Performance of the Week: Mark Sutherland

Okotoks chuckwagon driver, Mark Sutherland, won a $50,000 purse in the Ponoka Stampede’s Dash for Cash on Canada Day.

For chuckwagon drivers, the TrailBlazer RV Centre $50,000.00 Tommy Dorchester Championship at the Ponoka Stampede is one of the most prestigious events on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s (WPCA) Pro Tour. The event features four teams of four horses hitched to a chuckwagon racing around a 5/8 mile track (let that sink in for a moment).

The championship was run by Logan Gorst, Vern Nolin (the 2018 champion), Mark Sutherland and Kirk Sutherland (Mark’s uncle). Mark Sutherland — driving the Friends of Sutherland Racing/Brand USA outfit — and outriders Rory Gervais and Cole Somerville took the first place winner’s check of $50,000 and the 2019 Ponoka Stampede Championship.

Mark Sutherland bested his uncle and other fellow competitors by a mere 4/100ths of a second. Talk about a photo finish!

Sutherland and the rest of the chuckwagon pros will spend the next couple of days gearing up for 10 days of the Rangeland Derby at the Calgary Stampede starting Friday, July 5.

Go riding!