Steven Tippett is shown on Aug. 16, 2024, as he donates to  the Wallowa County Museum in Joseph a century-old saddle won by his grandfather at the 1923 Wallowa County Fair.

JOSEPH — The scion of a longtime Wallowa County ranching family recently donated to the Wallowa County Museum a century-old saddle his grandfather won more than a century ago.

“My grandad was Doc Tippett and he won this saddle in 1923 for the all-around in the Wallowa County Fair in 1923,” Steven Tippett said Friday, Aug. 16, when making the donation to the Joseph museum.

Tippett said his grandfather was tied with others for the position of best all-around cowboy at the fair, so officials had a tiebreaker to decide the winner.

“There was a ‘buck-off,’ if you will, and he won as the top scorer,” the younger Tippett said.

The saddle was made by Hamley Saddles in Pendleton, he said.

Noting the small size of the seat, he said it was never intended as a working saddle.

“It was a trophy saddle,” he said.

Tippett said that while younger members of the family have used it, the saddle has spent most of its life in storage.

“It has a matching headstall made in silver and a set of spurs, but I’m not donating the spurs,” he said.

Although the saddle has been in the family for a century, Tippett said it’s time to donate it to the museum to allow others to share it.

“I just think more people can appreciate it,” he said. “And I’m running out of room.”

He said the county museum seems the best place for it.

“I’d just like to share it up here with a lot of history of the county,” he said.

“And, Jude’s paying me $200 a week,” he joked about curator Jude Graham.