New memories were made and old traditions honored as 20 horse-drawn wagons and over 100 riders united in Jerauld County to take part in the Kyle Evans Memorial Wagon Train.
After the first day’s ride which took the wagon train east of the campsite located south of Wessington Springs, the large crew circled back to camp for a cookout, live music and fellowship with community members. The Wessington Springs Church Concession Group served 230 meals Friday evening as the large crowd of wagon train attendees and members of the public celebrated together. New this year at camp, Springs Area Council of the Arts (SACOTA) sponsored caricature artist Hector Curiel to draw portraits of attendees free of charge.
Day two took the train north of Springs where they circled alongside Turtle Peak and the Wessington Foothills as they headed back to town.
Following the two-day adventure across the prairie, the clickety-clack of horse teams pulling wagons met folks in town aiming to greet riders and celebrate the western way of life.
A special stop was made in front of the future Kyle Evans Western Heritage Center located on Dakota Avenue in Wessington Springs across from the Historic 1905 Opera House. Currently under construction, the vision for the center is “to build a center that takes visitors back in time to experience the freedom, excitement and nature of cowboy life.”
Later that evening, riders and teams from the Kyle Evans Memorial Wagon Train made their way from camp to their final destination, the Jerauld County Rodeo Grounds in Wessington Springs. They joined a big crowd of spectators to take in plenty of bull-riding action Saturday evening at the Foothills Bull Bash.