Approximately 200 hundred horses, each weighing around 2,000lbs, participated in over 100 classes over the course of four days at this years Calgary Stampede Six Horse Hitch.

Brian Coleman, seven time Six Horse Hitch Champion, from Didsbury, took nine Percheron geldings to this year's competition to defend his title.

His efforts and months of hard training paid off as the Championship title went back to Didsbury with Coleman on Sunday, July 10, for the third consecutive year.

Although the nine Percheron's are owned by Kirk Messenger, of Cheyenne, Wyo., Coleman has been hard at work training the gentle giants from Labour Day to Labour Day with a mixture of strength training, cardio, and a specialty diet consisting of proteins, fats, and lower carbohydrates.

Coleman took his first Championship home in 1986 and has been competing for the past three decades.

Each of the horses on the team get trained according to their experience level with the young ones doing more strength training and the older, more experienced horses do more cardio training.

The Six Horse Hitch competition judges the heavy horses on their appearance, confirmation, and synchronicity as they match their steps in time with music played by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.