Model search finalists competing to be the face of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip

Meet the 2023 Sturgis Buffalo Chip Poster Model Finalists

PUBLISHED ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023
By Mary Panerio

It’s safe to say competition has never been stiffer for the ladies in the Buffalo Chip Poster Model Search presented by Twisted Tea, Jägermeister, Fozzy’s Cycle Shop, Silverado Franklin and XRock. While there’s no cooler job than being the face of the world’s largest motorcycle and music festival, the huge pile of cash that accompanies the 2023 grand prize has raised the stakes and brought out some of the best talent this search has ever seen. Out of countless contestants, 21 will be moving forward to the finals hosted by XRock on May 6, 2023. Meet these finalists below and see for yourself just how hard this decision will be.

MEET THE 2023 POSTER MODEL SEARCH FINALISTS!

Be sure to tell us who you think the winner should be in the comments section below!

Annie D.
Age: 43
Occupation: Full-Time Medical Coder, Part-Time Server
Qualifying Bar: Double Nickel Bar – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

What is your favorite hobby?
Playing pool, hands down. Close second is being behind a cute pair of buns on a bike.

Who’s one person you’d be starstruck by if you got to meet them?
In my 20’s, when I was young and beautiful, I was obsessed with “my boyfriend,” Fred Durst. I would probably pass out finally meeting him 20 years later.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?
True story: I’ve already won the SD lottery – $50k. Paid off debts, bought a camper and went on a cruise. If I won it again, I’d do the same thing: debts, motorcycle and a grand trip.

Ariel S.
Age: 27
Occupation: Waitress & Scheduling Coordinator
Qualifying Bar: The Park – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Rapid City, SD

What is your favorite hobby?
Photography & gardening

If you could be a rockstar for a day, who would you be, and why?
Freddie Mercury, because he had the biggest crowds and the most fun.

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Mud wrestle

Who is the person that’s been the biggest influence in your life?
My mama. She is my #1 supporter and positive person in my life.

Ashley L.
Age: 27
Occupation: Certified Ophthalmic Scribe for an Eye Lasik doctor and part-time student
Qualifying Bar: Robbinsdale Lounge
Hometown: Puerto Rico

If you could hold any world record, what would it be and why?
It would most likely be the highest pitch sneeze. People say my sneeze jump-scares because it’s so high pitched.

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
When I left Puerto Rico for the first time ever in 2020and came to Rapid City, South Dakota for a better education and job opportunities. The hardest thing was leaving my family behind.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
There’s things in life you can’t control, and you have to make peace with that.

Why do you want to be the 2023 Buffalo Chip Poster Model?
I want to be an influence of motivation to other minority girls ot there that don’t think we can compete for things like this just because it’s not our culture. Anyone can wake up one day and find themselves loving a completely new culture and finding themselves where they truly by heart belong. The money prize is a plus. I am currently taking online classes, which are expensive, so that would help push me closer to reaching my goal of working in the medical field helping people. That’s what I truly love.

Brandee F.
Age: 41
Occupation: Yet to be announced
Qualifying Bar: Double Nickel Bar – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Rapid City, SD

What is your favorite hobby?
Making Halloween costumes and costumes for other events throughout the year.

Do you have any secret talents?
I can twist my fingers into a pretzel. I can MEOW some songs.

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list
Not sure I have one. I just live day by day and if an opportunity arises, then I will do it.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?
There’s plenty of time to splurge after winning the lottery, so very first thing, I would give huge amounts to multiple animal shelters to keep them open forever so all stay happy.

Bria S.
Age: 22
Occupation: Economic Assistance Benefits Specialist
Qualifying Bar: Valley Sports Bar – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Blue Earth, MN

Describe your fantasy motorcycle ride.
A ride through the hills on a sunny day with a dog riding with me!

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be?
Probably the most consecutive pull ups because I can only do 3 on a good day.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
When I was a kid, I used to eat these weeds that grew on our sidewalk because they tasted like mustard.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

Brittany G.
Age: 31
Occupation: Waitress
Qualifying Bar: Kickstands – Sturgis, SD
Hometown: Rapid City, SD

Do you have any secret talents?
I can touch my nose with my tongue.

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be?
Widest mouth, so I can eat five different foods at a time.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
That they give back and support each other like family.

Why do you want to be the 2023 Buffalo Chip Poster Model?
To be a part of a community and to prove that no matter what you look like or where you come from, you can do anything.

Cassandra L.
Age: 31
Occupation: Digital Marketing Strategist
Qualifying Bar: Valley Sports Bar – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Box Elder, SD

Have you ever attended a concert at the Buffalo Chip?
ZZ Top and Sublime with Rome

If you could be a rockstar for a day, who would you be?
Pink! I love her acrobatic stage presence and her empowerment edge

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Van life, living to visit all 50 states.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches.

