Gallatin Valley Back Country Horsemen

36th Annual Poker Ride July 6th, 2024

Online registration is now closed. You can still pay at the registration tent on July 6th. We are limiting the number of riders to 250 so please come early if you plan to register at the event or we may not have a lunch available for you. We have about 130 riders that have pre-registered for the Poker Ride.
Send an email to  and we can put you on a list to reserve a spot.

For more information:

Contact Committee Chair: Lauire Connely  or (406) 579-2859 text preferred or call.

Hosts

Grab your horse and let’s play poker!
The Gallatin Valley Back Country Horsemen would like to invite you to our 36th Annual Poker Ride.

Time, Cost and Place

For those of you new to the sport let me explain the rules. You don’t need to know how to play poker, but you do need a horse. You, your horse and all of your riding buddies should arrive on July 6th at the Bridger Ski Bowl Parking lot. Sign-in is from 8:00 – 10:00; you can begin to ride between 8:30 and 10:30. If you show up at the sign-in tent after 10:00 you will need to draw all of your cards at that time. One poker hand which includes a lunch and a chance to win great prizes is $35. Lunch alone is $10. If you have children under 12 you can sign them up for $15 each but they are not eligible for a poker hand prize. The children will however have access to lunch. The trail is well marked and will have a default route that is about 10 miles in length and an alternate shorter route marked with surveyors’ tape and requires about 4 hours to ride for the default route.

Poker Ride Defined

Whoa, wait a minute, don’t get ahead of the trail boss here. Before you ride out, sign-in and pick up a map and tally sheet and draw your first card. Mount-up and follow the marked trail for a few miles through the beautiful Bridger Mountains to the first stop where coolers with cold drinks, watermelon, and cards await. Friendly folks allow you to tie up, rest a spell, chat, have a cold drink and select another card for your hand. You will discover three of these “stops” along the route. When you arrive back in camp following the marked trail loop you will draw your fifth and last card. Turn your “hand” into the sign-in tent and head for the lunch line where BBQ chicken hot off the grill and sides will be served. You will be given a chance to draw three more cards for $10 each to enhance your poker hand. Winning hands are announced at 3:00pm and you or a proxy will need to be present to win.

Prizes

Everyone is guaranteed a good time, but a good poker hand can get you a mighty nice prize. We will also have door prizes and a silent auction table with very nice items for you to bid on along with a 50/50 ticket drawing where you could take home some cash. We would like to thank our generous sponsors that make this ride possible.

Proceeds Support Trail Work

The proceeds from the event help the Gallatin Valley Back Country Horsemen to maintain regional trails. Gallatin Valley Back Country Horsemen have maintained the Spanish Creek trails since 1985.

Back Country Horsemen Mission

GVBCH is an affiliate chapter of both the Back Country Horsemen of Montana and the Back Country Horsemen of America. This is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to:
Perpetuate enjoyable, common-sense use of horses in the backcountry.
Assist government agencies in their maintenance and management of resources, ensure that the Public Land Resource remains open to recreational stock use.
Educate, encourage, and solicit active public participation in the wise and sustaining use of horses in accordance with our heritage and the backcountry resources.

Important Ride Restrictions

Everyone and their horse are welcome when they check in and sign a release. Sorry we cannot permit DOGS or STALLIONS to participate.  All minor children must have a signed parental release to participate. All participants are subject to Montana’s Equine Liability law. If you have adult beverages, we ask that you drink responsibly.

We hope to see you all on the trail and good luck!

Gallatin Valley Back Country Horsemen, Post Office Box 3232, Bozeman, Montana 59772