Craft Around the Country

At the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum, A Contest and Auction Forged in Tradition

The Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum’s annual Bits and Rawhide Reins Contest and Auction celebrates Western craftsmanship.

By Amy Erickson
February 26, 2026

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Photo courtesy of the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum

Local cowboys of all ages check out the entries to the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum's bit-making contest.

Each January, as poets and musicians gather in Elko Nevada, for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, another form of storytelling—in steel, silver, and rawhide—takes center stage just down the street. The Cowboy Arts and Gear museum’s annual Bits and Rawhide Reins Contest and Auction has become a cornerstone event of the week, drawing makers, collectors, working cowboys, and Western art enthusiasts into a shared celebration of functional craftsmanship.

Founded in 2016, the museum opened to the public and hosted its first gear show in 2018. The bit contest was launched in 2019; the rawhide reins contest was added in 2021. Both contests are judged by horse trainers, ranchers, and craftspeople—professionals with deep knowledge and understanding of the gear, how it’s made, and its proper use.

The event has grown rapidly. What began as a focused showcase has evolved into a highly anticipated competition and auction with a waitlist of makers eager to participate. Museum director Madelaine Gaskey believes that this growth reflects something deeper than just popularity. “I hope visitors come away understanding that cowboy gear–making is a living, evolving art form, not just a relic of the past,” she says. “These crafts people are creating functional pieces that working cowboys, cowgirls, and ranchers depend on daily, but they’re doing it with an artistry and attention to detail that rivals any fine art.”

Photo by Amy Erickson

Rein-making contestants check out contest entries during the maker's meeting.

During the 30 days that the bits and reins are on display to the public, a walk through the museum bears out this proposition. A handmade bit reveals hours of engraving and precise mechanical balance. A set of braided rawhide reins showcases painstaking preparation and technique passed down through generations. They are not decorative imitations of the West—they are authentic tools, built for work and shaped by deep knowledge of materials and purpose. Their beauty lies in their function.

One of the most striking elements of the contest is the dynamic between generations. First-time entrants often stand beside bit and rein makers with decades of experience. According to Gaskey, the atmosphere is one of mutual respect. The judging process is educational, offering newer craftspeople a glimpse of the mastery of older generations, while veteran artists have the opportunity to witness fresh approaches. In this side-by-side competition, it’s evident that these trades are not fading, but are instead being chosen, learned, and advanced by newer makers.

Photo courtesy of the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum

A collection of bits on display in the museum features original work by G. S. Garcia, along with work from modern makers.

“I hope visitors come away understanding that cowboy gear making is a living, evolving art form, not just a relic of the past.”

— Madelaine Gaskey

Hosting the contest during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering adds another layer of meaning. The Western Folklife Center’s weeklong celebration brings together a diverse audience, including working ranchers, longtime collectors, and visitors newly curious about Western heritage. Many attendees discover the gear show by chance and leave with a new appreciation for the artistry behind the tools of the trade. And the cross-pollination of poetry, music, and gearmaking in Elko creates a rare synergy, with different disciplines contributing to the same living Western culture.

The setting matters, too. Housed in the original G. S. Garcia Saddle Shop in downtown Elko, in the heart of ranch country, the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum is not presenting a theme-park version of the West. The traditions on display are rooted in the surrounding landscape. During the Gathering, the crafts feel like they belong in the town.

The auction component has also expanded significantly over the years, eventually requiring a partnership with a professional auction company to handle bidding after overwhelming demand crashed the museum’s website. The auction is a major fundraiser for the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum, but it remains maker-centered: only 20 percent of proceeds go to the museum, with the remaining 80 percent going to the makers.

Photo courtesy of the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum

The Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum is located in the historic G. S. Garcia Saddle Shop in downtown Elko, Nevada.

Auction proceeds are vital to sustaining the museum’s broader mission. Funds go towards educational workshops led by master craftspeople, exhibitions of historical and contemporary cowboy gear, documentation of regional ranching heritage, scholarship opportunities, and the Ranch Heritage Feature series, a new initiative to create a docuseries about different ranches in the Great Basin. The sale also connects collectors and supporters directly to the makers, investing not just in objects but in the continuation of skill and knowledge in Western craft traditions.

Each year, the contest offers a quiet but powerful statement about the future of traditional cowboy arts. In an era defined by speed and convenience, these makers commit to time-intensive processes that demand patience, precision, and discipline. The strong market for handmade quality—and the growing list of craftsmen dedicated to learning these trades—suggests that authenticity still holds value.

At its heart, the Bits and Rawhide Reins Contest and Auction is more than a competition. It is a gathering place, a classroom, a marketplace, a celebration, and a living testament to the continuity of Western craft and proof that the tools shaping the cowboy way of life will still be shaped by hand for generations to come.

Photo courtesy of the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum

Idaho silversmith and bit maker Chris Cheney teaches an engraving workshop at the museum.

Amy Erickson is a Wyoming-based western silversmith, engraver, and bit-and-spur maker specializing in hand-engraved jewelry and gear. She enjoys telling the stories of her peers in Western craft through her writing.

Learn more about the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum online.

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This article was made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation.

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