Em P.
Age: 34
Occupation: RN & Ambassador to Women and Motorsports
Qualifying Bar: Robbinsdale Lounge – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Sturgis, SD

Describe your fantasy motorcycle ride.
I took my fantasy motorcycle ride last year with my dog, Tator. Together, we rode the lower 48 states and all four corners of the US in 26 days, covering 13,528 miles.

Have you ever attended a concert at the Buffalo Chip?
I have been to almost every concert in the last couple years and have enjoyed every minute of live music while sitting on my motorcycle in the amphitheater. My most memorable concert was dancing on the seat of my bike at Shinedown in 2021.

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be, and why?
Last year, I helped set a new world record along with 100 other women for the most amount of ladies on Indian Motorcycles at one time. I’m hoping to help beat it this year in August.

Why do you want to be the 2023 Buffalo Chip Poster Model?
There are hundreds of places you can stay in the Black Hills during the Sturgis Rally. What sets the Buffalo Chip apart from everywhere else is the magic in itself.

The Chip has the ability to bring such a diverse group of people together and, despite our differences, form a community.

Each year, it’s as if we attend a family reunion, which is why the sign “Welcome Home Bikers” as you enter the campground has such a strong meaning.

We all know the venue for being “The Best Party Anywhere.” However, it is so much more than just that.

From their generous contribution to the veterans to their ongoing effort to embrace women in motorcycling, the Buffalo Chip has earned mylove and respect, which is why it would be an honor to represent them.

I can honestly say that I am far more of a rider than I will ever be a swimsuit model. However, being the Poster Model isn’t just posing for a picture. You’re the brand ambassador for the largest music and motorcycle festival in the world. It requires you to know the industry, be outgoing and also have strong marketing skills.

Because at the end of the day, you want people to continue to return each year to the family reunion for generations to come.

Erika G.
Age: 27
Occupation: Headshop Manager
Qualifying Bar: Paddy O’Neil’s Pub – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Rapid City, SD

What are 3 words that describe your personality?
Quirky, spooky and sassy

If you could be a rockstar for a day, who would you be and why?
Stevie Nicks – She’s one of the most badass witchy women.

Name one experience on your bucket list.
Going to New Zealand to see all of the locations where they filmed The Lord of the Rings!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Be careful out there with who you trust, because if you let someone shenan, you better believe they will shenanigan.

Haley L.
Age: 21
Occupation: Retail Manager & Social Media Influencer
Qualifying Bar: Gold Pan Saloon – Custer, SD
Hometown: Hot Springs, SD

Do you have any secret talents?
I can walk on my hands for an abnormal amount of time!

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be, and why?
I weightlift competitively, so I would love to someday have the strongest squat/deadlift for my weight!

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
When I was 18, I packed everything I owned into my car and drove cross-country from Pittsburgh to South Dakota. I needed a change in my life, and I am so glad I took that risk.

Hannah S.
Age: 23
Occupation: Bartender
Qualifying Bar: Gold Pan Saloon – Custer, SD
Hometown: Custer, SD

What are three words that describe your personality?
Resilient, rebellious and resourceful

Who is your favorite band?
I’ve got to say, my favorite band is Nickelback. Shamelessly.

Who’s one person you’d be starstruck by if you got to meet them?
Jesus

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Karrie D.
Age: 22
Occupation: Bartender/Waitress
Qualifying Bar: Cowboy Back Bar – Belle Fourche, Sd
Hometown: Spearfish, SD

What are three words that describe your personality?
Ambitious, spontaneous, quirky

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be, and why?
To be able to save the most animals and leave a major mark on the animal world. It’s my biggest dream.

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
Traveling across the country in order to get a risky surgery for my dog.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
How motorcycles can bring together all different types of people, regardless of opinion or belief.

Kayla H.
Age: 29
Occupation: Owner & Pet Groomer at Divine Pet Grooming
Qualifying Bar: Robbinsdale Lounge – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Bismark, ND

What is your favorite hobby?
Ripping around on my Harley, and I am currently trying to learn how to stunt ride on my Honda Grom. I also enjoy shooting pool and deer hunting.

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be, and why?
World’s best pool player, so I can finally beat a game against my grandpa.

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
Opened my own pet grooming business.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
I have met some of the coolest people through riding and a lot of them have become better friends to me than some people back home. The bond and the vibe can’t be matched.

Megan J.
Age: 35
Occupation: Office Manager
Qualifying Bar: Paddy O’Neil’s Pub – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Rapid City, SD

Do you have any secret talents?
I can run a 5k in 17 minutes and not get winded.

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
I took a chance on my husband, and it has paid off.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
How caring and friendly and accepting they are.

Who is the person that’s been the biggest influence on your life?
My mom. I think I always have wanted to show her how well I could do in life.

Rachel H.
Age: 25
Occupation: Bartender/Bar Manager
Qualifying Bar: Robbinsdale Lounge – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Sheridan, WY

What is your favorite hobby?
Creating. Whether it’s cooking, baking, art, music, mixology, putting motors in cars that don’t belong there, or wire wrapping Fairburn Agates that I’ve found in the Badlands.

