Out West
The other rodeo in Calgary
BY Ryan R. Schmidt
Photography by Ryan R. Schmidt
Days after Canada passed the highly controversial Bill C-38, at that time becoming one of only three countries in the world to legally sanction same-sex marriage, Calgary played host to the one and only gay rodeo in Canada. Surprising indeed, as there is little acceptance for queer culture in Alberta, where Premier Ralph Klein held out as long as possible before acknowledging the right of same-sex couples to marry. Yet while the West remains the West, deeply rooted in its rich conservative history and ideals, cowboys are cowboys even if they are gay.
Every July, just before Calgary hosts the world-famous Exhibition and Stampede, it welcomes to town the lesser-known gay and lesbian Canadian Rockies International Rodeo. While both rodeos bring cowboys and cowgirls from across Canada and the U.S. to compete, only one allows participants to contend as “the gender they most identify with.” The competition for prize buckles is stiff at both the traditional rodeo events and more flamboyant “camp” events. Top qualifiers are invited to the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) finals.
Occurring for just over a decade in Canada, the gay rodeo got its start in Reno, Nevada, in the late 1970s. Owing to the formation of the IGRA in the 1980s, there are now more than 20 gay rodeos across 14 states with mainstream sponsorship. While steer wrestling, calf roping and bull riding remain the main emphasis, this rodeo provides a safe venue for novice cowboys to hone their competitive skills in a gay-friendly environment.
Calgary’s gay rodeo is a favourite on the circuit. Competitors stay on site, winning extra prize money for the most lavishly decorated campsites, and adding some gay flair to an otherwise ordinary prairie landscape. Consider Cowboy Tiki-Town, a full-fledged outdoor disco and a little Hawaii complete with erupting volcanoes. “Camp” events are the real crowd pleasers. The Wild Drag Race features teams with one male, one female, one brazen drag queen and an uncooperative wild steer on a 25-foot rope. The competitors attempt to direct the animal across a line 70 feet away, then the drag queen mounts the steer and coerces the animal back across the line.
King Ralph presided over the Stampede Parade, but local Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly Dave Taylor received a warm welcome at the gay rodeo with his celebratory remarks about the passing of the same-sex marriage bill. “People came up to me and said ‘God bless you’ after I spoke,” said Taylor. His presence at the rodeo is a sign that the West is not all redneck. Taylor, a long-term resident, is excited about the new West: “I wouldn’t call it acceptance [of gay culture] but a paradigm shift the past two to five years.”
Canadian Rockies International Rodeo may not have the big prize money, hype, or huge audience of the Stampede, but it is an expression of gay pride in the community. Gays and lesbians exist within all avenues of Canadian society and finally cowboys can legally marry cowboys.
