IGRA History
The idea for a "gay rodeo" originated with Phil Ragsdale in 1975. Many in the gay community are familiar with the "Imperial Court" system that exists in many larger cities around the North America. As the "Court Emperor" of Reno, Nevada, Ragsdale decided to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association by means of a gay rodeo. The first available date at the Washoe County Fairgrounds was October 2nd, 1976, and Ragsdale began planning at once. At first, he was not able to find any farmers or ranchers willing to lease livestock for a gay rodeo, but eventually the animals were secured and the rodeo went on as scheduled. There were not very many contestants or spectators that first year, but Ragsdale decided to keep it as an annual event. The event became known as the National Reno Gay Rodeo and every year thousands of dollars were raised for Muscular Dystrophy through competition of the titles of Mr., Ms., and Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo.
In 1981, an energetic group of Texas contestants attended the Reno rodeo. During the weekend, Miss Texas bumped into Wayne Jakino of Denver, Colorado. "She" ridiculed Wayne because of the small representation from Colorado, and Wayne vowed that the next year his state would show up in force. One-month later Wayne, Ron Jesser, and seven other men formed the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association (CGRA). When Colorado returned to the 1982 National Reno Gay Rodeo they were 400 strong, including a mounted drill team and some 43 contestants. Comedienne Joan Rivers was the Grand Marshall that year, and there were over 10,000 spectators in the grandstands. The contestants from Colorado gained support from other contestants to push for uniform rules in order to improve the quality of the rodeo.
That following winter, a group from Colorado traveled to Houston to encourage the formation of the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA) and a rodeo in that part of the country. Texas promised to support Colorado if they would lead the way with their own rodeo. On June 3rd, 1983, Denver became the second city in the U.S. to host a gay rodeo. Many contestants came from Texas and California to the first Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo, only to experience torrential rain throughout the weekend. But the rodeo went on anyway! They had all been through too much to let a little water stop the festivities. In late June, the TGRA was formed and scheduled their first rodeo for the following year.
In 1984 the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) was formed in California. That was also the year of the Ninth Annual National Reno Gay Rodeo, which was the last rodeo held in that city due to financial difficulties. In November of that year, Texas held their first rodeo a few miles outside of Houston and in December, the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association (AGRA) was organized in Phoenix.
In March of 1985, gay rodeo moved to the West Coast as GSGRA hosted their first rodeo at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. The rodeo organizations from Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona decided that it was time to have more uniformity in their rodeos and scheduled a convention in order to standardize rules and objectives of their associations. In September, the convention was held in Denver, the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) was formed, the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association (OGRA) was seated as the fifth Member Association and Wayne Jakino was elected as the Founding President.
1987 was the first year that a Country/Western dance competition was held during the IGRA Annual Convention. Several gay country bars around the country organized it and it proved to be popular evening entertainment. The convention delegates voted to add the dance competition as an annual convention event. This was also the year for IGRA's first International Finals Rodeo which was held in Hayward, California, near San Francisco. The IGRA Finals Rodeo brought the top contestants from throughout the year to compete for each Event Championship buckle as well as the titles of All-Around Cowboy and All-Around Cowgirl.
As with any large organization, there have been losses of associations as well as gains. As of 2009 the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) currently has 26 Member Associations and even more chapters representing many states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces. The IGRA and its Chapters continue to fundraise and return thousands of dollars every year to their chosen charities. There will be a total of 17 Gay Rodeos held in 2009 across North America including the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Albuquerque, NM. The Silver Anniversary IGRA Convention and Royalty Competition will be hosted by the CCGRA this November in Toronto, On.
