Rick Fraser (chuckwagon racer)


Rick Fraser is a Canadian professional chuckwagon racer. He is a two-time World Champion Chuckwagon Driver, a six-time Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion Outrider, and has won 20 show titles in 21 years of competing on the WPCA Pro Tour.

Career

Fraser grew up in Grande Prairie, Alberta, the son of Joan and step-son to former World and Calgary Stampede Champion Chuckwagon Driver Dave Lewis. He started his chuckwagon racing career as an outrider when he was 16 in 1976, and began driving when he was 22 in 1982 on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association circuit. Driving his step-father's outfit, Rick became the first rookie to win a show on the WPCA Pro Tour when he captured the Strathmore Heritage Days in 1982. He was also named the WPCA Top Rookie Driver in 1982. He won his first Calgary Stampede trophy that same year as an outrider for his step-father Dave Lewis. The following year in 1983, Rick won two more show championships at the Grande Prairie Stompede and captured his first major chuckwagon show a few weeks later at the Ponoka Stampede.
Over the next 14 years, Rick only drove parts of two seasons, but continued to compete part-time as an outrider. In that time, Rick won three Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby championships as an outrider for his uncle Dallas Dorchester in 1984, and twice more for his step-father Dave Lewis in 1988 and 1990. He would win the Calgary Stampede twice more in 1998 and 1999 as an outrider for Kelly Sutherland.
Rick returned to driving in 1998 on the WPCA Pro Tour, and qualified for his first Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby as a driver in 1999 where he won the Orville Strandquist Award for top rookie driver. He won his first show championship since returning to the driver's seat in 2002 at the Grande Prairie Stompede, and would be a regular winner ever since, capturing an additional 16 titles through the 2014 season. In 2005 Rick received the Calgary Stampede's prestigious Guy Weadick Award which is presented annually to the one chuckwagon or rodeo competitor who best embodies what the cowboy stands for, and who best typifies the spirit of the Calgary Stampede. It is based upon ability, appearance, showmanship, character, sportsmanship and cooperation with other cowboys, the arena crew, the media and the public. Rick won his first World Chuckwagon Championship in 2004 and his second in 2013, and his horses have collected an impressive 8 Calgary Stampede and WPCA Equine Outfit of Excellence awards. Rick retired at the end of the 2018 Calgary Stampede

Professional Wins

Rick is a third generation chuckwagon driver whose grandfather Tom Dorchester was a former World and Calgary Stampede champion. His stepfather Dave Lewis, and uncles Dallas Dorchester and Garry Dorchester were also former World and Calgary Stampede champions. Rick and his wife Sue have three children - Amy, Kaylee and Cody - and one grandchild. His son Cody is beginning his career as a chuckwagon driver.