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Bidders pledged just over $2.4 million to advertise on the canvases tarps of the 36 chuckwagons at the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon auction on March 23. The auction, which is considered to be a reflection of Alberta’s oilpatch economy, raised just under $2.3 million last year, the worst showing since 2010 when it brought in $1.97 million. This year the auction took place with crude prices lingering below the US$50 per barrel mark, US$10 above what they were at this time last y

Veteran chuckwagon driver Buddy Bensmiller shared his experience working behind the scenes on The Revenant film with Leonardo DiCaprio last year. The Revenant follows the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass who explored the uncharted wilderness of Montana and South Dakota in 1823. He is left for dead by his hunting team after a brutal bear attack and survives to seek revenge for the death of his son. Bensmiller said that it wasn’t quite what he thought it w

Marie Conboy Reporter Kurt Bensmiller defended his GMC Rangeland Derby championship title, taking the two in row and claiming the $100,000 cheque at the Calgary stampede on July 12. The limelight belonged to the 32 year old from Dewberry on the final night of the Calgary Stampede, he had the speed and beat Sutherland in his Air Canada and Tervita outfit by more than a wagon length across the finish line. “It feels really good,” said the young Bensmiller last week after he ret