[img width=654]//7ca49eb9f67ba1319ef136f9d52cd8b8.cdn.bubble.io/f1722119709917x374780091700434500/richtext_content.jpeg[/img] Wayne Vold: stock contracting ex-cowboy with a musical sideline He's the Electric Horseman of the 21st Century. A Cadillac cowboy in shiny spurs and polished boots who'd rather carry a tune than saddle. He grimaces at the very thought of pounding a dusty trail. let alone a nail. You want a corral built? Don't ask Wayne Vold. "I couldn't pound a nail straight." Vold confesses. "I'm no handyman." Yet, when it comes to stocking a corral for a rodeo, Wayne Vold is no tenderfoot. Like his father Harry, the dean of stock contractors who is now working off a 20.000-acre spread in Fowler, Colo.. Wayne Vold, the big wheel behind Vold Rodeo Ltd.. is renowned for his knack in giving cowhands their money's worth in live mounts. "I guess I'd have to consider myself a pretty fortunate guy," says the meticulous 38-year-old who assumed the chores as head of the family operation out of DeWinton 1965 after his father succumbed to the greener pastures of the States. "I don't know what, I'd be doing right now if I hadn't become a stock driver. I couldn't be a truck driver I wouldn't be an accountant. He's not your stereotype cowboy: he's no teetotaller but still a far cry from the sloppily-dressed, foulmouthed, whisky-guzzling dude. "Wayne has an air about him," relates the vociferous Harry Vold. "He's always done everything first class, always drove a Cadillac. always stayed in the best hotels. He's always been very particular about the way he looked, always the finest boots. the finest spurs. I could improve him if I got at his hair, but I guess the women like it long.” An astute rodeo contractor retired from competition. Vold, is extraordinary in his field. When the dust clears in the infield, he makes a mad dash to a smoke-filled nightclub where, as a country and western singer, he often entertains the same rodeo crowd. All aspects Consider a day in the life of Wayne Vold on the rodeo beat: he often handles all aspects of the production, directing traffic in the front office as well as in the infield where he's a world-famed pickup man; for most, the day is over with the final event, but not for Vold as he slaps the dust out of his chaps and dons the fancy duds for a night-club gig. "I can make a good livin' off rodeo and the music's a nice sideline it's a good combination because the two complement each other well. All the breaks I've gotten in music can be attributed to rodeo." In sizing up his elder son. Harry Vold hit the nail on the head: big thing with Wayne is that he could be just about anything he wanted to be." Indeed, the 24-hour day is far too short for the multi-titled Vold - father, cowboy, boss, contractor, promoter, producer, pickup man. scout, entertainer, vocalist, song writer. Wayne Vold, the divorced father. has two sons, both teenagers already dabbling in rodeo, and a daughter. Which leads to the obvious question from the title of the country and western hit song sung by Vold's favorite artist. Eddie Bruce: Mamma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys (younger brother Doug, a carefree 26-year-old with a contrasting personality, is a hard-nosed cowboy whose life, in his own words, revolves around "good broncs, good whisky and pretty women.") "If the boys choose rodeo, I'd like to see them get into the contracting end unless the money gets a lot better. But, first, I'd like to see them go to college. It's not so hard to make it when you're 18 or 19 but you'd better have something on the side by the time you hit 34 or 35.” Professional peak Wayne Vold, the cowboy, broke in as a competitor in 1958 when, at age 16, he won the boys' steer riding at the Calgary Stampede. The pinnacle of his career was in the mid-sixties when he won back-to-back Canadian Rodeo Cowboys Association (CRCA) professional saddle bronc titles (1965, 1966.) In 1968. He retired only to make two comebacks to the active scene. He singles out his untimely comeback to the Calgary Stampede in 1976 as the highlight of his career. He claims he's taken his last stand on an unruly wild bronc. largely due to a conflict of interest (his company hires the judges for most of Canada's major rodeos.) And, he adds, grinning, that barebacks and bulls are out of his league. His father says that Wayne had more natural ability with a bronc than anyone he'd ever seen: "He could make the horse work for him. "I'll never forget the second time I came out of retirement. It was on a lark. My brother (Doug) entered me in the Calgary Stampede as a joke. At first I wanted to kill him but then. since I still had all my equipment. I went into it. I drew the right horses and ended up finishing runner-up. I won $2.800. You ride them once and you never forget. It's like riding a bicycle. I could still come back now because I'm in good shape but I've got too many things to do and there's no money in it now. I don't weigh 10 pounds more now than I did when I was competing. "I've never been on a bull. I like to watch them and I respect the guys that ride them, but no thanks. Barebacks? Well, I rode two of them once, and they scared me to death." Wayne Vold, the boss, has three fulltime sidekicks - stock foreman Frank Hinds, secretary Kathi Parsons. and saddle horseman Art Stevens as well as a large posse of stringers. "It's very demanding, and there's a lot of pressure when you're responsible for 80 or 90 people. Organization is the whole damn thing. and the key is in the people you having working for you. You have the right people and you can put on any rodeo. Wayne Vold, the stock contractor. has met the challenge of dealing with various committees in staging about 20 rodeos per year. "You have a lot of different personalities to deal with and you learn that you have to handle each one of them differently. The rodeo committees