Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1980)
Page 4-Special Fair & Rodeo Section Grand Marshall 'Hutch' has lived the part Aboard his horse Premium sheet deadline The 4-H and Open Class Premium sheet deadline is 10 a.m., Monday, August 18. Fill out a sheet for each exhibitor. Additional sheets are available from the County Agent's Office in Heppner or Irrigon, or from Fair Secre tary, Dorothy Estberg, 676 5159 or 676-9474, P.O. Box 464, Heppner, Ore.. 97836. CUSTOMIZED CHAPS Green Feed Tall and bronzed, with a handsomely craggy face, the 1980 Grand Marshall for the Morrow County Fair and Rodeo looks, and has lived the part. Floyd "Hutch" Hutchins, born on the family farm at Mc Minnville, the fourth of six children, grew up working the farm with his family's Belgian work horses. A team of Standard bred trotters, which the family also raised, would take the family into town when necessary. The journey took about 25 minutes when there was no rush-to cover the six miles into town. As a young man. Hutch found himself breaking and training both saddle horses and work horses for area farmers. In 1932 Hutch married Edna Gillack of Portland. They worked the family farm for several years and Hutch, as usual, kept busy with his horses, standing several stal lions. One of Hutch's stallions, a Percheron named "Jerry " sired 400 colts. After leaving the farm. Hutch went to the livestock sales barn at Mc Minnville and Salem, where they furn ished horses for dude ranches and beach rides and also had a bucking string. After leaving there. Hutch struck out on his own. He opened his own riding acad emy and also taught riding as a gym class at Oregon Stale College during winter term In the spring and summer he leased horses out to dude ranches while he trapped and caught horses with the Indians at Warm Springs. Many of the Warm Springs horses were half-thoroughbreds, since the U.S. govern On f 1 AWARDS PROGRAM 4-H, FFA & Open Class SUPPER KICKING CONTEST 4-H HORSE SHOW MNITURE CAR RACES FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OREGON HEPPNER BRANCH HEPPNER 97836 ment had given the Indians there a thoroughbred remount stallion. Hutch brought several hun dred of these wild horses back to Corvallis where some were broke and sold and some were used at the academy. Some made excellent jumpers and chariot teams. Upon leaving Corvallis, Hutch ran a small cattle ranch on the Coast Kange and tried his hand at horse logging. From there. Hutch not only moved to a new area, but moved on to a new experience as well-he became a police officer, first in Umatilla and then, in 1953, in Heppner. Since moving to Eastern Oregon, Hutch has been active in the Morrow County Wran glers and for several years helped promote the chariot races and the Morrow County Derby during the annual rodeo, One old friend that has stayed with Hutch over the years is his 40-year-old saddle, which he says is "just getting broke in good now." That saddle has easily seen over 1,000 good horses and has broken hundreds of horses In the area. A noted horse trader, train er and blacksmith, Hutch even doctors the family horses. Whatever spare time the 1R0 Grand Marshal now has is tied up teaching his grandkids to ride. Every summer the kids spend a week in the mountains riding with grand pa. He is now working on a second group of grandkids and is looking forward to teaching his great grandchildren. He has four daughters, 12 grand children, and 8 great-grand-kids. In wintertime, those kids get a special treat. Hutch puts sleigh runners on a red buggy for sleigh rides, The runners, which are over 100 years old, belonged to his granddad. In the spring and fall, Hutch, 73, keeps active riding after cattle for local ranchers. Grand Marshal Hutch's mount for the 19H0 parade will be TT, a colt he picked up this spring. r . . f - V . . A 1980 Grand Marshal "Hutch" Hutchins Attend the 1980 Fair & Rodeo In Western Wear From Kroll's Heppner Boardman