Gay Rodeo alive and well in the pandemic
Aug. 29—All Wes Givens and Civan Belladonna Daniels had to do was put a pair of men's underwear on a goat to win the contest.
Instead, they put them on the guy who the goat was hiding behind, thereby sacrificing a chance to win the goat dressing contest at the Zia Regional Rodeo Sunday. In the event, one contestant is supposed to grab the goat while the other one lifts up its rear end and puts underwear on it.
It's the sort of competitive event you'd only find in a gay rodeo.
"I want them to have fun," Givens said of the spectators, who burst into laughter and applause at the unexpected bit of comic byplay Sunday afternoon. The 61-year-old from Little Rock has been participating in gay rodeos since 1988.
"It's been my family," he said as he joked around with fellow rodeo contestant Nikki Starr, who ended up wearing the underwear over his outerwear. Starr was on the field of the arena anchoring the goat when he got caught up in the shenanigans.
Many of the events in the Zia Regional Rodeo can be found in any rodeo, such as roping, riding and wrestling steers to the ground with your bare hands.
But only in gay rodeo events will you find goat dressing or a wild drag race, in which a rodeo contestant in drag must ride a not-too-pleased steer while two teammates help pull the stubborn critter over a line some 70 feet from the rodeo chute.
It's a place where contestants feel supported and mentored, even from competing cowboys or cowgirls. It's a place where they can be themselves, several said.
"It's welcoming," said 19-year-old Nando Cole, who made his rodeo debut this weekend at the Zia rodeo. "Everybody's just friendly and they have open arms, you can just be free and happy."
The Zia Regional Rodeo, New Mexico's only gay rodeo, is an associate member of the International Gay Rodeo Association, which is composed of numerous member associations throughout the United States and Canada.
The first gay rodeo was held in Nevada in 1976. Today there is a gay rodeo circuit, and many of the contestants at the Santa Fe-based gay rodeo have competed at them.
Some are newcomers, like Nando Cole — that's his rodeo circuit name — who brought a steer to the ground in about 10 seconds during the chute dogging contest. He said he likes the excitement of the arena events.
Ringo Cole, 24 — no relation to Nando, as that's also his rodeo circuit name — was also a first-timer this weekend. He, like Nando, is from Texas, and his infatuation with the cowboy way of life came about through the animated hit movie Toy Story. Woody, the cowboy character, has always been his favorite.
"I've always dreamed of being a cowboy," said Ringo Cole, who said he likes watching Western films — "I like the old ones best," — and finds it a "rush" to try to take down a steer or clad a goat in underwear.
Their mentor is Alexis Cole — yes, that's another stage name — who has been running the rodeo circuit ever since childhood and who thinks that Nando and Ringo may have it easier than he did in terms of overcoming prejudice and judgement.
"They've obviously had a very huge opportunity that didn't have the obstacles experienced by our older generation," he said. "I think society now is more accepting about people being openly gay."
Others riding, roping and steering at the rodeo have been doing it for years, like Terri Hibben of Albuquerque, who ran fast and hard in a number of contests on her horse Blurr.
Hibben grew up in Iowa, where she first became familiar with horses after her parents bought her a pony when she was nine years. She rode that pony "all over town," she said.
"Horses are a part of who I am," she said as she ran her hand over Blurr's head in a petting fashion. "They're a part of my identity."
Racing Blurr around the field for the pole bending competition, she said she doesn't even think about what she's doing when she's out there in front of the crowd doing it.
"It's so exciting and so fast paced you don't think about it," she said.
Still others have been competing for decades, like 62-year-old Andy Pittman of Texas, who was still reeling from the loss of his beloved horse Lance, who was suffering from a spinal disease.
A rodeo colleague, not wanting Pitman to miss out this year, loaned hm a horse to use for his riding competitions this weekend.
Pitman first entered the gay rodeo circuit in 1999 and then, after taking a break from it, returned to it three years ago. While sexual identity "still plays into" gay rodeos, he's seeing that fading away as more people accept the notion of gay rodeos and people of all gender identities and expressions.
Still, he said only in a gay rodeo competition could he "kiss my partner before I make a run" in the arena.
