TGRA 2007 Capital City Rodeo comes to Austin

From This Week In Texas

Austin
TGRA 2007 Capital City Rodeo comes to Austin

Aug 15, 2007

It all began as a simple idea in the biggest little city in the world. The year was 1975 when Phil Ragsdale, Emperor 1 of the Silver Dollar Court of Reno Nevada, began to lay the groundwork for an innovative fundraising idea – an amateur gay rodeo.

Life then was very different for gay people. Though gay liberation was gathering steam, this was the era of Anita Bryant’s famous crusade. Ragsdale ran head-on into homophobia as he tried to bring his idea to life. No ranchers would provide stock for a gay rodeo. Finding a location that would allow a gay rodeo was proving to be a challenge. All of these obstacles made Ragsdale more determined to produce this event. It was his belief that rodeo was the perfect vehicle to challenge the pervasive image of gay people prevalent in the country at that time. The Marlboro Man was an iconic emblem of masculinity, something most people would never associate with gay men. Ragsdale knew that rodeo was the perfect sport to show how gay people were more than the one dimensional image most people had in their mind.

It took almost a year but on October 1, 1976, utilizing five wild range cows, ten wild range calves, one pig and one Shetland pony, the Washoe County Fairgrounds came alive with the first ever gay rodeo. Barely 125 people took part in this first event. Borrowing an idea from the International Court System, the first King of the Cowboys, Queen of the Cowgirls and Miss Dusty Spurs were crowned and reigned over the festivities that were great fun but a minor success.

Ragsdale believed in the idea of gay rodeo as a vehicle to advance gay causes. In 1977 he founded the Comstock Gay Rodeo Association to continue to produce what was now known as the National Reno Gay Rodeo and to continue to present a different image of gay people to the world. Each year the rodeo continued to be a little more successful than the last but in 1980, all things western got an unexpected boost. The movie Urban Cowboy lit the fire of a two-steppin’ craze that overtook the country and Phil Ragsdale’s little rodeo reaped the benefits.

By 1981 more than 10,000 fans, lead by groups from Colorado, Texas, California and Utah, packed the stands and nearly $40,000 was raised for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Because of Reno’s close proximity to California and its all night casino action, more than 40,000 gay people made the trek to partake of the festive atmosphere. The party was on and no one had a clue that it would soon come crashing down.

As AIDS began to devastate the gay community, the rodeo became an even greater asset. Not only as a fundraising medium but as a way to continue to showcase gay people as something other than the carriers of a new mysterious plague. By 1981 Colorado had already formed a rodeo association and Texas was soon to follow. For many, rodeo became an island of normalcy in a community quickly changing from the onslaught of AIDS.

With the support of Terry Clark, Walter Strickler and several other leading gay businessmen throughout the state, the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA) was born and November 1984 saw the first gay rodeo ever in Texas. Several other states were beginning to hold rodeos of their own and soon all the state rodeo associations joined together and formed the International Gay Rodeo Association which today has 28 member chapters in the United States and Canada.

TGRA made one of its first trips to Austin in 1986 to hold the state meeting of all the Texas subchapters. Garry Holley, a long-time Austin bartender and member of the Austin chapter, was contacted to help provide entertainment for the group. Along with other Austin members Philip Prock, Glen Hostetler and Tim Jackson (AKA Grandma), these four first time entertainers took to the dance floor at Snuffy’s dressed as little old ladies. They lip synced their way through the Goodman Family’s “Looking for a City” and the Austin Babtist Women were born. The crowd went wild for the on-stage antics and 21 years later the Austin Babtist Women continue to be a fundraising force.

The Austin Babtist Women, in recognition for their continued support of TGRA and charities in general, will be honored as Grand Marshall’s for the 2007 Capital City Rodeo. The Austin Babtist Women got their idea of fundraising from TGRA and since its beginning, the Texas Gay Rodeo Association has donated more than $2,000,000 to charity. TGRA continues to be one of the leading, private funding organizations for HIV/AIDS in the state. Thousands of gay Texans have passed through its membership ranks and a vital group of dedicated individuals carry on the dream.

The rodeo itself has grown over the years into a competitive sport enjoyed by many participants regardless of gender or sexuality. One of the first major differences of gay rodeo is that competitors take part in events traditionally reserved in other rodeo circuits for a specific gender group. For example, men run the barrel race and women ride bulls. Gay rodeo continues to break down stereotypes.

Gay rodeo pays homage to camp with non-traditional events such as goat dressing, steer decorating and the ever popular wild drag race. Watching two grown adults race toward a tethered goat, raise its legs and place a pair of regulation tighty-whiteys over the goat’s legs is definitely not something you see every day. Or how about watching two people try to muscle a steer across a white line while being ridden by a man dressed as an outrageous version of a woman. These crowd pleasing events are a staple of gay rodeo and play a large role in keeping gay rodeo to its fun, entertaining roots.

Over the weekend of September 20-23, Austin will once again play host to TGRA’s 2007 Capital City Rodeo at the Travis County Expo Center. Two days of rodeo action are just part of a weekend packed with parties, the State Dance Competition and the crowning of the new Mr. and Miss TGRA. The Wyndham Hotel plays host to Friday afternoon’s “welcome” pool party, Friday evening’s Howdy Party and Saturday evening’s TGRA State Dance competition. Also on Saturday at the Wyndham hotel, the Heart of Texas Bears will host a fun and furry pool party.

Special VIP ticketing will be available in advance from TGRA at one of the many upcoming official pre-rodeo events. These limited special passes will provide access to all rodeo events, VIP reserved parking at the Travis Country Expo Center with a special entrance and access to the VIP bar area. Check out www.austintgra.org for more information and complete scheduling.