Winnipeg once wrangled the Stampede out of Calgary

There was a time "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" saddled up in Winnipeg after Calgary turned its back on the western festival now known as the Stampede.

The annual event that is now synonymous with Calgary — it kicked off its 95th consecutive year in that city this weekend — had its brief flirtation with Winnipeg in 1913.

Held at the Exhibition Grounds, now known as the Old Exhibition Grounds near the corner of McPhillips Street and Selkirk Avenue, the Winnipeg Stampede featured steer roping, bronco riding, trick riding, chariot races, Roman standing race, wild horse saddling, fancy roping and a parade through downtown.

Now billed as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," the Stampede's slogan in 1913 was "The Biggest Week on the American Continent."

It was only the second time the Stampede had been staged by Guy Weadick, an American rope trick artist who once travelled the western circuit as part of other Wild West rodeo shows.

A showman whose love of the spotlight was stoked by performances on vaudeville stages and an appearance in a 1928 western movie, His Destiny, Weadick decided he wanted to create his own event instead of being a bit player in someone else's frontier show.

He set his sights on Calgary after visiting the city as part of a travelling show in 1908. According to the Calgary Stampede history, Weadick viewed the city of about 12,000 as verging on modernity but with a strong Wild West connection.

It took him a few years to put his plan together, but in the spring of 1912 he returned to the Alberta city, which had since grown to 44,000. He was looking for financial backers for his idea and was introduced to four prominent businessmen who offered the money.

​The show took place in September, a time of the year that Weadick thought would be best because ranchers and farmers would be finished the harvesting and would be free to attend.

He managed to corral $20,000 in prize money — about four times the closest rodeo competition — in order to entice top quality competitors. He also created world championship titles to give the event even greater grandeur.

Unfortunately, the fall was wet and it rained for several days as spectators shivered in the cold autumn air. Organizational difficulties meant the daily schedule was never quite reliable, with several events starting late, according the official history.

Despite all of that, the six-day event attracted 80,000 people — nearly double Calgary's population at the time — and made a profit, so it was considered a success.

Weadick started planning for the 1913 event and even began promoting it across North America, but when he went back to his business partners, they told him they weren't interested in a follow-up.

That's when some Winnipeggers invited Weadick to bring his Stampede to their city. With a population of about 140,000, Winnipeg was the third largest city in Canada at the time, behind Montreal and Toronto, and Weadick was tantalized by the opportunity.

He and his new business partners raised $20,000 for the prizes and the date for the six-day event was switched to August.

Various reports put attendance at 50,000 to 60,000 spectators, with the latter number being the one that Weadick liked to highlight in newspaper articles afterwards.

But the show was a financial bust, partly because an economic downturn had hit Western Canada and disposable entertainment dollars were hard to come by.

Curious spectators nonetheless filled the grandstand at the Exhibition Grounds for several of the events in the opening couple of days. But the crowds thinned out quite a bit after that and, in the end, the event didn't make enough money for the business backers to invest in it again.

The following year, the First World War broke out and the Stampede was put on the shelf.

Weadick tried to revive it in New York state in 1916 but had the same failure as he suffered in Winnipeg. Only 40,000 turned out for that event, which lost money.

However, when the war ended and optimism was soaring again, Weadick went back to the place of his greatest success and persuaded numerous Calgarians, including the original foursome, to celebrate the return of Canada's soldiers in the "Great Victory Stampede."

Though it was once again a success, those with the finances to put it on again considered it a one-time event — all except for Ernie Richardson, the general manager of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition, where the event had been held.

He had helped Weadick persuade the others to back the 1919 Stampede in the first place. However, after the event Richardson was unable to garner support from his own board of directors to make it an annual show.

However, just two years later that board changed its mind. Facing declining attendance for its own annual attraction and mounting financial losses, the board was more willing to listen to Richardson's proposal to merge the Stampede and exhibition events.

The first combined Calgary Exhibition and Stampede was held in 1923, and to get people into the spirit of it, Weadick encouraged Calgarians to dress in western clothes and decorate their businesses in the spirit of the Wild West.

Some downtown roads were closed for street parties, a new sport called chuckwagon racing was introduced 138,950 people attended and the event, cementing the event as an annual celebration.

The 10-day event is now held every July and draws one million visitors to its rodeos, parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions.

The 2018 Stampede began July 6 and runs through July 15.