A whirlwind CPCA summer wrapped up Sunday, while drivers are already preparing for next year. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

That's a wrap

Magic season for Gorst as CPCA season ends in Lloydminster

Aug 23, 2021 | 6:06 PM

Moments where choices you make are validated rarely occur as triumphantly as Sunday afternoon for Logan Gorst.

During the pandemic, the veteran chuckwagon driver from Meadow Lake, hailing from a legendary family in the chuckwagon profession, made the decision to leave the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) and return to the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA), where he last competed in 2011. This is in large part to better accommodate work and family commitments, given the reduction in travel the CPCA season would entail.

Now, with the 2021 campaign in the rearview, he walks into the fall a champion.

Gorst took home the prize Denham Chrysler truck, winning the dash with a time of 01:23.60, edging out Todd and Ryan Baptiste of Red Pheasant Cree Nation and Jamie Laboucane of St. Wahlburg. He said he felt bad for Laboucane, who took a one second penalty to start the race, but it was good to take home this prize after having also won the aggregate show at the North American Chuckwagon Championship in Lloydminster earlier in the summer.

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It was also a strategic win, after a tough outing in his hometown the week prior.

“I took two barrels in Meadow Lake, so I really had to safety up here to stay in the top four,” Gorst said. “Jamie obviously won the race, but you need a lot of luck too.”

Having made the decision to return to the CPCA, Gorst said it also felt good have another shot at the finals, which he competed in back in 2011.

“I lost this race by 21 hundredths of a second last time I was here, so it feels good to get another crack at it,” he said. “Those guys were gunning for me right from the get go and they’ll be back next year.”

Among many thank-yous, including his family, friends, sponsors and more, Gorst took time to thank the Lloydminster Exhibition Association for continuing to put on the finals and putting on the North American Champion in place of the Calgary Stampede.

“Without them all, I couldn’t go down the road,” he said. “There’s companies doing great things for the sport.”

Baptiste brothers’ proud, but unsatisfied

The title defence for Todd Baptiste almost had a Hollywood ending.

After the pandemic took away the 2020 season, he started low in the standings from the season opener in Poundmaker Cree Nation and promptly chipped away at the standings until he came away as the high points leader and the aggregate winner for the finals.

On top of that, his brother Ryan’s return to the sport was strong enough to earn a spot in the dash as well, giving the family two shots at the prize. However, Sunday wasn’t their day.

“You know, when you’re there for that last dash, those horses are keen and one false start for a team can become a false start for another team,” Baptiste said. “That’s the tough luck about wagon racing.”

“For us, we wanted to make sure both Ryan and I could make the final four and it’s the first time it’s happened. That’s a big accomplishment.”

For the Baptistes’, and most of the field, it’s a quick turnaround into going to horse shows and seeing where they’ll be at by next spring. Many are already on the road this week.

“It’s always a tough end to a season, but the horses will get wintered up and we’ll build for next year,” Baptiste said. “That’s the key be successful every season.”

Todd and Ryan Baptiste. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Ryan credited the 2019 champ for pushing him all season and put up an impressive title defence.

“(Todd) started out pretty low after the first show, so to see him come back was impressive,” Ryan said.

As for his own performance, the younger Baptiste said Ryan is happy with how his horses ran, but still wants to have another crack at it.

“I’m competitive. You get a taste of it and you want more,” Ryan said. “You always want to look to improve.”

And improving will likely put the two on a course towards competing against each other late in the season once again.

“If we race [against each other] next year, you never know how it’s going to end,” Todd said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Attendance, fundraising hits expectations

Considering the hurdles the CPCA faced this year, manager Kim Carey said they’re quite pleased with how everything ran. Attendance was steady throughout the summer with the finals drawing near capacity every night, even on a rain-soaked Sunday.

“We always have great crowds, and this year was no exception, from night one to now,” Carey said.

Another win for the association was their fundraising efforts. The Denham & Diamonds Gala, a children’s hospital fundraiser put on by the women-lead fundraising group ‘Women of the Wagons’, brought in $24,000 with more expected by the time the final tally is over. Carey said this was better than they originally hoped at the beginning of the year.

“Just with COVID and the short amount of time to plan everything, we’re pretty pleased with how it turned out,” she said.

(Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

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josh.ryan@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports