowylo |
Buckles and Bulls Inc. |
$80,000.00 |
|
Dallas Dyck |
Riverdale Resources Ltd. |
$70,000.00 |
|
Rae Croteau Jr. |
Cinch Oilfield Hauling Ltd. |
$65,000.00 |
|
Darcy Flad |
The CanWagon |
$50,000.00 |
|
Total Amount Bid |
$2,750,000.00 |
|
|
Average Bid |
$101,851.85 |
|
|
Median Bid |
$97,500.00 |
|
|
High Bid |
$170,000.00 |
|
|
Low Bid |
$50,000.00 |
|
|
2022 Total |
$2,105,000.00 |
|
|
Difference Over 2022 |
$645,000.00 |
