Calgary Balloon Club

Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival balloon #5! Walt and Linda Then! They've both been part of the club for a very long time and have helped share the wonderful world of ballooning with many people!

Meet Competitor #05: Walt Then and Big Toy II! 🎈

Walt has been involved in ballooning since 1980 and earned his pilot licence in 1982. Ballooning soon became a family affair, with his wife Linda joining the crew and later becoming a pilot herself.
After flying their original Big Toy for 30 years, Walt and Linda moved on to Big Toy II, which has been joining us in High River since 2017.

Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival pilot #4 is 2026 Calgary Balloon Club President Karl Schultz with Over the Rainbow Hot Air Balloon Team!

Meet Competitor #04: Karl Schultz and Over The Rainbow! 🎈

Karl has been an aviator since his teens, beginning with gliders and airplanes before eventually adding hot air balloons to the list. His love of flying has taken him through several different kinds of aviation, but these days you’ll also find him enjoying the view from a balloon basket.

This year marks Karl’s first time joining us as a Festival pilot, and we’re delighted to have another Alberta pilot taking part in the competition.

We’re looking forward to welcoming Karl, Heather and Over The Rainbow to High River!

Thank you to Foothills Signs for sponsoring Karl and Over The Rainbow

The second half of the Cathy, Dale dynamic duo.

Meet Competitor : Dale Lang and Zepplin! 🎈

Dale and Competitor , Cathy Dudgeon, are teaming up this year! They’ve flown together before and discovered they make a pretty good team, so they’re sharing the basket again in High River. They’ll fly Zepplin for the competition flights, while Cathy’s Maryann’s Treat will join the fun at Friday night’s Balloon Glow.

Dale began flying balloons in 1974 and became the first Canadian Hot Air Balloon Champion in 1979. A year later, he made history by flying the first hot air balloon over the North Pole.

More than 50 years of ballooning have given Dale enough adventures, and misadventures, to fill a book. In fact, he did! His book, "On Eagle’s Wings: The North Pole and Fifty Years of Other Ballooning Misadventures," tells some of those stories.

Thank you to Hitchin’ Post for sponsoring Dale and Zepplin.

Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival pilots 3A and 3B are club members Cathy Dudgeon and Dale Lang! They have flown together at past events and make a great team!!

Cathy Dudgeon & Maryann’s Treat

Meet Competitor : Cathy Dudgeon and Maryann’s Treat! 🎈

Cathy and Competitor , Dale Lang, are teaming up this year! They’ve flown together before and discovered they make a pretty good team, so they’re sharing the basket again in High River. They’ll fly Dale’s Zepplin for the competition flights, while Cathy’s Maryann’s Treat will join the fun at Friday night’s Balloon Glow.

Cathy first fell in love with ballooning in the 1980s. When the Festival came to High River in 2013, she volunteered to crew and quickly discovered that the ballooning bug hadn’t gone anywhere. She earned her pilot licence in 2021.

Maryann’s Treat is named in honour of Cathy’s mother, whose gift helped make a long-held dream of flying a balloon possible.

Thank you to Sobeys for sponsoring Cathy and Maryann’s Treat.

HIIBF pilot #2, Calgary Balloon Club Vice President and High River resident, Jenn Podruski!!

Meet Competitor #02: Jennifer Podruski and Louie! 🎈

Jenn first discovered ballooning as a crew member in 2014, and one flight was all it took to get her hooked. She earned her pilot licence in 2017 and bought Louie later that year.

Watch for Jenn and Louie in the skies over High River this September!

Thank you to Vanee for sponsoring Jenn and Louie.

The Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival is right around the corner! This weekend they have started announcing the pilots and balloons, starting with Calgary Balloon Club member Dale Ritchie!

🎈 Meet the Teams of the 2026 Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival!

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll introduce you to the pilots and balloons coming to High River from near and far. Watch for the competitor numbers as we work our way through the 2026 field!

First up, meet Competitor #01: Dale Ritchie and Emily!

Dale has been flying balloons since 1977 and turned that passion into a 46-year commercial flying career. With more than 4,700 hours in the air, he has flown around the world and is a five-time Canadian Hot Air Balloon Champion.

Emily made her inaugural flight in Japan in 2006 and has become a familiar sight in the skies over High River.

Thank you to Abacus & Field for sponsoring Dale and Emily.

Some more information on our upcoming glow at the Calgary Farmyard!

We are super excited to bring the balloons out to show everyone :)

Oh, gosh…I’ve got some really sad news. Bridget Cameron has passed away, very suddenly. Members from the 80’s will remember Peter and Bridget as they were strong and loyal balloon club members until they moved back to New Zealand in the late 80’s. Peter was a club pilot and club treasurer for a few years.
Bridget and Peter vacationed in Canada a couple of times and many will remember in 2011 when Bridget and CJ attended the Stampede BBQ at the Clark’s. And on another trip to Canada, Walt was able to take Bridget up at the High River Festival on her birthday, September 28, 2018.

Bridget and Peter had 1 daughter and three sons. Many will also remember daughter Christina (CJ) when she moved back to Canada for a few years and came out to many of our activities.
Some of you have Bridget as a friend on Facebook and know that she and Peter raised Morgan’s on their ranch, Tui Morgan and brought the first Morgan’s ever to New Zealand when they moved back.
Bridget and I spent a lot of time together when they lived in Canada. Our children were friends for many years.
I will miss my friend and my deepest, deepest condolences to Peter and the family.

-Linda

Its official! Join us next month at the Calgary Farmyard for Harvest Lights Balloon glow. Check back here and with Calgary Farmyard as we get closer for all the details.

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