By Laurence Heinen
Enough with the rainy weather already.
Those were the sentiments of Chanse Vigen after capturing his second consecutive Battle of the Foothills title in High River on Sunday.
Vigen and his Volker Stevin Canada/Glover International Trucks outfit battled through muddy conditions to beat Cruise Bensmiller (The Mavericks & Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli) across the finish line by just 5/100ths of a second to record his second World Professional Chuckwagon Association victory of the 2025 season.
“I love High River, but I’m not going to miss this mud right now,” the 41-year-old Calgary resident told reporters shortly after his winning run off of barrel No. 4.
Vigen, who also won his first Rangeland Derby championship on the final day of the Calgary Stampede on July 13, will be looking to keep his hot streak going at the Strathmore Stampede, which runs from Friday to Monday.
“Hopefully we get some sunshine in Strathmore,” he said. “The fans deserve some good weather.”
Aboard his Century Downs Racetrack and Casino rig, Dustin Gorst finished third in High River. Meanwhile Evan Magee (Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance) earned bragging rights by qualifying for his first-ever WPCA Pro Tour final heat, but he had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
“Three really good competitors on the inside and a hell of a race with young Cruise Bensmiller,” said Vigen in regards to his competitors, who had to battle through the same inclement conditions. “(It was) hard to see – horses really kind of clawing through it. Some got over it better than others. It makes things a little tougher out there, that’s for sure.”
For the second straight day, Vigen went with Junior and Beau as his lead team, while he switched things up by putting in Nibbles and Babe on the wheel.
“We had a couple horses that hadn’t gone this show and they’re not really comfortable on the long barrels,” he said. “We elected to take four and give them a shot in the mud.”
The decision paid off in spades as did the continued great work of his outriders Rory Gervais and Ethan Motowylo, who rode Emmett and Coco respectively in the final.
“I’m so proud of my team and my outriders,” said Vigen, who also used Gervais and Motowylo as his outriders during the Rangeland Derby championship final a couple weeks earlier.
After not having the start he would have liked to his 2025 season, Vigen has been steadily rising up in the World Standings to his current position of eighth spot.
“Most of the credit goes the horses,” said Vigen, who finished atop the aggregate standings at the Ponoka Stampede to get the use of 2025 GMC Sierra pickup truck courtesy of Summit Fleet for one year. “They were peaking at the right time coming into Ponoka and Calgary. I’m just so proud of them.”
In the $75,000 Tommy Dorchester Championship Final Heat in Ponoka on Canada Day, Vigen crossed the finish line first, but had to settle for a second-place showing behind Logan Gorst after being assessed a one-second penalty for his wagon starting ahead of the horn.
“You lose some to penalties and you win some to penalties,” said Vigen, who has still had quite the July to remember so far. “It is what it is. That’s wagon racing. I hate to keep using that saying. It gets used a lot, but it’s true.”
Following what he called “the best night of my life” winning his first Rangeland Derby title in Calgary, Vigen commended his entire team for their efforts to help him accomplish his lofty goals.
“I just want to give credit to where it’s due and that’s the team back at the barns and doing all the work behind the scenes,” said Vigen, who gave a special shout-out to his wife Brie for all of her work and support. “This is not an easy sport. She’s had my back through it all. I’m just very proud right now.”
Vigen is also extremely proud of the work he and his wife have done to launch the I’m Your Huckleberry campaign which has two main components: to sell the popular Chanse Vigen branded pink sunglasses and to donate the funds raised to families who have nowhere else to turn.
“If anybody wants to learn more, you can find us at www.imyourhuckleberry.ca,” Vigen said proudly. “If you want to learn a little bit more about our initiative and how the charity got started and how you can contribute, that’d be awesome. We’re all ears.”
