After canceling the San Diego Rodeo last year for the first time in 16 years due to a lack of finances, the Greater San Diego Chapter (GSDC) of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) has announced the return of the Gay Rodeo to San Diego.

The 18th annual San Diego Rodeo will take place April 28-30 at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds and the Four Points by Sheraton, San Diego.

The event, sanctioned by the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), is one of 19 gay rodeos scheduled for 2006 throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“We faced a number of challenges in 2005, which forced us to take a hard look at our event and its ongoing success,” said Steve Wollert, vice president of rodeo operations. “With a new rodeo venue, a new host hotel and the continued support of some excellent sponsors, we are headed in a new direction, which will continue our success for years to come. We’re taking our rodeo back to the country, and have an amazing weekend planned.”

Each year, the GSDC reviews their rodeo venue options, Wollert said. Past rodeo competitions have been held at the Del Mar Race Track.

“This year, we wanted to have our rodeo have a new face, and were approached by the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds as a potential site,” he said.

The primary objective of the GSDC, a federally recognized 501c3 nonprofit, 100-percent volunteer organization, is to promote in a positive way the country western lifestyle within the GLBT community, to support amateur sportsmanship through participation, competition and recognition, and to give back to the community through charitable contributions. Since 1988, the GSDC has donated more than $162,000 to local San Diego charities. The community beneficiary this year is the Hillcrest History Guild.

Wollert said he is excited about this year’s rodeo and that there will be some changes to existing events.

“I think we have a number of exciting things planned for this year’s event. We have new venues and are putting a different twist on some of our regular events,” he said. “We have a great deal of support from other organizations within the community and have involved them in ways we haven’t tried before.”

Wollert said it is difficult to forecast how many spectators will attend the rodeo, but he expects a sizeable crowd this year. He said there should be anywhere between 80 and 120 competitors competing in 13 different rodeo events within four categories: speed, roping, camp and rough stock.

“We have been getting a great deal of press and airtime, some due to the Brokeback Mountain craze… so we expect to see a lot of people at the events,” he said.

Speed events consist of barrel racing, flag racing and pole bending. In barrel racing, a horse and rider are allowed a running start to aim for the fastest time navigating a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. During flag racing, a horse and rider run a triangular pattern around two barrels and a pole. The rider must pick up a flag from a bucket on top of the first barrel and plant it in a similar bucket on the second barrel. In pole bending, a horse and rider compete for the fastest time running a linear pattern while weaving through six evenly spaced poles. The roping category consists of calf roping on foot, mounted breakaway roping and team roping. During calf roping on foot, contestants stand in the roping box and attempt to catch the calf that is released from the chute using a lasso swirled over their head. The object is the same in mounted breakaway roping, only the contestant is mounted on horseback. In team roping, teams consisting of two riders on horseback pursue a steer after it is released from the chute.

Camp events consist of goat dressing, steer decorating and a wild drag race. Goat dressing is an event created specifically for gay rodeo where a team of two contestants attempts to catch a goat that is tethered to a stake. Once the animal is caught, the team must then place a pair of men’s jockey shorts on the back legs and rump of the goat and then race back to the starting line and tag the timer.

In steer decorating, the object is to tie a ribbon on the tail of a wild steer. One contestant controls the animal with a rope tied to the horns as it is released from the chute, while the second contestant ties a ribbon on the tail. Wild drag racing is one of the most dangerous events in gay rodeo, where a team of three – one male, one female and one person in drag – must maneuver a steer tied to a rope across a line in the center of the arena. Once across the line, the team must then get the person dressed in drag on the steer and then back across the finish line within 60 seconds.

Rough stock events include bull riding, bareback bronc riding, steer riding and chute dogging. In bull riding, a contestant must ride a wild bull for six seconds with nothing to hang on to but a rope. During bareback bronc riding, the rider attempts to ride a bucking bronc for six seconds and has the option of holding on to the bareback rigging with one or two hands. Steer riding is similar to bull riding, with the difference being the size, strength and ferocity of the animal being ridden. During chute dogging, which is a version of steer wrestling, a contestant faces a wild steer which must be wrestled to the ground.

“We should see some of the best cowboys and cowgirls on the circuit in San Diego,” Wollert said. “We have a lot of great contestants from California, Nevada, Arizona and other places that tend to come to San Diego.”

Wollert said it is very early in the season to determine the point leaders on the IGRA circuit, as there are many rodeos scheduled before the finals planned in Reno, Nev., Nov. 10-12.

The Lakeside Rodeo Grounds is located at Highway 67 and Mapleview Street in Lakeside.

Tickets for the rodeo events on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, cost $15 for each day. Tickets to the Western Dance/Entertainment pavilion on Saturday, April 29, are $15. A weekend pass for all rodeo events is available for $40. For more information about the San Diego Rodeo, visit www.sandiegorodeo.com or call the Rodeo Hotline at (619) 298-4708.