Guy Weadick
Pioneer Award- Inducted 2022
Raised in Rochester New York Guy was fascinated by the stories of the Wild West and set out to experience it himself by working on various Ranches. Flores was raised on ranches, grew up on horseback where she learned trick roping and riding at an early age. Like Guy she had a great sense of adventure and ended up running away from home to join the circus. They both worked entertaining audiences on the Wild West and vaudeville circuits where they teamed up as an act and eventually married on November 17, 1906. Travelling throughout Canada, the US and even Europe the Weadick’s continued to perform and in 1912 came to Calgary with the idea of hosting a “Frontier Day celebration and Cowboy Contest” which would honor the history of the west through the sport of Rodeo. They managed to convince four affluent rancher men to put up $100,000 for the First Calgary Stampede in September 1912 which was a huge success. Although the Calgary Stampede didn’t return till 1919, Guy and Flores continued to pursue their dreams and held stampedes in both Winnipeg and New York City. Throughout the years the Weadick’s worked to professionalize the sport, implementing rules and structures to better enhance competition while supporting the western tradition of caring for animals. They incorporated the Uniquely Alberta Chuckwagon races, Indigenous cultures and women into the competition and believed that the west through sport could unite a community. The contributions that Guy as an athlete, promoter and administrator and Flores Ladue’s with her support, athleticism and pioneering spirit can be measured by the legacy of rodeo, chuckwagon racing and the “Cowboy way of life”. In 1969, the Stampede created the Guy Weadick award, which is still presented annually to the rodeo or chuckwagon competitor who best exemplifies Weadick hospitality through their character, sportsmanship and cooperation.
