Page 14 • East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald
August 2016
Currin Memorial Buckle
RODEO AWARDS Mike
will be retired after this year’s run
HONOR SPIRIT OF
TWO MEN WHO W
HELPED BUILD
FARM-CITY
By MATT ENTRUP
Staff Writer
Clayton Hass of
Terrell, Texas, pulls
down an 8.8-sec-
ond ride in steer
wrestling at a pre-
vious Farm-City Pro
Rodeo. Since 1990,
steer wrestlers
have competed for
the Mike Currin
Memorial Buckle
in Hermiston. The
buckle will be
retired after this
year’s rodeo.
FILE PHOTO
ith more than $200,000
in the purse, the Farm-
City Pro Rodeo need do
nothing more to bring out the best
in the world’s top cowboys.
However, there are some
things cowboys value more than
cash.
Two special awards unique
to Farm-City will also be in play
during the week — prizes coveted
not for their monetary value, but
the men they represent.
Mike Currin
Memorial Buckle
The only thing larger than
Mike Currin’s rodeo talent was
his heart.
The 1989 Farm-City steer
wrestling champion was raised
just down the road on the ranch of
his parents Ron and Judy Currin’s
ranch on Little Butter Creek and
was pursuing the most lucrative
season of his professional career
when he was killed in a plane
crash July 2, 1990 on Mount
Rainer along with three other
cowboys.
Also killed in the crash were
Dave Smith of College Place,
Washington; David Bowen of
Yoakum, Texas; and Randy
Dierlam of Seadrift, Texas —and
their pilot — Harold “Bob” Card
of Pendleton.
Currin was just 25.
“You know those people that
just make you happy and you
want to be around them all the
time? Mike was that to a lot of
people,” said his widow Judy
Currin Pederson. “He was well-
liked, funny, had a great sense of
humor and everybody just wanted
to be around him.”
Looking to honor her late
husband in the best way she could
imagine, Judy created the design
for the buckle and contracted
Skyline Gold & Silversmiths to
fashion a top-shelf keepsake for
Farm-City’s top bulldogger.
Judy’s parents, Skip and
Sherry Walchli, sponsor and
present the buckle each year
following the steer wrestling in
Saturday’s performance. The ¿ rst
buckle was awarded in 1990.
“They’re a nice buckle and
everybody that’s won one knows
it,” said Sherry. “We’ve had some
really nice responses from guys
that appreciated the buckle.”
One instance that stood out
for Judy was the year she ran
into steer wrestler Sid Steiner
at the National Finals Rodeo in
Las Vegas and noticed a familiar
design on his buckle.