Horse gets some TLC before hitting Stampede track
16-year-old Nihilator a part of the Fikes’ family
It takes a full day of pampering and TLC to get an athlete ready for slightly more than a minute’s worth of work at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Nihilator, the 16-year-old right leader for Blackie chuckwagon driver Jordie Fike, got attention from sunup to sundown July 9 in preparation for the second heat of the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby.
Fike’s success is dependant on how he treats the-16-year-old Nihilator and the other horses.
Not only that, Nihilator is family.
“My grandfather (chuckwagon legend Ron David) bought him from Neal Walgenbach a few years now and they weren’t going to make a wagon horse out of him. So they took him down to Lethbridge to run him,” the 30-year-old Fike said. “Then I started driving wagons and he’s been on the lead ever since.
“He’s a good old veteran for me and very reliable.”
Nihilator ran on July 8 from the three barrel and after getting a good night’s rest, it was time to get ready for the next night’s race from the four barrel.
“The first thing I did was give him his morning oats – his breakfast – and then we just leave him alone, let them (the horses) chill for an hour,” Fike said at about 7:30 a.m. “Then in about an hour later we give him a walk.
“A little time to give him some fresh air and stretch out… I’ll watch him to see how he is doing, just like I do every horse.”
While Nihilator is out for his walk, the crew cleans out his stall.
He is returned to the stables and then gets his back ankles wrapped by Jordie’s wife, Tamara.
She wraps Nihilator with the enthusiasm she had when on the ice with the High River Figure Skating Club back in the day — with passion and a smile to go along with precision and care.
Nihilator has become Tamara’s favourite.
“We have had him since the very beginning,” Tamara said after wrapping Nihilator. “You mesh better with certain horses — just like people. He is just kind and gentle – not rammy.”
The wraps are put on to help prevent swelling from an old injury. Since the birth of Teal Fike about 14 months ago only the special horses get the Tamara Touch.
“Jordie does a lot of the wrapping now, but before I did a lot of the doctoring and maintenance, but now with Teal, he does a lot more of it,” Tamara said. “He will admit that I am better at it.”
The wrapping is done by about 9 a.m. After that it’s lights out, the stable doors are left slightly ajar and it’s quiet time for Nihilator and the Fikes’ other horses at the Stampede’s barns to give them some rest.
There is some slight noise. There is the whir of fans and a ‘mister’ gives off a cooling mist as the temperatures are expected to climb to 30 degrees.
“We have fans going 24-7 and mist is blown through the barn to keep it cool and moist,” Jordie said. “Before the race, we will wash him with cold water to keep his core temperature down a bit.”
There is also plenty of water, hay and food for Nihilator to nibble on throughout the day.
The old veteran was looking pretty good, according to barn hand, Shaz Simoneau, a Grade 12 student at Holy Trinity Academy.
“He is pretty special,” Simoneau said. “He is really sweet.”
The barns are relatively quiet as they rest up for the 73 seconds of work later that evening.
Nihilator is pretty much left alone until about 4:15 p.m. when he receives his cooling bath. At 5:30ish Nihilator, along with all the horses being used that night, are checked out by a veterinarian. He is given a clean-bill of health and goes back to the stalls to rest.
There is a quiet buzz as race-time approaches. Fike and his crew get the team of horses ready at around 8 p.m. They hook up Nihilator to the wagon with the care of Jordie putting Teal down for an afternoon nap.
Fike and the wagon team do a small warm-up before being called for Heat 2. They have the four barrel — three and four are Nihilator’s specialty.
Fike is able to negotiate his turns penalty free. Although they come in last, Jordie has a respectable time from the four barrel.
Nihilator has done another good night’s work.
“He did awesome — you can count on him every time,” Fike said. “No surprises with him. He’s very consistent.”
Nihilator has a year or two left in him on the chuckwagon circuit. After that it is a life of leisure at the Fikes’ Blackie-area spread.
