The end of the Second World War resulted in an economic boom in Midwest rural communities. Farmers came to town to shop and visit. New service clubs emerged, local baseball teams drew large crowds and saddle clubs were formed. Eagle Grove, Iowa was not the exception. For the men and women returning from military service, it was time to get on with life. And, some would say the greatest part of life is having family, friends and horses. The impetus for establishing saddle clubs was the desire to combine fellowship with their interest in horseback riding.
This history of the Eagle Grove Saddle Club (EGSC) covers only the first twenty years, 1952 to 1972, of its existence, starting in February 1952 with an organizational meeting at the Sale Pavilion. Twenty families took out memberships. By fall the Club would have 80 members. Harold Kessel was elected president. The first trail ride for the newly organized saddle club was on a Sunday afternoon in May, starting at the Sale Barn and then heading west to the Boone River. The trail rides were family affairs with mom, dad, and the kids all mounted, enjoying an outdoor adventure. Trail rides were usually scheduled for Sunday afternoons, so everyone could attend church in the morning. On the second trail ride of the summer, members met at Greenwood Park, had a picnic and then rode south to Troy Township. Forty-three riders participated in the outing.
The Club didn’t waste any time in launching what would be a major event for the community, a Shodeo, which is a combination rodeo and horse show, on the 4th of July at Greenwood Park. Since an arena did not exist this was a big endeavor, constructing a temporary arena and building chutes. My dad, Stub Nervig, was a club member even though he didn’t own a horse but helped with projects like this one. The adult admission to the Shodeo was 75¢; children under 14 got in for 50¢.
In the fall, the Club hosted an invitational trail ride starting at the Troy Wayside Park. Saddle Clubs from north central Iowa were invited to join in on the three-hour trail ride. Seventy-seven riders participated in this trail ride.
In March 1953 at the Club’s annual meeting, Les Tveit was elected as president. Twenty-five members attended the meeting. Trail rides were held in April, June and August, with good participation and a shared meal was always part of the ride.
The Second Annual 4th of July Shodeo was again sponsored by the EGSC with a parade prior to the rodeo and horse show. The announcement for this event was the headline of the July 2nd edition of the local newspaper, The Eagle Grove Eagle (EGE). The paper routinely gave front-page coverage for all Club activities. The crowd for the Shodeo was over 1500 and 120 horses and riders were entered in the event at Greenwood Park. Eagle Grove merchants and the Farmers Co-op of Holmes sponsored the rodeo/horse show. In August, the EGSC would be part of the Wright County District Junior Fair (WCDJF) parade. In November 1953, at the Club’s annual meeting, Archie Lalor was elected president.
1954 was a busy year for the club members: trail rides, participation in the Rail Road Days parade and two rodeos/ horse shows drawing capacity crowds. Plus, the Third Annual 4th of July Shodeo and the other at the WCDJF, which was a new feature at the Fair in front of the grandstand. The 4th of July event was a huge success with 197 entries and 125 riders competing in the horse show. In the rodeo performances, there were 115 entries. Three hundred dollars in prize money was awarded to the rodeo winners. One of the winners in the Junior Steer Riding was my cousin, Jerry Knight, of Goldfield.
The rough stock contractor for the Fair rodeo was Billy Merritt, Bob Barnes from Cherokee, Iowa was another stock producer the Club would use for their rodeos. My dad would tell of accompanying the Club officers when they visited the rodeo stock providers ranches, driving through pastures checking out the bulls and broncs first hand.
In September, the Club had a rare Sunday morning trail ride, starting at Roy and Kathryn Umstead’s home, riding to Goldfield Park, where an outdoor breakfast was prepared by Mrs. Robert Stryker. In February 1955, Bill Larson was voted in as president. Club-sponsored activities this year were trail rides and a Shodeo of the first day of the WCDJF with afternoon and evening performances. Added entertainment included a high wire act, the Woodley Sisters from Rowan, Iowa and the Goldfield band. In June Club member Robert Stryker died unexpectantly. His paternal grandfather, William Stryker was the first white settler in Wright County, Iowa.
Club members would ride in the big Goldfield Centennial Parade. Earlier in the year, Goldfield made headlines when their 6 on 6 team was the Iowa Girls Basketball State Champions in the first state tournament played in Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines. A crowd of 15,015 filled the auditorium, which will remain as the largest crowd ever for a state tournament game. An estimated 150,000 viewed the game on television.
In 1956, only two articles appeared in the EGE about EGSC activities: The WCDJF and an invitational trail ride. The horse show classes at the Fair were:
Afternoon Performance
Evening Performance
Note: The 1950s were the heyday for Shetland ponies. So, pony classes were frequently included in Iowa horse shows.
In October. An invitational trail ride, starting at O.H. Short’s farm near Woolstock, was held. This ride was arranged primarily for young riders. No report of an annual meeting or the election of officers was published in the EGE. In 1957, there were no Club articles published in the EGE. Two trail rides were held in 1958. From 1959 until February 1966, no articles concerning the EGSC appeared in the local newspaper. However, a meeting was held in February, 1966 to re-activate the Club. Don Garrett was chosen to be president. The Club had been inactive for 10 years.
