HERMISTON — David Bothum will turn 69 years old on June 28. The following day, he will receive a one-of-a-kind birthday present when he is inducted into the St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame.

“To be honest, I hadn’t really told anyone,” said Bothum, who calls Hermiston home. “Just the kids and the grandkids.”

It will be the first of two such ceremonies he’ll attend this summer. His good friend Butch Knowles will be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on July 15.

“I am very honored for this, but that one is a pretty special deal,” Bothum said.

The St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame was established in 1998. Also being inducted are St. Paul Rodeo member Debi McKillip, timed event cowgirl Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, contractor Eric Layton, and St. Paul Rodeo officer/director Frank Kirsch, Sr.

Bothum placed at St. Paul numerous times as a saddle bronc rider. In 1983, he placed second to his uncle, Jim Bothum.

“I never did win the rodeo,” Bothum said. “I won the wild horse race one year.”

Bitten by the rodeo bug

Bothum grew up in Silverton and had a handful of uncles who competed in rodeo. He wanted to be just like them.

“There were 11 kids in my dad’s family,” he recalled. “Uncle Tony was the one who really helped me start to ride. Uncle Shirley started all of them — Rex, Marvin, Jim — there were a lot of them that did it (rodeo). They helped me along, as did other people I met when I was young.”

Bothum’s dad, Kermit, was supportive, but his mom, Peggy, needed a little convincing to let her young son get on the back of a bucking horse.

Jim and Marvin Bothum are still alive. Jim, who was inducted into the St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006, was the last cowboy to ride the legendary War Paint.

He rode him for 6 seconds, then stepped off so the great paint horse could go out a winner.

It didn’t take long for Bothum to catch on to riding broncs.

He placed second at the Oregon High School Rodeo Association state championships in 1972. It was there that he met Knowles. The two would forge a friendship that continues today.

Bothum, who was competing in the amateur Northwest Rodeo Association at the time, opted not to go to the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Going pro

Bothum broke into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1973. He was just 18 years old.

During his career, he finished in the top 15 of the world standings nine times, earning nine trips to the National Finals Rodeo. In 1982, he finished seventh in the world standings with winnings of nearly $30,000 — which is pennies compared to the prize money today.

During his career, he shared the Calgary Stampede saddle bronc title with Joe Marvel in 1977.

“Me and Joe tied, so they had a ride off,” Bothum said. “I won the ride off and got the bronze trophy.”

He also won the Pendleton Round-Up saddle bronc title during its 75th anniversary year in 1985.

In 1987, with a young family, Bothum quit rodeoing for a living. He would still compete here and there, but gone were the 100 rodeos a year.

“It was time,” he said.

Just like his father, he started a construction company and built homes and other structures. He retired last fall.

“Now, I just do whatever,” he said.

That “whatever” includes running the Farm-City Pro Rodeo, which he and Knowles founded in 1988. The FCPR ranks among the top 25 professional rodeos in North America based on total prize money.

Bothum, and his wife Cyd, have two kids, Ryan and Mykael, and five grandchildren.