Achy, breaky heart: Is the Calgary Stampede the ultimate relationship test?

A famed 10-day fete.

o'er unity jillion visitors from around the domain. 

Throw in alcohol and constant partying, and you might have the recipe for some relationship trouble.

At least that’s how the urban legend goes.

We asked three local family law firms and a divorce mediator.

Camille Boyer, a partner at Crossroads Law, said her family law firm sees a “spike” in calls and consultations in July, near the time of the festival. 

The only other time that typically beats the summer increase is January, post-Christmas, when couples may find themselves under extra pressure from the holiday season.

Last summer, Boyer said the firm saw an even higher spike than in January.

But whether that spike is correlated with the Calgary Stampede is where the urban legend lies, she said.

“I think the myth or the true urban legend is that a perfectly happy couple, one of them goes out for a night of stampeding and cheats and then the relationship’s over — I think that's the myth,” Boyer said.

“What we hear typically is ... A litany of complaints about the relationship or things have been bad for quite some time. And then the catalyst — it does happen — is that there was some infidelity or even just excess spending. We've heard that, too, at Stampede.”

Similarly, Linda Roberts, president and mediator at Calgary Divorce Solutions, says that while the Calgary Stampede is not the sole reason for relationships coming to an end, the event can act as a breakup catalyst.

“I think if our relationships are on the rocks already, it just is the icing on the cake when we come to a massive party like the Calgary Stampede,” she said. 

“And then it almost gives us a silent permission to just shut the boundaries down, I think, and just let it all loose.”

In her business, Roberts has noticed a 30-per-cent increase in inquiries from late August to September. While the festival takes place in July, she said couples commonly wait until after a holiday period to address issues.

These local law firms' anecdotal record-keeping mirrors that of companies across Canada, and a 2016 study from the University of Washington that found peak divorce times are in March and August.

But it's hard to confirm any of this, because Statistics Canada doesn't compile monthly data on divorce rates.

Erin Townley, partner at Richmond Tymchuk Family Law, said it is difficult to pinpoint a single "straw that breaks the camel's back" when it comes to divorce.

“In terms of actually, you know, the parties … proceeding with filing for a divorce, I don't think that there is the data to back that up,” she said.

“Just because there's an increase in consultations doesn't necessarily mean people follow through with choosing to pursue that separation and ultimately divorce.”

Townley also sees the post-holidays spike, but said even though there are typically more one-off consultations in January, the retention rate of people who actually choose to proceed with separation, and eventually divorce, is not usually as high as other points during the year.

Garrett Horvath, a senior family lawyer at Kahane Law Office, said he has received a number of Stampede-related calls in his career, many of them linked to cheating.

“We hear stories from clients who said, 'Yeah, we just … partied too hard and met other people and now I'm calling you.'”

Overspending is another point of contention for couples, he said.

And while he’s noticed calls to the law firm sometimes "double" the usual rates during and after Stampede, Horvath cautioned that not every call is necessarily linked to the festival.

“I think the rumour that people are getting divorced after Stampede has some merit. It's hard to get exact numbers on that, though."

And then, of course, Stampede is also a place to fall in love.

Stampede love story

Journalist

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