The San Diego Rodeo has been cancelled for the first time in 16 years due to a lack of financial resources. The Greater San Diego Chapter (GSDC) of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) has hosted the event for the last 16 consecutive years.

GSGRA president Jabby Lowe announced the cancellation and said financial constraints have made it impractical to produce the rodeo this year. Lowe, who oversees the four chapters within the state of California, hopes the San Diego Rodeo will be back in 2006.

“First, it goes without saying that any time an event as significant to our community as the San Diego Rodeo is cancelled, the loss is deeply shared by all. At the same time, it is always important to remain relevant and current as the times change,” Lowe said. “Sometimes the best way to do this is to take a step back, test all of your underlying assumptions, verifying that you have a good structure in place, and then come out with an event that meets the needs and desires of today’s consumer.”

According to the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) the San Diego Rodeo was originally scheduled to take place this year Sept. 23-25 before it was cancelled. The Los Angeles Rodeo is still scheduled for Aug. 5-7 while the San Francisco Bay Area Rodeo will take place Aug. 19-21. There are a total of 22 rodeo events scheduled across the U.S. and Canada this year.

The Gay & Lesbian Times has repeatedly tried to reach GSDC board members for comment, but calls and emails to the board president and vice president were not returned at time of press.

In reaction to the cancellation, Bobby Jordan, the Palm Springs Chapter membership chair, has proposed the GSGRA should only hold two rodeos per year in California; one held in the northern area and one held in the southern part of the state.

“Part of why I’m pushing for this two-rodeo thing is because all the chapters [could] raise money for that particular rodeo that’s going to be sanctioned for that particular year. Not only will we be going into it much more financially healthy, each rodeo will rotate and we won’t have these chapters that go for four years without a rodeo because they didn’t make enough money on their rodeo.”

Jordan said recurring financial problems could be avoided with a different structure set up on a state level. He recalled Palm Springs’ financially unsuccessful 2001 rodeo finals. The chapter has since been in rebuilding mode and raising funds to pay off debts in hopes of hosting another rodeo in 2007.

“Because our chapter did not charge an entrance fee or any cover charges, which would have been a financial success, they chose not to do that, and as a result our chapter went into bankruptcy or close to bankruptcy,” Jordan said.

Jordan plans to discuss his idea of a two-rodeo system with members of the Palm Springs board at upcoming board meetings on Feb. 5 and 6.

“Nothing is going to change this year, but the next year when we go to the IGRA [International Gay Rodeo Association] convention, I think our state needs to bring this to the board and propose that we just do two rodeos a year. Of course all chapters have to agree,” Jordan said.

Lowe believes Jordan’s idea is valid, but it would require a much deeper analysis.

“Any idea that has the potential to result in a stronger gay rodeo system should be explored. That said, while it may seem easier on the surface to have just two rodeos, this may not be the right solution to ensure gay rodeo prospers equally in all areas,” said Lowe.

Lowe explained having just a southern rodeo would depend greatly on if it were intended to rotate between sites in San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Springs. He questioned whether just one fixed location within Southern California would be more beneficial.

“I raise these not as examples of why something can’t be done, but as an example of the type of analysis that needs to occur so that ideas of this type can be thoroughly vetted,” Lowe said.

Jordan claims rodeo chapters are getting away from the original reason why they established these rodeos competitions in the first place.

“The main purpose of rodeo is not just rodeo. If you go back to our original charter it was to raise money for a selected charity,” explained Jordan. “As a result of getting away from our original mission statement and making the charity the third benefactor from this entire thing, our charities are not receiving the funds that we promised them to receive.”

Jordan contends poor financial decisions are the crux of the problem concerning the Palm Springs and San Diego chapters and hopes all chapters in the state can work more closely together.

“My goal is to make sure nobody else makes the mistakes that we’ve made…There’s more power in numbers, and we would all benefit if we raised money for a particular rodeo in that particular year,” Jordan said. “We would be much better off. Our charities will benefit two-fold.”

Lowe cautioned that the financial problems facing the San Diego and Palm Springs chapters are complex. “The issues in Palm Springs and San Diego are not necessarily the same. Their financial problems stem from different sources or different causes and the solution may be different for each of those chapters.”