when you think about the lgbt community
you don't really think oh rodeo and
cowboys and cowgirls
that's not what comes to mind at all
most people know about the rodeo but
have you heard about the gay rodeo i
just learned about it from my friend who
loves line dancing and a good rodeo i
was surprised to hear that something
that seemed so hyper masculinized like a
rodeo had a spin-off that was just as
tough but a little bit more colorful
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the gay rodeo began in the 1970s and it
became a safe haven for all of those who
would face discrimination in a
traditional rodeo setting the great
thing about it is i could be open yeah i
couldn't be open the way i wanted to
walking down the street so here was a
place that i could open up
that was what really
struck me
this is my place this is where i need to
be
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the first thing that i wanted to do when
i heard about the gay rodeo was hop on
an airplane and go visit one myself but
rodeos are on pause right now because of
the pandemic
so i turned to the internet
that's when i met cowboy frank the man
behind the gay rodeo history website and
the master cataloger who's traveled to
hundreds of rodeos filming and archiving
every event frank was nice enough to
share his archive of videos with me so
that i could at least experience the gay
rodeo virtually he also helped introduce
me to gay rodeo contestants from across
the country and with their help i've
learned a lot about the story of the gay
rodeo
it's a story about perseverance through
periods of hate and also about the
acceptance people can find through a
chosen family
that guy on the horse is greg begaye an
all-cowboy rodeo competitor with several
all-around awards and even some world
records and the roping events
i grew up on the navajo reservation in
the northeast corner of arizona oh sorry
there's flies
in my like senior year of high school i
kind of was like searching like is there
a gay rodeo so you just looked it up
yeah like i googled it and then one time
my mom busted me because it was left on
the search bar and i was like oh my gosh
oh no i was i really had to like
just hide it i used to love going to
rodeos when i was a kid and so when i
learned about the gay rodeo my first
thought was what's the difference
between the traditional rodeo and the
gay rodeo well to start both rodeos have
a lot in common from bull riding to
barrel racing to calf roping but unlike
the traditional rodeo the gay rodeo is
often regarded as not a serious sport
but that's just not true the gay rodeo
is every bit is rigorous what do you
think people commonly misunderstand
about the gay rodeo when you say gay
it's a just a flamboyant kind of
term
and it's not people
are out there getting drug around the
arena or
burning their fingers just like
everybody else
one thing i've heard that sets game
rodeo apart from traditional roadie is
that both cowboys and cowgirls have
competed in similar events for
traditional rodeo
men ride the animals and rope the steers
and stuff and women do barrel racing
that's pretty much it
in 2019 some traditional rodeos just
began including women in the breakaway
roping event for the first time
in the gay rodeo since the very
beginning women and men compete equally
in all events
we have women bull riders
and we have men air racers
the gay rodeo also has some unique camp
events that you can't find anywhere else
you've got steer decorating goat
dressing
and the wild drag race
the last significant difference between
the traditional rodeo and the gay rodeo
dates back to its founding it all began
in 1976 at the washoe county fairgrounds
in reno nevada with a man named phil
ragsdale he wanted to come up with
something different as his fundraiser
for that year after local ranchers
rejected his idea of gay rodeo phil
gathered five cows ten calves one pig
and his shetland pony to start his own
with all the proceeds going towards a
thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens
he had a lot of trouble finding animals
because the ranchers wouldn't let gay
people touch their animals
exactly why i was never quite sure but
that was the environment of that period
phil's hard work paid off when the gates
opened over 125 people showed up and to
this day the gay rodeo is still held as
a charitable event all of the gay rodeos
are
non-profits
they have to be as part of the rules
most of the straight rodeos go to
especially the big ones
they are profit makers their intention
is to put on a show
and raise money
as a business
phil's successful launch of the gay
rodeo was a pivotal moment for the lgbtq
community but it was only the first of
many battles still to come
as the gay rodeo gains popularity
drawing over 10 000 spectators and
forming new chapters across the nation
they also face complaints from animal
rights organizations like peta and were
targeted by conservative religious
groups
in 1988 the finals rodeo was going to be
held in reno and the
facility
canceled their contract and they found a
farmer or a rancher
in a town about 50 miles east of reno
that was willing to do it
and the local group of anti-gay people
they had it stopped
some of our competitors the sheriff's
office
had rifles pointed at them in the 1980s
and 90s the gay rodeo was hit especially
hard by the aids epidemic and many
members including founder phil ragsdale
died
it ripped through
gay rodeo they lost literally hundreds
of contestants and people involved but
we'd get past it
we still lose people from time to time
from hiv-related diseases
i myself have been full blown aids since
1991.
wow and exactly how i'm still here i'm
not sure
in 1985 several leaders and a man named
wayne aquino established the
international gay rodeo association as a
sanctioning body for gay rodeos wayne
became igra's first president and
standardized rules for all contestants
making it possible for the first world
gay rodeo finals in 1987.
now almost 35 years later the gay rodeo
faces a new challenge maintaining its
rank
back in its heyday the igra boasted
around 5 000 members the last record
account in 2013 dwindles to roughly
1600.
more chapters of the gay rodeo are now
defunct than active and while the more
popular circuits still garner thousands
in their stands most call it a success
if a hundred attempt
this is jade favre she just joined the
gay rodeo two years ago and in 2020 she
was crowned ms nsgra by the north star
gay rodeo
why do you think there aren't as many
young people
in gay rodeo as there have been in the
past they just don't know about it
yeah i joined the gsa at my college and
i'm outreaching that way
i feel like they just don't know how do
you get more young people involved in
gay rodeo i have no idea
if i knew that answer i would have done
it already some blame the declined
interest on the high cost and low
financial return others question if the
gay rodeo is necessary especially with
the lgbtq rights movement gaining so
much traction over the years why does
there need to be a separate rodeo
so many people have worked so hard
in order to
give us what we have
to me when i hear that it's just like
somebody saying why do we need
pride
because it's who we are and it's
what other people have given us i feel
like the gay rodeos provided us a place
for
people that were into the western
lifestyle that were gay that wanted to
hang out and
still compete if they were
shunned away or if they just didn't feel
comfortable anymore
gay rodeo
currently is still like that
what is your favorite part about the gay
rodeo the camaraderie other than just
enjoying watching
good looking guys in my case guys
in other people's case the gals we are
basically one big happy family we've got
some
that cause trouble you'll find that in
any family
but we all come to each other's rescue
and that's the thing about the gay rodeo
even from its conception it's always
been about community and equality and
some badass cowboys and cowgirls who are
defying social norms and playing by
their own rules
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