At 87, he’s still leading the Stampede parade – and keeping Meadow Lake’s rodeo history alive

This year, the parade leader finally received an honour of his own after 46 years at the helm.

Alger and his horse, Willow, were named the winner of the Best Horse category at the 2026 Meadow Lake Stampede parade, a recognition that came after decades of service to an event that has shaped much of his life.

Gordon Alger rides his horse Willow at the front of the 2026 Meadow Lake Stampede parade. The 87-year-old has led the parade consistently since 1980 and was recognized with this year’s Best Horse award. (Image Credit: Mystic Journey Healing and Event Centre/Facebook)

The award may be new, but Alger is anything but.

He joined the Meadow Lake Racing and Sports Association in 1957, later serving as Stampede manager and spending seven years as president. Since 1980, he has led the community’s annual parade, becoming one of its most recognizable figures.

While the parade route has remained familiar, the world around it has changed dramatically.

Alger grew up in an era when horses were part of everyday life. Long before trucks and trailers became commonplace, moving cattle often meant days spent in the saddle.

“We chased cattle from Jackfish Lake through North Battleford, across the old bridges in Battleford, and on the Saskatchewan River, and then across the Battle River, and 22 miles from there on to Sweetgrass,” he recalled.

Today, those memories belong to a Prairie lifestyle that is increasingly difficult to find.

“We’re now living at the end of the horse and buggy days,” he said.

Gordon Alger leads the Meadow Lake Stampede parade on horseback in this photo from seven years ago. (Image Credit: submitted)

Few people have had a closer view of that transformation than Alger.

Over nearly seven decades with the Stampede, he helped guide the organization through some of its most successful years. He said the association brought professional rodeo to Meadow Lake during his time as president.

“It was the first professional sports event ever to go in Meadow Lake,” he said.

At one point, he said, the event ranked among Western Canada’s premier outdoor rodeos.

“We were one of the top outdoor shows in Western Canada, you know, next to Calgary at one point.”

His contributions extend beyond the grounds themselves.

The rodeo statue on Main Street in Meadow Lake stands as a tribute to the pioneers who helped establish rodeo in the region. (Image Credit: Canadian History Ehx – Craig Baird/ Threads)

Alger said the Racing and Sports Association was instrumental in creating the rodeo statue that stands on Main Street. The monument was modelled after a photograph of Joe Noah winning the 1949 Meadow Lake Stampede and was intended to honour the pioneers who helped establish rodeo in the region.

Yet even as he reflects on those accomplishments, Alger speaks most passionately about preserving traditions that continue to bring people together.

He remembers a time when rodeos were common throughout rural Saskatchewan.

“There used to be stampedes all around Meadow Lake, Big River, Glaslyn, North Battleford, Pierceland. All the little towns had a rodeo, and that’s not in existence anymore.”

Meadow Lake’s rodeo scene has changed too.

“They tore up the track, and we don’t have chuck wagon races anymore in Meadow Lake.”

But one tradition remains. Every summer, hundreds still line the streets for the parade.

And every summer, Alger is there to lead it.

The horse beneath him changes from time to time. He estimates he has ridden roughly 15 different horses at the front of the procession over the years.

Willow, the quarter horse that earned this year’s Best Horse honour, is about 25 years old and once worked as a pony horse at the racetrack, leading racehorses from the paddock before competition.

Alger already has his eye on the future.

“I have a new Palomino that I’ll be riding next year in the parade,” he said. “He’s a beautiful dark Palomino.”

Asked whether retirement is on the horizon, Alger laughed off the suggestion.

“No, I’m just getting started… I’ll be 88 in December, but I’m 87 years old right now, and in pretty good shape,” he said with a laugh.

And next summer, when the parade once again winds through Meadow Lake, children will likely run toward another horse at the front of the procession.

Alger plans to be right there with it, carrying forward a tradition he has spent nearly 70 years helping build.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

At 87, he’s still leading the Stampede parade – and keeping Meadow Lake’s rodeo history alive

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