really keep you on your toes... it's important to take good care of the stock. We feed them good and haul them in the best trucks, just like they do with running horses. Wayne Vold. the promoter, says the time is ripe for rodeo to mushroom and the key to success, from his standpoint. would be a prosperous circuit in Eastern Canada. "This is the time to do it because everybody's wearing cowboy hats and boots these days, even in New York. We have to explore Eastern Canada some more. I think it would cook, having five good rodeos in the East, but we have to find somebody out there willing to put up the bucks. "If the sport going to get bigger, that means more money. What the sport needs now is TV and more sponsorship big sponsors. We can't charge any more ore because we hang our shingle on family entertainment." Superstars needed Wayne Vold, the producer. says rodeo needs superstars and he's not just speaking of the cowboy. He is also alluding to the four-legged stars. bulls and broncs. (And, by the way, the movie. The Electric Horseman, which depicts man and beast in a star-studded rodeo limelight, is one of Vold's favorites.) "We need to make a few heroes -guys that can ride, rope and build 'em up big, like other sports have done, like hockey and baseball. They have to be colorful guys. We must create stars in cowboys as well as in the stock. "In producing a rodeo, the opening is important. It's got to be colorful and you've got to have three four good-looking girls in there. And you need a big star (entertainer) to hang your hat on, guys like Johnny Cash. Trouble is, they want $50,000 a crack. Even Elvis Presley has performed at rodeo. Wayne Vold, the pickup man. accentuates the importance of anticipation in directing traffic during a rodeo. He has twice been named the top pickup man at the prestigious National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. "First, you've got to save the cowboy, then protect the livestock. I've seen some good ones, and I've seen some bad ones.” Wayne Vold, the scout, says there's a trick to tracking down mean stock at sales. The pride of Void Rodeos Ltd. is a horse named Velvet River, a two-way horse (bareback and bronc) which he purchased at a sale in Kamloops with his Uncle Ralph for $12,500. Hard to come by A valuable bucking horse is bard to come by. You've got to buck 'em and if they buck twice and quit. they're no good for anyone. They've got to show they can buck 15 or 20 times. Velvet River is 13, that's about prime age for a horse - they can be 25 years old and still going strong. It's different with bulls. They're old at 10." Wayne Vold, the entertainer, has become leery about entertainment since making his debut "singing for money" seven years ago at the Crossroads Inn. He was the first to perform at the Ranchman's Dining Lounge, where he has made frequent appearances. He's also a familiar face as a performer and as a shareholder at The Creamery nightclub in Okotoks. "I started playing at weddings and funerals, and then then the owner of the Ranchman's asked me to play at his club when it opened. He told me he wouldn't be able to pay me any thing from the start, but before long we had 'em crammed and jammed in there. "I'm still not that well-known, but I'm starting to do a lot more rodeos and some in the States. You have to play for the guys and the ladies. You have to sing to everybody Every crowd is different. It's easy rodeos because you've got a natural. captivated audience. When they've seen you out working in the infield, it helps build up the momentum." Decade-long campaign to cost $155 million Wayne Vold, the vocalist, has cut two albums Country Dreams, and Wayne Vold At The Creamery. He also dabbles in rhythm guitar and has Chuck McEwan playing lead guitar. His other backup musicians are free-lancers. "I'd like a couple of hit records. one of these days, but I don't want to pound that trail. I don't want to go down a road on a bus doing 80 one-nighters. Just a few gigs, here and there, at rodeos mainly. I don't have time to beat it down the road. It works out good because I can peddle my records at rodeos." Wayne Vold, the song writer, also has his mind set at recording some of his own writing. "I can write songs if I put my mind to it. I try not to get too hokey with my writing, try to stay away from the drugstore cowboy stuff. When things slow down. I'll do some more writing." Naturally, Vold's welfare as a stock contractor hinges heavily on his relationship with the CRCA. So. for obvious reasons, he prefers not to comment on the cold war between the CRCA and the Stampede Board. For instance, being one of the contractors for last month's Rodeo Royal in Calgary leaves Vold in a precarious predicament: "It burns me up, but if I said anything. I'd end up hanging from a tall tree." The question arises: in light Vold's massive involvement as an industrious character torn between saddles and microphones, how has he steered clear of an ulcer? Reclusive lifestyle He slips into a reclusive lifestyle on the family's half-section ranch. near DeWinton ('I'm sure glad my father bought that land 25 years ago because I'd hate to pay for it now.") And when the rodeo season eases up in autumn, he goes big-game hunting (his hobby is collecting trophy heads.) When winter hits, he'll shed his boots on the sandy shores of Hawaii. "I just don't like pounding that trail so, if I'm really successful. I'd like to buy a plane some day so I can fly everywhere. And, I'd hire someone to fly it. "After 10 or 15 consecutive rodeos, you get burnt out. You don't want to look at another horse. I like to go home to my log cabin and regenerate. I'll unplug my phone - otherwise, it rings about 20 times a day." "I know when I've had enough." says the 21st Century cowboy, sipping coffee in a Calgary cocktail lounge. "I've got a good turnoff valve, and I know when to shut it off."
