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Remembering Vic Stuckey Sr., a saddle bronc legend

Stettler residents will remember Vic Stuckey Sr. as the owner of a quaint jewellery shop on Main Street, V.E. Stuckey Jewellers...
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Vic Stuckey Jr. shows off his dad

Stettler residents will remember Vic Stuckey Sr. as the owner of a quaint jewellery shop on Main Street, V.E. Stuckey Jewellers, yet those in the world of rodeo will recall his deft skills as a saddle bronc champion.

On a crisp and sunny Saturday in Calgary, Oct. 22, Vic Stuckey Sr. was inducted into the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association's (CPRA) Hall of Fame.

"We are proud of the legacy that he left behind and the achievements he accomplished in the few years he was here," said his son, Vic Stuckey Jr., now a resident of Red Willow.

Stuckey Sr. was born in Hope, B.C. in 1914, but died at an early age in 1953. Having suffered his whole life from a rheumatic fever that he contracted when he was just nine years old, he lived with a damaged heart that bothered him the rest of his life and from then on he would have bad spells.

According to his son, in those days the only way to treat it was complete bed rest, so sometimes he would be confined for months at a time. Despite his health, it didn't stop him from competing.

Narrating a story from his childhood, Stuckey Jr. said, "One day a patron of the livery stable left a yearling filly with the owner of the stable as part payment of his feed bill and the owner told my dad that if he could round up a few bucks then he could buy that filly and somehow my dad managed to raise the money."

Stuckey Sr. soon became the "proud owner" of this young mare.

"It so happened that there was a great horse roundup going on at that time in the Brooks and Red Deer river area where hundreds of horses were gathered up, one of the cowboys told my dad that he better mark his new horse with some paint or something so that she would not be rounded up with the wild horses," recalled Stuckey Jr. "So my dad got a hold of some green paint and he painted her, I think she lost a lot of hair before the paint was all gone, but he saved his horse."

According to Stuckey Jr., his dad, and his uncle, Wilf, started "breaking horses" for neighbours and some wild ones that they caught on the reserve when they moved back to Calgary. When Stuckey Sr. wasn't confined to bed you would find him out on a bronc and the wilder it was the better he liked it.

"Dad's favourite saddle horse was one he had to tie up a foot to get on," Stuckey Jr. said.

It was around this time that Stuckey Sr. started his rodeo career, riding saddle bronc, participating in wild horse racing and out riding behind the chuck wagons.

He competed in rodeo events across Canada and the US with wins including Morley, Benalto and Ponoka where he won the saddle bronc in 1938.

Recalling how he got into the jewellery trade, Stuckey Jr. said, "It so happened that Harry Jacques, a prominent jeweller in Calgary had a few horses that he wanted broke so he made a deal with my dad that he would help him get started in the watch making trade and my dad would break his horses for him, this is how he got into the business."

Stuckey Sr. worked for Birk's jewellers in Calgary and Lorne Askins in Red Deer, and rodeoed in between.

In 1944, when Stuckey Sr. heard of a jewellery store for rent in Stettler, he went to have a look at the store, liked the town and decided to move to Stettler.

Stuckey Sr. had an illustrious career rodeoing and winning saddle bronc events. He was nominated for president of the Cowboy's Protective Association (CPA) in 1945 but he declined due to his business obligations and poor health. He did take the honorary vice-president appointment under Mr. Ken Thompson who became the first president of the CPA.

Stuckey Sr. was also the president of the Stettler Stampede and president of the Central Alberta Stampede Managers' Association as well as vice-president of the Canadian Stampede Managers Association. He was also president of the Stettler board of Trade and active in the Rotary Club and Masons.

Stuckey Sr. played a vital role in organizing the rodeo held for Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip that was held in Calgary in Oct. 1951.

In 1948 the Stettler Board of Trade made a decision to sponsor a stampede with Stuckey Sr. as president of the rodeo committee.

According to Stuckey Jr., it was the feeling of the board of trade that the stampede would attract more people into the town and if then made money it would be spent on worthwhile projects in the community.

At the Hall of Fame induction, Bob Robinson, past president of Canadian Rodeo Cowboys' Association said, "I wanted the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame to know that Vic Stuckey was the real deal and was a true pioneer of rodeo as a bronc rider and certainly one of the greatest builders of our rodeos in Canada. His record speaks for itself."