Jim Kirby has followed in the footsteps of his father as a director with Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. The whole Kirby clan has been involved with Roundup over the years.
(PHOTO BY TED HARBIN)

 

DODGE CITY, Kan. – Jennifer Kirby wasn’t there when her husband, Jim, was making a steer wrestling run at the first Dodge City Roundup Rodeo.

It was Sept. 1, 1977, and she would typically accompany him, especially to his hometown rodeo. There was more pressing business for her, though, the birth of a daughter, Jericka. It was OK, though. Jim and Jennifer Kirby raised their kids around rodeo.

Jim Kirby was raised around rodeo, too. His father, Floyd, was one of the founders of Roundup Rodeo. He was in the first induction class into its Hall of Fame in 2005.

“The saddle club started putting on rodeos as far back as 1958, and we went from one arena to another,” Jim Kirby said. “They were all amateur rodeos except for maybe one, and then Tom Shirley and Art Ebener got into the scheme of things, and that’s when we built the stadium, which we are commemorating now.”

Roundup Rodeo is celebrating its 50th anniversary with six performances, beginning with Dodge City Xtreme Bulls at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 28. There will be four preliminary performances of the rodeo from Wednesday, July 29-Saturday, Aug. 1, and the top cowboys and cowgirls from that will advance to Championship Sunday.

Over the last five decades, Roundup has been named the PRCA Committee of the Year nine times. It’s been nominated as one of the best events in professional rodeo a lot more than that. Most importantly, it was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2012.

It began as part of the annual Dodge City Days celebration, which started as a three-day event in 1960. Now, it has extended to 10 days, and Roundup Rodeo has become the marquee event. That’s the way it’s been for most of the life of Jesse James Kirby, Jim and Jennifer’s youngest child and a ProRodeo cowboy now living in Cheney, Washington.

“We’ve been going to Roundup since we were old enough to go,” Jesse Kirby said. “They just turned us loose and told us to stay out of trouble and don’t cause any problems.”

The words of warning may have easily been heard in one ear before evaporating through the other. One of his earliest memories was being chastised by the rodeo’s longtime stock contractor.

“I remember getting yelled at by Harry Vold for riding his calves in the back pen,” he said with a laugh. “I was old enough to remember a little bit.”

That memory has stuck with him for almost 40 years. So have many others, from picking up flank straps after a bucking-horse rides to helping his dad untie steers and calves to riding broncs himself under the bright lights inside Roundup Arena.

“When I was little and we’d get to the arena, we’d go find our rodeo friends and just run around and play with the other kids that were there,” Jesse Kirby said. “Their parents were competing. It was just a very fun experience growing up that way.”

It was similar to his older siblings, all sisters. All but the oldest – a half-sister named Anne, who lives in New York – were involved in one capacity or another. Jesicka, the oldest, has sung the national anthem, while Jamie, Jericka and Janae participated in youth rodeos. The Kirby girls likely can still be found helping in some capacity.

That’s how things were in the Floyd Kirby household, too.

“When I was in junior high or early high school, I remember going to the Little Britches rodeo at Beeson Arena, which sat on the south edge of town,” Jim Kirby said. “When Art and Tom got involved, and they got a lot of support from the city and got the deal under way again, and that’s where the arena is now.”

Over time, Roundup Rodeo has evolved, just as any annual event should. It offers prize money that will exceed $400,000 this year. As it has been for decades, it is a major stop for ProRodeo’s superstars. It’s something the Kirbys have witnessed from the beginning.

“I always enjoyed being involved with something that our family has started,” Jesse Kirby said. “If your family started a cool legacy that’s still going today, I think you would want to be involved in it. That’s a big motivation for us all to still be there, because we all love rodeo no matter if anybody’s competing in it.

“We’re trying to carry on the tradition for the younger generations to keep the American cowboy alive.”