EBS STAFF
The Yellowstone Outlaw Regulators and Diamond P Ranch will host the third Annual Diamond P Shootout in West Yellowstone Aug. 4-6. The event reaches to the roots of Montana and the West, bringing the ideal of the “Old West” and cowboys to life. Mounted contestants compete in this fast-action timed event using two .45-caliber single action revolvers, each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition.
Competitors are required to dress in Western attire, whether that means a Western shirt and blue jeans, or 1800’s period shirts without collars and high-waisted pants. It’s possible onlookers will see a fringed buckskin-wearing frontiersman or a cowgirl wearing a split riding skirt amidst silver screen cowboys and riders in modern chaps, jeans and shirts.
During competition, the mounted shooters will be asked to ride a pre-determined pattern that includes shooting at balloons while riding at high speeds. The rider will alternate between using two 1800s -style, fixed sight, single-action six-guns holstered on either hip.
Over the last two years, the event has drawn nearly 100 competitors from two countries and 12 states, including national champions in the sport. West Yellowstone’s event is scheduled the weekend following the United States Western National Championships in Las Vegas, and will catch shooters traveling home or to other events in the Northwest.
This year’s event will consist of the two-day Jim Hanson Horsemanship/Mounted Shooting Clinic on Thursday and Friday, a sponsor appreciation poker walk Friday evening, and shootout matches on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Diamond P Ranch event arena west of West Yellowstone on Highway 20. Cowboy mounted shooting is a spectator’s sport and individuals are welcome to attend to watch the fast riding and quick shooting action.
The Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association has a variety of levels of competition, appropriate for novices up to seasoned professionals, and the sport of cowboy mounted shooting is arguably the fastest growing equestrian sport in the nation.
In addition to a weekend of cowboy action, there will also be the Annual Rod Run Car Show and Mountain Man Rendezvous in West Yellowstone Aug. 5 and 6. For more details and other activities, visit destinationyellowstone.com.