Do you have any secret talents?
I sing, play piano and drums, and played the cello when I was young. I also dabble in arts of many varieties. I am an amazing cook and baker, and I used to own a drift car that I took to events in Sturgis.

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
They’re just one giant family. Most of them look out for each other and support one another’s passion for the lifestyle/hobby.

Saige A.
Age: 33
Occupation: X-Ray Tech/Studio Owner
Qualifying Bar: Robbinsdale Lounge – Rapid City, SD
Hometown: Scottsbluff, NE/Rapid City, SD

Where do you go when you want to have fun and cut loose?
Ladies nights in Deadwood, SD!

If you could be a rockstar for a day, who would you be, and why?
Pink. She is true to who she is—a badass woman. She can sing, dance and do aerial, and her music speaks to my soul.

If you could hold any world record, what would you want it to be, and why?
For eating the most ice cream, because ice cream tastes amazing no matter when, where or how you eat it.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?
Finish my ’78 Trans Am and travel

Sara B.
Age: 25
Occupation: Analyst
Qualifying Bar: Kickstands – Sturgis, SD
Hometown: Denver, CO/Milwaukee, WI

Have you ever attended a concert at the Bufalo Chip?
Yes! Every concert for the last 3 years.

Do you have any secret talents?
I can fall asleep anywhere, does that count?

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Visiting the wonders of the world.

Can you tell us about a time when you took a risk and it paid off?
Moving to Denver by myself at the end of 2021.

Shamee M.
Age: 32
Occupation: Admissions Specialist and Bartender/Waitress
Qualifying Bar: The Knuckle Saloon – Sturgis, SD
Hometown: Ellendale, ND

What is your favorite hobby?
Barrel racing

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Hiking in Zion National Park

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Ketchup on watermelon – my sister’s favorite!

Who is the person that’s been the biggest influence on your life?
My grandmother is the biggest influence in my life. I spent a lot of time on her ranch growing up. She taught me to be strong yet gentle, stern yet kind and fierce yet humble. She built me into who I am today!

Shelby L.
Age: 26
Occupation: General Contractor
Qualifying Bar: Gold Pan Saloon – Custer, SD
Hometown: Custer, SD

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
Spending an entire rally week at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Barbeque crickets

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?
Buy a Harley and then take te riders’ classes.

Who is the person who’s been the biggest influence on your life?
My dad because he has always been my best friend. We are pretty much the same person, and I honestly don’t know who I would be without his influence and friendship.

Trish R.
Age: 31
Occupation: Mother and Bartender
Qualifying Bar: Kickstands
Hometown: Kingman, AZ / Lead, SD

What are 3 words that describe your personality?
Personable, generous and fun

Have you ever attended a concert at the Buffalo Chip?
I have almost seen every concert at the Buffalo Chip since 2018. My first concert was Pop Evil.

Name one experience that’s on your bucket list.
To travel overseas with someone special to see beautiful places and experience different cultures and try all the different food.

What do you love most about the motorcycle community?
Majority of the community have a lot of respect and even though I don’t have my own bike or consider myself a biker, I still feel welcomed.

Vanessa R.
Age: 33
Occupation: Business Owner
Qualifying Bar: The Knuckle Saloon – Sturgis, SD
Hometown: Hermosa, SD

What are 3 words that describe your personality?
Warm, wild and weird

Who’s one person you’d be star struck by if you got to meet them?
Dolly Parton. What a woman!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
A cigarette. A dare is a dare.

Why do you want to be the 2023 Buffalo Chip Poster Model?
I grew up in the Black Hills and going to the Rally. All my family and friends are bikers. The Chip is like a second home to many, and I absolutely love the community of it all. It would be an incredible opportunity and experience to be closer to that.

 

 

WANT TO SEE MORE?

Cheer on your favorite contestants as they strut across the stage at Rapid City’s Robbinsdale Lounge in the theme from their qualifying bar, Americana wear and bikinis during the Poster Model Finals on May 6, 2023!

In the meantime, you can also get up close and personal with pas Poster Model Search contestants and see how they stack up with this year’s in the Sturgis Rider News Blog articles below.

Which one of these biker babes do you think should become the 2023 Poster Model? Tell us in the comments section below!

Presented by the Sturgis Buffalo Chip

Known as The Best Party Anywhere®, the Legendary Buffalo Chip believes festivals should be fun like a high five, reenergize you like a broken rule, and romance you like someone you just met and want to kiss.

This nine-day festival of concerts and motorcycle events promises to bring you exciting live performances from artists like Aerosmith, Willie Nelson, Five Finger Death Punch, Kid Rock, Rob Zombie, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Toby Keith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mötley Crüe, Miranda Lambert, 3 Doors Down, ZZ Top, Sublime with Rome, Slash, and many more.

The Best Party Anywhere remains one of the most televised festivals in the world and has been featured on the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, CMT Bike Week, HISTORY, TLC, National Geographic and more.
Learn more at www.BuffaloChip.com.