Under new leadership, trail rides were organized and Fun Days were introduced. The first Fun Day held on July 17 mushroomed from a local event into a full-blown horse show when numerous out-of-town riders showed up to compete. Eight towns were represented by 80 show participants. A crowd of spectators were also present. The classes for the day were:
At the February 1967 annual meeting Claude Harrah was voted in to be the new president. Thirty club members and three guests were present. In April a club meeting was held to discuss building a permanent horse arena at the fairgrounds. The fall open Fun Day was held in the new arena. Bill Quintis was elected Club president for 1968. The Club built new gates for the arena and also purchased a public address system. Closed and open Fun Days were held at the new arena throughout the summer. In January 1969 John Nessa was chosen as president. An annual award system for Club members was initiated. Criteria for points earned were: attendance, participation in Club events and trail rides and ribbons won. The annual trophy show was held in July with 14 performance classes. A closed trophy show wrapping up the season was held in October.
Elzy Johnson was elected president at the annual meeting held in December 1969 for 1970, which would be a big year for the Club. A closed Fun Day was held in May with an open show in June where riders from 20 communities participated. In July an even bigger open horse show was held with 90 riders from 23 towns. The final show for the season was held in October. Trophies were awarded to the high point Club winners in November. At the annual meeting in December, Ray Pyle was chosen to be president for 1971. That year was another big year for competition events. Closed shows were held in May (46 riders), June (40 riders), September4 (50 riders) and October (44 riders). On July 31, the Club sponsored an open Pay Back Show where entry fees were jackpotted: 40%, 30%, 20% and 10%. Sixty riders representing 27 towns participated in this show.
No report of an annual meeting or election of officers for 1972 was published in the EGE. However, it was another big horse show year with one of the largest ever Club sponsored open horse show on record held in July. Eighty riders representing 21 towns made this a show to remember. An additional three open shows were held during the year, plus four closed shows. The end of September Club members took part in an all-day trail ride with dinner at Sportsman Park. One hundred ten horse enthusiasts including riders and family members took part.
With the re-activation of the EGSC in 1966, the Club moved from family trail rides and sponsoring Shodeos to more competition events, such as, Fun Days, Trophy Shows and Pay Back shows. Construction of the horse arena on the fairgrounds in 1967 was a pivotal moment for the Club. Now the Club had a topnotch facility for horse shows and Fun Days. As is the case with all volunteer organizations, leadership is essential for success of these community clubs. It is evident from the record the EGSC had individuals who were willing to step forward and serve in a leadership role . . . and it was a big job, organizing and coordinating trail rides, rodeos, horse shows, Fun Days and Club meetings. I’m sure each of the Club presidents had the support and assistance from their spouse in carrying out these responsibilities. The large number of local and out-of-town horse show participants speaks well of the Club’s leadership in managing these competitive events.
Prior to starting my research, I thought the early members would probably be young and middle-age men, because we know America is replete with icons, the most famous of which is the American Cowboy . . . the symbol of the core American values. However, my assumption was wrong; the EGSC membership was made up of families: moms, dads and the kids. Saddle clubs were started with local families enjoying life on horseback and introducing a new generation to those joys.
Another surprise was in the twenty-years of coverage of EGSC activities in the EGE, there was only one report of a horse-related accident. It occurred the first year, September 1952, when Gene Tveit, the 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Les Tveit, was kicked by a horse on a Troy Township ride. He was taken to the farm home of Hershel Flumerfelt for first aid. The injury was not serious and did not require further medical attention.
Another horse-related accident that didn’t make the EGE pages but one I personally observed took place at a Fun Day near Dows, Iowa in the mid-50s, Archie Lalor, riding his big paint gelding, Apache, was competing in an event where the riders have to quickly jump off their galloping horses and then run a short distance. Archie did this and when his boot hit the ground you heard across the arena the sound of something like a big branch snapping. His leg was broken. He lay there in the dirt in excruciating pain. Archie ended up with a full-length leg cast for months. Undoubtedly there were more accidents but they didn’t get reported in the EGE.
The Club was a resource called upon when area farmers had cattle get loose. I remember when a Dows farmer had a number of feedlot steers escape from the feedlot and took refuge in a large cornfield. The Club arranged for a straight truck to haul eight club member’s horses to the farm. It was late July or early August. The corn was tall, well over six feet. Something happens when cattle find themselves in those tall cornfields. They become wilder and more unpredictable and because of this change in behavior, you don’t want to be afoot in those cornfields, risking being attacked or runover by the crazed bovines.
The mounted Club members lined up abreast, each taking six rows, three rows on each side. Moving in unison, they combed the field, eventually finding the cattle and pushing them to the end of the rows where they were moved along the fence back to the feedlot. Helping someone in need is something these local horsemen would do without having to be asked twice.
Saddle clubs, like other organizations in small towns in rural America, were community building elements, whether they knew it or not. In addition, the EGSC enhanced the quality of life in the community by providing recreational opportunities and entertainment. Moreover, the Club members were role models demonstrating hospitality and giving of yourself without reimbursement. As someone who was born and raised in Eagle Grove and knew many of the EGSC members, it was with pride that I chronicled this history of the EGSC for the first twenty years, sharing the Club’s contributions to the community and acknowledging those in leadership positions who gave direction to this organization.
Page Added 06 November 2025
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