McLain's Roundup

Fox Hastings, first woman bulldogger in professional rodeo, at McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.
For another photo of Fox Hastings, see: McLain Roundup photos by Homer Venters

Bulldogger, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Bulldogger, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Bull Rider, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Bull Rider, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Bull Rider, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Ross Moore, Bull Rider, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Bull Rider, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Calf Roping, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Calf Roping, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Calf Roping, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Pinky with Girt the Mule, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Horse Riding On Car, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
The license plate on this car is from 1929.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Mar Sisson, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

Corrals, McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

McLain Roundup, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo by Homer Venters, courtesy of his great-nephew, Mike Venters.
Photo © Mike Venters 2005. Used with his permission.

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Dedicated to McLain's Sun City Rodeo:

There's a noted spot in Kansas, down by the 'City of the Sun,'
Where once a year the cowboys gather and have their old time fun,
Of roping, tieing and bulldogging, busting the broncos wild
Where they entertain the thousands, the gray haired sire and child.
There's Bud and Pinkey, and Crosby too,
And a hundred others that will sure thrill you
With their daring stunts of frontier acts
It haint no joke, but pure D. facts.
The world's best talent will all be there, coming
From Cheyenne, Pendleton and everywhere.
They are bringing their ropes, their spurs and chaps,
Contest ponies and ten-gallon hats.
Of all the rodeos or events of similar names,
There is only one, and that's McLain's.

-- Poem by George H. Proctor, 1929.

(Poem courtesy of Kim Fowles, who noted that the men mentioned are: Bob Crosby, Buster Brown, Dick Truitt, Bud Hampton and Dick Offitt)

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"Homer Venters: Vintage Rodeo Photographer", The Western Horseman, July 1972.

Marion Francis McLain was the founder of the McLain Roundup rodeo in Sun City.

McLain's Round-Up, Sun City, Kansas, July 8-9-10:
Big Barber Co. Attraction Announces Entry of World Famous Performers.
Barber County Index, June 25, 1938.

McLain's Roundup: The Memories of Joe Massey   Photos by Homer Venters, captioned by Joe Massey, from the collection of Brenda McLain, courtesy of Kim Fowles.

McLain Roundup photos by Homer Venters
From the collection of Brenda McLain, courtesy of Kim Fowles.

McLain's Annual Roundup, Sun City, Kansas. Photograph by Murphy
Courtesy of Nathan Lee and William Lee.

Sometimes, though, the end of the rodeo wasn't the end of the excitement for local people, such as when Alva Trummel of Comanche County was kidnapped by Bonnie and Clyde while he was headed home from the "Sun City Rodeo":

Alva Trummel Kidnapped By Bandits, The Western Star, September 8, 1933.

See Sun City Basketball Teams for more photos of Mark McLain.

Shooting an anvil at Mac-L Park on the 4th of July by Wendel Ferrin.

Carl Studer Rodeo Scrapbook & Ephemera Center -- FF2/D01 Oversized Posters: McLain's 5th Annual Roundup: The Roundup ca. 1930.

Collection of Rodeo Program & Ephemera -- Box 008, Folder 035. Medicine Lodge, McLain's Sixth Annual Roundup, 1927 [5]

Willard H. Porter Rodeo Collection -- Kansas, Medicine Lodge, 6th Annual McLain's Round Up, 1927 [1]

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