Riding gay

A private guide is also available for hire.

One afternoon, we’ll head up the Beartooth Highway for spectacular views from over 10,000 feet. Fishing is available to those who purchase a license ($25) and bring their own equipment. The ranch is home to deer, elk, coyotes, bears, eagles, and sometimes wolves from neighboring Yellowstone National Park.

So that always drew me to rodeo and then Southern culture. We don’t ride nose-to-tail, but spread out and learn to control our horse. Before dinner, we’ll kick back with a cocktail before having dinner at the ranch cookhouse or historic dining room.

Days 3-6: Saddle Up, Raft, Hike, and Visit a Historic Western Town

Each morning, we’ll have a different horseback ride.

I saw it as a way to explore a lot of bigger questions about the country as a whole. They haven’t had enough funding and support. Some bedrooms have private bathrooms and some share a bathroom with the room next door. I loved his leather daddy stirrup top and the tribal tattoo on his back, as he posed in front of the mountains.

At a time when the aesthetics of cowboy culture seem to be trending massively in both progressive and mainstream culture, you’d think these gay rodeo events would be booming.

Life was harder, work was harder, and it wasn’t as much of a big deal who your sexual preference was. But as she learned more about its past, she found herself drawn to the wealth of thriving subcultural rodeos—like the all-black Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo, now in its 41st year, and the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), which is in its 40th.
These events, by their very existence, aim to communicate the rich, complex, and multicultural history of this rootin’ tootin’ phenomenon.
In her photo project, Palm Springs Hot Rodeo, she focused on the latter, documenting the gay community’s bull-riding, line-dancing, and pool-partying bonanza beneath the desert sky out in rural California.
We caught up with Anna to chat about stirrups, stereotypes, and queerness in the Old West.
VICE: Hey Anna.

It’s sad, because you’d think things like this would get better with time and there would be more acceptance, but it seems to be going in the opposite direction.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
In basic terms, I think there’s a huge difference between the idea of the American West and the reality of the American West.

We’ll gather tonight for a welcome dinner, and perhaps head over to The Loft, a rollicking gay bar you never expected to find in Montana!
Those arriving earlier may enjoy visiting the Bighorn Battlefield, the site of Custer’s Last Stand. Alongside rodeo, you’ve also photographed monster truck shows and speedway—where does your interest in these aspects of American culture come from?
Ottum: I always had a roundabout connection to the Old West.

But from what I understand, they are struggling?
It’s true.

We hold two meetings during the year: A run event planning meeting in March and our Christmas Party in December. Otherwise, we communicate runs using our club mailing list.

Info & Membership.

Other than annual membership dues, there are no minimum mileage or other requirements to be part of Riders MC.

All motorcycle makes and models are welcome.

Have a question? Depending on the weather, the riding terrain varies. Right out the gate, they had an opening pool party, so everyone was there in cowboy hats and swim trunks, riding huge inflatable bulls.

Then I met Tessa (above), the Gay Rodeo Queen.

Unlike a dude ranch, riding on trails is not standard at the Lazy EL Ranch.