What Macklin is known for
Macklin is a Saskatchewan town of 1,247 people at the 2021 census, about 5 kilometres from the Alberta border. Since 1993 its Chamber of Commerce has hosted the World Bunnock Championship, a game played with 52 real horse ankle bones, every August long weekend.
Treaty 6 land, and a game from Siberia
Macklin sits on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of the Nehiyawak, Nakawe, Dene, Lakota, Nakota, Dakota and Métis people. Settlers began arriving in the district in 1906, many of them German Catholics from southern Russia and the United States. Bunnock itself is older than the town: accounts trace it to the Mongolian game shagai, carried west by Russian soldiers in Siberia, and brought to Canada by German and Russian immigrants.
Real bones, and a world championship
The game is played with 52 real horse ankle bones, set up in two lines 10 metres apart for opposing teams to knock down. Joseph Gartner, credited with reviving the game in the 1960s, salvaged his bones at the horse meat processing plant where he worked, and wrote the rule book still used today. In 1993, when few people beyond the area had heard of bunnock, Macklin’s Chamber of Commerce conceived and hosted the first World Bunnock Championship at Macklin Lake Regional Park. Teams of four must include at least one player of each sex.
Now a border town tradition
About 320 teams now enter the championship, and in 2025 they played on 48 courts. Players have come from as far as Japan and South Africa, and in 2024 they ranged in age from 3 to well past 80. The event is run almost entirely by volunteer groups, who use it to raise their operating funds for the year. A giant bunnock, a normal ankle bone enlarged ninety-eight times, built by taxidermist Ralph Berg of Cabri, Saskatchewan, stands at the junction of Highway 14 and Highway 31, houses the tourist information centre, and shines orange when lit at night.
Questions people ask about Macklin
Why does Macklin, Saskatchewan hold a bunnock championship?
Macklin's Chamber of Commerce hosted the first World Bunnock Championship in 1993, when few people outside the area had heard of the game. Bunnock is played with 52 real horse ankle bones, and the town has held the championship every August long weekend since.
What is bunnock?
Bunnock is a game played with 52 horse ankle bones, set up in lines 10 metres apart for two teams to knock down. Accounts trace its roots to the Mongolian game shagai, carried west by Russian soldiers in Siberia and brought to Canada by German and Russian immigrants.
Who revived the game of bunnock in Canada?
Joseph Gartner is credited with reviving bunnock in the 1960s. He worked at a horse meat processing plant, where he salvaged ankle bones to build sets, and he wrote the rule book still used in the championship today.
How big is Macklin's giant bunnock statue?
The giant bunnock is a normal horse ankle bone enlarged ninety-eight times, built by taxidermist Ralph Berg of Cabri, Saskatchewan. It stands at the junction of Highway 14 and Highway 31, houses the tourist information centre, and shines orange when lit at night.