A national historic site’s newest team of draft horses boast names that are not only catchy, but have historical significance.
The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site revealed the winning names for five and eight-year-old black male purebred Percheron horses as Poca and Terra last week, ending Parks Canada’s four-month-long nation-wide contest.
Jim Barbaro entered the names in honour of ranching pioneer and legendary figure George Pocaterra, an Italian immigrant who fell in love with the Foothills and mountains of southern Alberta in the early 1900s.
“I knew of him through my dad and we hunted and fished in that country for 60 years,” said Barbaro, a retired Calgary firefighter who now lives in Sundre. “That’s the reason why I picked the name. He’s got a very interesting story and one of the best books put out there that tells about him is called The Diva and the Rancher. He led a very interesting life.”
Barbaro said his father was a pall bearer at Pocaterra’s funeral. He had died in Calgary in 1972 at the age of 89.
Pocaterra arrived in Canada in 1903 and worked as a ranch hand, trapper, hunter, explorer, coal prospector and operatic stage manager, established the Buffalo Head Ranch in the Highwood Valley north of the Bar U Ranch – one of the first dude ranches in Canada - in 1905 and married Calgary opera singer Norma Piper.
His impact on the region, including being one of the first Europeans to extensively explore the Kananaskis area through his friendship with the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, resulted in the naming of Pocaterra Creek, Pocaterra Ridge and Mount Pocaterra.
Barbaro learned about the Parks Canada contest through CTV Calgary and after some thought came up with Poca and Terra.
“It’s pretty exciting that they were named after him,” he said. “I was pretty honoured about that because over 1,000 applicants put names in.”
The Percheron horses, a breed that was crucial to the success of early farming and ranching in the region, were acquired from a local breeder last year.
Parks Canada launched the naming contest in December and Mike McLean, Bar U acting site manager, said they received more than 1,000 entries via mail, Facebook, Twitter and email.
“We thought there would be a lot of interest out there, but it was a bit surprising to see that many,” he said. “There were some wonderful names that came through. A lot of traditional-sounding team names, there were stories that these were my grandfather’s horses’ names or they were people associated with the Bar U.”
McLean said the Bar U staff shortlisted the submissions to about a dozen that met the criteria they were looking for – short names that the horses could differentiate from each other that represent ranching history - and drew the winner out of a Stetson.
“There was a lot of really thoughtful entries and a lot of people picked names that they thought would be sparkling, interesting and different,” he said.
“All the feedback we got, everyone seems to like the names Poca and Terra and it was really nice to honour a pioneer rancher from this area with the horses’ names.”
Poca and Terra will shuttle guests via a wagon from the visitor centre to the ranching grounds and back throughout the season once the historic site opens for visitors on May 16.
For his winning names, Barbaro was awarded a Parks Canada Family Discovery Pass, providing two years of unlimited opportunities to enjoy national parks, national marine conservation areas and national historic sites across Canada.
The Bar U Ranch is the only Parks Canada administered national historic site commemorating the importance of ranching history in Canada.
