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12 stouffville suntribune saturday may 19 2007 juno winner excited to be headlining stampede twotime juno award winner george canyon will be right at home at the markham stampede i jumped at it im really looking forward to it we live on a ranch and have horses i am a team roper he said team roping is a rodeo event in which you tie the head and heels and contain the ani mal without hurting it he said markham is mr canyons only stop in ontario the morning after he performs he is flying to vancouver for another show but he decided he wanted to be involved in the stampede after he saw the enthusiasm of the organizing committee whenever i see that kind of excitement im honoured and humbled there was a real sincere level of excitement over the event that tells me a lot he said mr canyon will play his classics as well as a few tunes from his second cd somebody wrote love and favourites by johnny cash and willy nelson that he is about to record for a tribute album in march mr canyon won his second consecutive country recording of the year juno award for somebody wrote love he also won male artist of the year and single of the year at the 2006 canadian country music awards mr canyon will kick off the great markham stampede with a concert at 7 pm on friday may 25 at the markham fair ground joining him will be beverley mahood and wendell ferguson who has backed up artists such as george fox shania twain tommy hunter and the dixie chicks as a child beverley mahood was teased for her strong irish accent but today she rec ognizes how her background contributed to her love of music ms mahood remembers standing on her parents coffee table singing i loved that feeling she said eventually ms mahood recognized coun try music was right for her they are songs that have a story and songs of the heart ms mahood 32 said ms mahood was born in northern ire land but she and her family moved from belfast to canada when she was about six and after that lived in towns across ontario im a bit of a gypsy she said im from every hometown i dont think i spent two christmases in the same place she remembers feeling like she would never fit in because of her accent one of her teachers even sent her to speech therapy because of it but later ms mahood realized differ ences are good in the music business her first radio release girl out of the ordinary sprung from always being the new girl in school ms mahood spent a year hosting breakfast television in vancouver in fall 2005 she started hosting cmt central on country music central at the upcoming concert the audi ence can expect her to perform hits such as i want a man as well as new tunes and cover songs people have grown up with i hope everyone comes away having a good time that is the most important thing she said for more on the markham stampede go towwwthemarkhamstampedecom for more information on mr ferguson go to wwwwendellfergusoncom for mote on beverley mahood go to wwwbeverleymahoodcom for more in george canyon go to wwwgeorgecanyoncom group aims to bring asian community to weekend event you dont normally associate rodeo with chinese canadian culture but mirni chau is trying to change that thats why her organization the se as centre support enhance access service centre formerly the south east asian ser vices centre is running an event at the markham stam pede to be held may 25 to 26 at the markham fair grounds the centre is holding a mahjong tournament for 128 participants at the stampede on may 26 mahjong is a chinese game for four people played with 136 or 144 pieces called tiles i want to contribute more and get more of the chinese community to participate in mainstream activities ms chau said many asian people we have never seen a rodeo only on television most chinese canadians are shy this is a westernstyle event she said the centre has also lined up 100 profes sional line dancing instructors to offer free lessons after the mahjong tournament it will be a really big thing exciting ms chau said the markham stampede begins with juno awardwinning country singer george canyon whowill perform friday may 25 at 7 pm joining mr canyon will be canadian country star beverley mahood cohost of country music television canadas cmt central joining them on stage is wendell ferguson a- seventime canadian country guitarist of the year winner on the saturday the markham stampede will fea ture events ranging from the wild west rodeo show the amazing superdogs suzuki freestyle demonstrations team markham board of trade trade show north ameri can cavalry challenge governor generals horse guards and band petting zoo fit forklift rodeo all day concerts and more to find out more information about the markham stampede check wwwmarkham- boardcom or email infothemarkham- stampedecom for more information on the se as centre go to wwwseascentreorg superdogs get down dirty get ready to see dogs barrel racing per forming in agility relays jumping and speed racing the amazing superdogs are coming to the markham stampede may 26 at 9 am being part of the stampede has its advan tages for the dogs according to herb williams founder of the show when the dogs perform indoors at theatres they usually do their tricks on carpet performing in the dirt gives they will be a lot more athletic the superdogs will perform relays in which the compete on agility equipment the speed will be phenomenal mr williams said three teams of five dogs per team will com pete in the superdogs show two high perform ing jumping dogs will perform the superdogs team includes pot roast a bulldog hamlet a boston terrier and cutter an irish setter the show appeals to all ages mr williams said that is part of the magic of the show in a performance at the bell centre in montreal he heard a boy tell his grandfather gee grandpa i didnt know you could be so much fun at the shows enthusi asm is contagious mr williams said you cannot sit and let kids cheer for the dogs and not do it yourself the superdogs are honorary mem bers of many humane societies across the country he added we get gold stars from humane societies everywhere we go mr williams said for more information on the superdogs go to wwwsuperdogscom for more on the markham stampede go to wwwthemarkhamstampedecom history cavalry come together during markham stampede the 2007 north american cavalry chal lenge is an international military equestrian competition a mix of cavalry mounted law enforcement and historical reenactment groups from around north america ted dentay oversees this event coming to york region this month as part of the markham stampede this is a huge bunch of fun said mr dentay a rider who has been part of the horseguard cavalry squadron since 1986 developing an impressive and safe display of military horsemastership has been a chal lenge mr dentay is an armourer weapons spe cialist special effects technician and head of the canadian military brigade group a her itage organization that aims to preserve and perpetuate the skills and history of the caval ry- creating the competition was a challenge in itself he said specially developed blank rounds require the same safety consciousness as of live rounds simulating battlefield hazards such as smoke fire and explosions take a lot of forethought particularly since modern horses havent been trained to withstand these assaults on their senses mr dentay said the competition is about horsemaster ship and presentation mr dentay said one challenge is for the horse and rider to work as partners to be the mirror image of one another another challenge includes military field jumping in the competition a fake fire sim ulates a bombed out farmhouse in a battle field it is terribly scary horses dont like that and neither do most riders but it is absolutely harmless mr dentay said elastic bands and pieces of aluminum foil can simulate barbed wire the worst case scenario is an elas tic band will break he said it will be held at the markham fairgrounds mccowan and elgin mills roads may 23 to 26 net pro ceeds will be donated to canadas last two cavalry units cavalry squadron and cal garys mounted troop for more information on the the north american cavalry challenge go to wwwthemarkhamstampedecom