The Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), a Canadian military regiment, is participating in Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge, Alberta, performing their Musical Ride horse show for the first time in years. The regiment, which was formed in 1900 to support efforts in the Boer War, has a rich history that dates back to World War I and includes modern conflicts in Afghanistan. According to Master Corporal Brennan Maddison, the troop's presence at Whoop-Up Days is an opportunity to connect with local communities and share their heritage. The event will continue until Saturday, allowing more visitors to see the regiment's historic horse show.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) regiment, a Canadian military unit, has made an appearance at Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge. The regiment was formed in 1900 by Donald Smith, who funded the unit to support efforts in the Boer War in South Africa. The unit originally consisted of police officers, cowboys, and frontiersmen with horse training skills, but now focuses on maintaining a presence with horses while also participating in modern conflicts like Afghanistan. The regiment's history dates back to the First World War, where they played a significant role in one of the last great cavalry charges. The Strathcona Mounted Troop has been bringing this heritage to families across Canada and the Commonwealth since the 1970s, including serving as the official color guard for Spruce Meadows.
Written for “Canadian Military History” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
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answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1533 · logged 2026-08-21
In 1900, Donald Smith personally funded a new Canadian military regiment to support efforts in the Boer War in South Africa.
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Smith → fund → Africa
Located in Western Canada, Smith recruited police officers, cowboys and other frontiersmen who all had one thing in common: horse training.
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who → locate → thing
The Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) was formed as a cavalry unit and has remained an integral part of the Canadian Armed Forces ever since.
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Horse → form → Forces
While the unit no longer trains troopers on horseback, it maintains a presence with horses to ensure its heritage is never forgotten.
“Just like most of history, if you don’t talk about it, it’s lost,” said Master Corporal Brennan Maddison of the LDSH(RC).
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Maddison → train → LDSH(RC
From the last great cavalry charge that helped swing the First World War in 1918 to modern conflicts in Afghanistan, the regiment’s history is deep.
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history → swing → Afghanistan
The Strathcona Mounted Troop has, since the 1970’s, brought that heritage to families across Canada and the Commonwealth.
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Troop → bring → Canada
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“We were reinstated as the Strathcona Mounted Troop official in 1974 and then became the official colour guard for Spruce Meadows in 1975 when they opened and then we’ve been doing this ever since.
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we → get → this
The Musical Ride came to Lethbridge this week during Whoop-Up Days, the first visit from the unit in years.
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Ride → come → years
“We try to get ourselves into actual rodeo events.
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We → try → events
The reason for it is it’s more local, more our bread and butter and really taps into the roots of the people that originally came with the Strathcona’s,” said Maddison.
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Maddison → ’ → Strathcona
For Whoop-Up Days organizers, it was a no-brainer to bring them back.
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it → bring → them
“They said they hadn’t been to Lethbridge in a long time and would like to come back and that Whoop-Up Days would be the perfect opportunity to get in front of crowds.
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Days → say → crowds
We were like, this is a perfect fit for us, too,” said Paul Kingsmith, director of event development at Excite Lethbridge.
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Kingsmith → say → Lethbridge
Members of the mounted troop are active duty soldiers trained at the modern armoured regiment, but even for those who’ve never been on a horse before, the historic troop has its calling.
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troop → train → calling
“I joined because I wanted to give back to my community,” said Corporal Andy Vu.
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Vu → join → community
“It’s nice being able to come here, put on a show for the local population and seeing the kids smile, the parents coming up asking questions, kids coming up to us, it’s an amazing time.
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it → ’ → us
Whoop-Up Days continues until Saturday.
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Days → continue → Saturday
