YORKTON - Among professional chuckwagon drivers Amber L’Heureux is unique as the lone female driver.
“There are quite a few (women) racing pony chariots and chuckwagons,” she noted, adding that is how she started out.
L’Heureux’s father drove pony chuckwagons for years, her mother taking up the reins on a chariot.
“From three months old I was on the road with my parents,” said the Glasyn, Sask. Driver.
Naturally L’Heureux started driving as soon as she hit her teens, and she liked it.
In fact, she liked it so much she was dreaming of bigger things.
That bigger thing was to sit in the seat of the big wagons behind four hard charging thoroughbreds as a professional chuckwagon driver.
In 2019, she made the dream a reality.
“My first official race was in 2019 in North Battleford,” said L’Heureux.
While admitting she is generally pretty dialed in before a race, unaware of much around her as she focuses on the upcoming drive, it was different that day.
“I rolled out on the track and heard the crowd,” she said, adding North Battleford is close to home for her, so there was lots of support. “It was a pretty cool experience to say the least.”
Of course it had been her dream since she took up the reins too.
“I just wanted to do it,” she said, adding though it was not about being a female driver for her, but just a driver.
However, being the lone woman driver in the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association did create buzz, and opened doors in terms of sponsorship.
“We just rolled with it,” said L’Heureux.
Looking back, L’Heureux said time behind the ponies at least gave her a foundation for the big step noting the big difference is the size and the strength of the horses involved.
Interestingly, in some aspects though the ponies hold an edge too.
“The barrelling is a bit slower,” she said of the big wagons, because there is more wagon and bigger horses to cut the figure eight.
While maybe slower around barrels it’s the thoroughbred horses that make the sport of pro chuckwagon.
L’Heureux said drivers can literally find wagon horses all over Canada and the U.S., horses not quite good enough to race with a jockey on their back, but still with an inherent will to run so they can adapt to being part of a race team.
“I brought in one last spring from Arizona,” she said, as an example of finding good horses all over the place.
The main thing is finding a horse that has spirit.
“They want to run,” she said, adding most thrive on the competition.
Of course it’s more than brawn and power and speed too.
“They have to have a great mind for it,” said L’Heureux.
So does L’Heureux see herself as a role model for future female drivers?
Well she said she certainly hopes more women will drive “for the sake of the sport.”
But, it’s not an easy sport either.
“It’s very physically demanding,” she said, adding it takes strength “to handle the horses,” and that is a consideration for female drivers.
“It’s a lot to put on your body.”
In her case running the farm – she has 21 horses in training for the 2024 race season – helps L’Heureux stay in shape.
And again she noted she’s been preparing to drive the big wagons since she was 13 too.
Even then breaking into the sport was not easy.
“It was a little bit of a struggle because no one had done it before,” said L’Heureux. “There was a bit of worry out of the gate.”
But that’s all behind her. Now L’Heureux is focused on a new dream.
“My goal is to get to the Calgary Stampede,” she said.
To race at the Stampede drivers must be invited, and L’Heureux said she wants that invite one day because she deserves to race there – not because she is a woman driver.
“I want to be there and be competitive,” she said.
For now though L’Heureux is focused on the nine-race CPCA season – the first race is set for Poundmaker, Sask. June 6-9. (Locally they run in Kelvington Aug. 2-4.)
It will be an intense season for L’Heureux, who in November was diagnosed with MS – which means it’s unclear at present how many years she may still have on the track.
“I don’t know what time might be left,” she said, adding that does put some added urgency on the season and on achieving her ultimate goal to race the Stampede.
