Jo Yurcaba

Wondering how I practice roping? 🤠 Video by @coldhotcocoa , the varmint 😂

A collection of photos from my last two rodeos — one this past weekend in Kansas City and another just over a week ago in Palm Springs. To say I’m tired would be an understatement 😅😂 but I’m so happy. I’ve taken home 9 ribbons, which has been awesome, but the best part is all the people I’m meeting, competing with and learning from. I feel so lucky to have found this. 🩷

This is now my rodeo account and you all have to deal with it. 🤠 Two amazing photos taken at the Texas Tradition Rodeo. First by @macyalexphoto Second by @cowboysandcattlequeens

I competed in my third gay rodeo this past weekend — Rodeo in the Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas. I didn’t take many photos, but I did come home with my first buckle. The Rookie of the Rodeo buckle is unique to this rodeo and goes to the rookie with the most points at the end of the weekend. I also took home a 4th place ribbon in chute dogging and a 4th place ribbon with Gunner in goat dressing. I’m so grateful to the many people who have supported me, let me borrow horses, lent me their gear, and coached me so far. The gay rodeo community has made me feel alive in a way I haven’t in a very long time 💕 I have my fourth rodeo this weekend and my fifth the following weekend! I’m tired but so happy 😊

I had an incredible second rodeo in Denton, Texas, this past weekend! Took home four ribbons (my first blue in goat dressing and first red in chute dogging!) and spent more time getting to know so many wonderful people. Really starting to feel like I finally found my place 🩷 Next weekend I have my third rodeo, and then my 4th and 5th the next two weekends after that (yes, that’s three rodeos back to back 😅, but I’m so excited). First 📷 by @cowboysandcattlequeens

Spent a few incredible days in the desert that included sending my first off-width crack (the giant boulder pictured, called Plumber’s Crack), going to a wedding, visiting Zion National Park for the first time, and starting my Teva tan lines for the summer 🍑🤠🌵 Amazing climbing photos by @coldhotcocoa 💕

Competed in my first gay rodeo this weekend with @agra_phx in Phoenix, and it felt like home. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and I met so many incredible people I can’t wait to see again. A huge thank you to @gunnersizemore for the support and mentorship throughout the weekend 🩷 I placed second overall for the weekend in flag race — my favorite 4H event growing up. I also placed 4th in chute dogging (steer wrestling) on Sunday with a time of 5.31 seconds! And Gunner and I took 5th in goat dressing on Sunday. So happy and proud!!! 🤠

Last year I received an email from a reader who said she appreciated my coverage of trans people, but that, as a trans woman, she found it very depressing (lol same). She suggested I do an article on the inclusive world of competitive pinball. I didn’t start researching the idea until December, about a month after an incident where a trans woman was removed from a restroom by an arcade manager at a pinball tournament in North Carolina. The incident, and the way it was handled by the International Flipper Pinball Association, fractured the niche community. I attended the NC Women’s State Pinball Championship in Wilmington in January and spoke to everyone involved. I’m thankful to all the players who talked to me, but especially B., the woman at the center of it all. Scroll all the way through for my favorite video of her. Incredible 📸 by @caitlinpennaphoto 🩷 Article link in my bio.

When I was two weeks old, my dad held me up in front of a Clydesdale while visiting the Budweiser barn in New Hampshire. Years later, he would joke that the moment is what led to my obsession with horses. I started riding when I was 10 and competed in 4-H shows and rodeo until I went off to college. But then in my 20s I came out as nonbinary, and suddenly it felt like the more conservative horse world, and rodeo specifically, was a home I might never return to. Then this summer I learned that the International Gay Rodeo Association would celebrate 50 years of gay rodeo in Reno in October. I pitched the story to my editor and thought it would be a great moment to cover queer joy. But once my boots touched that arena dirt, it became a homecoming. I met Chuck Browning, a cowboy who got into rodeo after being diagnosed with HIV in 1990 and given a prognosis of five years. At 61, he has significantly outlived what he calls his “expiration date,” and now mentors younger competitors in events like steer riding. He even joked about getting me on a bucking steer. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but telling his story and the story of how the gay rodeo has endured all these years made me feel like I’ll be able to return home to rodeo one day after all. Story link is in my bio. Photos in the first slide by the amazing @alliexjesse

This has easily been one of the best summers of my life. I finally got to fulfill my years long dream of visiting Glacier National Park — and with an amazing all-queer group. I became an uncle for the 5th time. My best friend came to visit. Not really pictured is that I also went to Squamish and did my first two outdoor crack climbs! The included photo is of Reese climbing. Wildly enough, there’s still more on my calendar for the next few weeks. Feeling more like myself and more excited for life than I have in a long time. I hope you’re all finding joy where you can too 💕

Our first Oregon wildflower hike 🌻🌼 scroll to the end to see Luna post-hike 😴

Story time: In 2021, I became obsessed with the idea of rock climbing. I watched every climbing movie and documentary I could and read Tommy Caldwell’s book. But I was terrified of heights and told myself I would never be brave enough to climb. Then about a year ago, I started dating someone who loves climbing, and I started doing it, mostly in the gym. But I was still often terrified. Just over two months ago, I fractured my ankle while bouldering outside. It sent me into a very dark depression. I couldn’t walk my dog, let alone climb. It has since turned out to be a secret gift, because it made me so grateful for what my body can do. I just started climbing again last week, and I don’t have that same intense fear. This past weekend I finished my first outdoor route at Smith Rock State Park and then did two more. I still get scared, and I still have so much to learn, but I’m so proud. 🧗🩷