Kris Molle – Top Selling Driver For The Second Consecutive Year At The Cowboys Rangeland Derby Chuckwagon Canvas Auction
Photo By Kass Patterson
The unofficial kick off to the 2024 Calgary Stampede began tonight with the 44th Annual Calgary Stampede Cowboys Rangeland Derby Chuckwagon Canvas Auction taking place at the Big Four Roadhouse on Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta.
If the Chuckwagon Canvas Auction is any indication, things look good in the Calgary economy. The 2024 sale was an incredible success with the highest Average Bid ever seen in the 44-year history of the event. $115,370.37 was the average bid placed on each of the 27 participating drivers, exceeding the previous record of $111,528.00 by nearly $4,000.00/canvas set back in 2012.
The sale was also the seventh highest total in history, bringing in $3.15 million dollars with eighteen drivers exceeding the $100,000.00 mark. For the second consecutive year, 2022 Cowboys Rangeland Derby Champion Kris Molle was the sale topper as Graf Mechanical Ltd. won the high bid of the sale at $210,000.00, $40,000.00 above 2023’s top bid of $170,000.00 for Molle and four-time Calgary Stampede Champion Kurt Bensmiller. The low bid for the sale was $80,000.00, which was also a record high for the low bid, $20,000.00 higher than the previous record of $60,000.00 set in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2018.
There will be two more Chuckwagon Canvas Auctions that will involve WPCA drivers. The first will be on Friday, April 19, 2024 for the North American Chuckwagon Championship in Lloydminster Saskatchewan at the Gold Horse Casino, with the second on May 3, 2024, for the Ponoka Stampede at the Stagecoach Saloon on the Ponoka Stampede Grounds in Ponoka, Alberta. Check wpca.com for further details this coming week.
Billy Melville
| Driver | Sponsor | Amount Bid |
| Kris Molle | Graf Mechanical Ltd. | $210,000.00 |
| Kurt Bensmiller | Grey Eagle Resort and Casino | $175,000.00 |
| Chanse Vigen | KMA Construction Inc. | $160,000.00 |
| Dayton Sutherland | Truman Homes | $160,000.00 |
| Jason Glass | Friends of Jason Glass | $150,000.00 |
| Cody Ridsdale | O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre | $145,000.00 |
| Layne MacGillivray | Shady Creek Ranch | $140,000.00 |
| Todd Baptiste | S.O.R.E. Oilfield Services Inc. | $125,000.00 |
| Evan Salmond | De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. | $120,000.00 |
| Wade Salmond | De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. | $110,000.00 |
| Dallas Dyck | Red Nation Oil & Gas | $110,000.00 |
| Danny Ringuette | The Brakeman Foundation | $105,000.00 |
| ChanceThomson | Lethbridge Lodging Association | $105,000.00 |
| Obrey Motowylo | Shel-Bar Electronic Industries Ltd. | $100,000.00 |
| Chance Bensmiller | EllisDon | $100,000.00 |
| Preston Faithful | De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. | $100,000.00 |
| Mitch Sutherland | Subsurface Construction Corporation | $100,000.00 |
| Jordie Fike | Steelhaus Technologies Inc. | $100,000.00 |
| Jamie Laboucane | Buckle Vodka | $95,000.00 |
| Chance Flad | The CanWagon | $95,000.00 |
| Ross Knight | The MobSquad | $90,000.00 |
| Darcy Flad | The MobSquad | $90,000.00 |
| Rae Croteau Jr. | Cinch Oilfield Hauling Ltd. | $90,000.00 |
| Kirk Sutherland | Pedal Pub | $90,000.00 |
| Troy Dorchester | Cowboys Nightclub | $85,000.00 |
| Chad Fike | Shaw GMC Chevrolet Buick | $85,000.00 |
| Doug Irvine | Super Slings | $80,000.00 |
| Total Amount Bid | $3,115,000.00 | |
| Average Bid | $115,370.37 | |
| Median Bid | $102,500.00 | |
| High Bid | $210,000.00 | |
| Low Bid | $80,000.00 | |
| 2023 Total | $2,750,000.00 | |
| Difference Over 2023 | $365,000.00 |
