-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Ted Janssen is a charter member of the Top Rail Saddle Club, which has been based in Lake City since 1959-60 and hosts the annual Western Days rodeo.

LAKE CITY — When the competitors and rodeo stock charge out of the chutes during Western Days 2024 in Lake City, the equipment will be better than ever, thanks to some behind-the-scenes improvements at the Top Rail Saddle Club’s arena.

“Some of the old equipment had outlasted its usefulness,” said Ted Janssen, a long-time member of the Top Rail Saddle Club. “We’re adding to our bucking chute and the sorting/holding pens behind the chute.”

Not only was the previous equipment wearing out, but it was also becoming too small to comfortably accommodate the larger animals that are part of the Wright Rodeo Co., the rodeo stock contractor from Lucas, Iowa, that’s a key part of the Top Rail Saddle Club’s annual rodeo.

The upgraded infrastructure at the rodeo grounds in Lake City includes new steel components, as well as sturdy gates and other existing equipment that could be salvaged. The Wiederin family of Lake City has taken the lead on welding and installing the upgraded infrastructure.

“We’ve been thinking about making these improvements for a few years,” said Janssen, who noted that the Top Rail Saddle Club received a $10,000 matching grant earlier this year from the Calhoun County Community Foundation. “We’re grateful for this money to help make this happen.”

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Long-time Lake City resident Kay (Spencer) Streeter was chosen as Top Rail Saddle Club's first rodeo queen in 1960. She displays some of the memorabilia from that honor. She will serve as the grand marshal of the Western Days parade in Lake City on June 29.

The rodeo will be held this year at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, and 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 30. In addition, the Top Rail Saddle Club will celebrate 65 years of rodeo history in Lake City.

“The rodeo offers a way to bring families together and help more people appreciate horses and livestock,” said Janssen, a local farmer.

Remember

the early years

Lake City’s Western Days tradition and the rodeo started decades ago when some locals started talking about forming a saddle club. They hosted a meeting at the Community Memorial Building in Lake City in 1959. A good-sized group (52 people) attended the meeting.

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby The rodeo in Lake City will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday. In addition, the Top Rail Saddle Club will celebrate 65 years of rodeo history in Lake City.

After plenty of discussion, the group elected Don Green, president; Eldon Hildreth, vice president; and Marj Richardson, secretary/treasurer. Meeting attendees also decided the new club needed a name. A club appointed a committee (including Jim True and Lloyd Hinners) to propose some potential options by the next meeting. Bill Winkelman of Lohrville suggested that the club name not be restricted to Lake City and include the wider area, but still honor the town and community.

Memberships were voted on and set at $1 for adults; children 12-16, 50 cents; children under 12, 25 cents; and family, $3.

“I was a charter member,” said Janssen, who was about 6 years old at the time and had a pony.

When the new club met again on Feb. 17, 1960, 76 people attended.

Names submitted for the new club included Top Rail, Friendship, Ramblers, and Flying Triangle. The name “Top Rail” was approved. By the April 1960 meeting, the Top Rail Saddle Club approved a club flag of white, with green letters.

The club’s first trail ride took place on May 1, 1960, with John Schaffer of Lake City as trail leader. “We had 48 horses and a really nice ride,” noted the Top Rail Saddle Club’s history book. “Many found that they were not in shape, along with their horses.”

Streeter served as first

rodeo queen in 1960

It wasn’t long before the Top Rail Saddle Club began adding new activities. At the June 15, 1960, meeting, Kay Spencer (now Kay Streeter) was chosen as the group’s first queen. The saddle club hosted their first fun day on July 10, 1960, with 36 horses in the grand entry.

“They selected the queen from the competitors in the pleasure class,” said Streeter, a long-time Lake City resident and 1961 Lake City High School graduate.

Streeter, who grew up attending rodeos in Sidney, Iowa, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, with her family, will serve as the grand marshal of the 2024 Western Days parade in Lake City on June 29 and will also be honored at the Top Rail Saddle Club’s rodeo that evening.

“I remember the first rodeo the saddle club held,” said Streeter, who has served as the secretary/receptionist at Opportunity Living in Lake City for 35 years. “It had rained, and the rodeo grounds were mud.”

That didn’t dampen people’s enthusiasm, though. Streeter, a barrel racer, fondly remembers her sorrel horse, Trader, as well as the trail rides that were part of the Top Rail Saddle Club back then.

As the local rodeo queen, Streeter earned the opportunity to compete at the state level.

She’s glad that Top Rail Saddle Club members continue to host a rodeo in Lake City. “This is a special tradition for the community.”

With approximately 50 members, the Top Rail Saddle Club continues to appeal to people of all ages, including younger families, throughout the area. The rodeo attracts approximately 1,500 to 2,500 spectators each summer from Iowa and beyond, Janssen said.

“We’ve been at this a long time, but we work hard to keep things fresh and interesting,” he said. “People still like the rodeo, because it’s exciting.”