Hermiston Museum

Farm-City Pro Rodeo: Riding high after 4 decades

Founded in 1988, the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston is an annual event that coincides with the Umatilla County Fair each August. With attendance now topping 20,000, the event has grown from a local tradition into one of the Northwest’s premier rodeos — bringing top-tier talent, tourism and a sense of pride to Hermiston year after year. Nationwide, with a total purse of $50,000 per event, the 2025 event ranked among the top 30 for pay in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The best of the best have competed in Hermiston, thanks in part to two cowboys, David Bothum and Butch Knowles, who had a dream.

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David Bothum didn’t think anyone was coming.

It was 6:30 p.m. in August of 1988 on the night of the first Farm-City Pro Rodeo, and the stands were empty. There was just an hour before the event began, and Bothum was worried.

“I thought, ‘wow’,” he said. “But then about 7:30 I looked up in the stands, and they were pretty full. And it was just the red bleachers at that time.”

Since that scare, Farm-City Pro Rodeo has evolved into a game-changing event that is at the center of Hermiston’s yearly calendar. Top cowboys and stock from around the sport of rodeo descend on Hermiston for a few days, giving the small, blue-collar community one of the best shows on dirt.

In the late 1980s, a couple of cowboys from Hermiston thought it would be fun and beneficial to bring a pro rodeo to Hermiston. Local native Bothum, who rode 100 rodeos a year in his prime, got together with his wife, Cyd, Butch Knowles, his wife, Mary, and to try to bring a pro rodeo to Hermiston.

In 1987, Knowles won the average at the NFR, and a party was held in Hermiston for him. At that time, the Umatilla County Fair had a rodeo, but it was a junior rodeo.

So Knowles and Bothum pitched a pro rodeo to Janet Aiken, the fair manager, and a preliminary plan was hatched. At a fair board meeting, there was some resistance and the fair allowed a pro rodeo to occur at the fair grounds during the fair, but it would have no affiliation with the fair in case it was a dud.

Bothum and Knowles convinced some of the top cowboys in the world to come to Hermiston, and got stock from renowned contractor Frank Beard to bring some of the best broncs, bulls and calves to be used.

They raised $1,000 from the community to attract some of the best cowboys, and the first Farm-City Pro Rodeo was officially organized.

But that didn’t mean it would automatically be a success. That first night, with the late-arriving crowd, went off without a hitch. Eventually, the rodeo separated from the fair due to financial reasons.

Each year for the first two or three, Bothum said, Farm City started from scratch financially because the money went back to the fair. As an independent organization, as it is now, FCPR could pool its profits, pay vendors who helped, and save a little for the next year.

Source: Hermiston Herald, Aug. 14, 2015

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The Farm-City Rodeo was founded by President David Bothum and rodeo legend Butch Knowles in 1988, just months after Knowles won the Bronc Riding Average at the National Finals Rodeo.

Knowles and Bothum both grew up near the town of Hermiston and went on to travel together throughout their professional rodeo careers.

“Our wives, I guess with us being gone all the time, they wanted us a little closer and there was a rodeo in town or a ground so that’s how they promoted it and Miss Janet Aiken who was the fair manager wanted it to happen to help the fair and everything else so that’s how it all got started,” Bothum said.

Source: The Cowboy Channel, Aug. 11, 2022

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Highlights

2014 – Rodeo receives PRCA Remuda Award, awarded for creating the best opportunity for bucking horse contestants to score well.

2019 – Dennis Barnett, rodeo board member and Hermiston CPA, honored as a PRCA John Justin Committeeman of the Year. Each year, Justin Boots recognizes 125 outstanding volunteers from PRCA rodeos around the country.

2023 – Butch Knowles inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.