Given that gay men are, stereotypically anyway, synonymous with all things metrosexual, the term “Gay Rodeo” seems almost oxymoronic. But the Academy award-winning movie Brokeback Mountain, in which two cowboys living in the American West in the early ’60s fall in love and have a clandestine relationship, awakened the romance of the Wild West in our imaginations and made the idea of a gay man roping down a bucking steer seem less incongruous.

Indeed, about 2,000 die hard, rough-riding gay cowboys and cowgirls will attend the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association’s 19th annual San Diego Rodeo at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds this June 1-3 to express both their profound respect for the legendary rodeo riders of days gone by and their near-religious commitment to carrying cowboy traditions into modern life.

Rodeo dates back to 1892, when cowboys working on dusty ranches in the areas around Pecos, Texas, surrounded their livestock to keep them in a group. The term “rodeo” is derived from the Spanish “rodear,” meaning “to surround,” and the sport of rodeo, as we know it today, evolved from the cowboys’ competitiveness and job skill in capturing roaming livestock and “breaking” horses – from which evolved saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, roping and steer wrestling contests.

By the mid 1930s, these “rodeo games” had grown to the point of being semi-organized, and cowboys were competing for cash at events held across the nation. Just as crowds gather today to watch people known as “base jumpers” jump off of skyscrapers, cowboys’ death-defying feats drew crowds, and the sport of rodeo was born. “People compete in rodeo for the same reasons that people decide to climb mountains, go bungee jumping or wake up one day and decide to go skydiving. It’s all about the rush,” says International Gay Rodeo Association champion Douglass Graff.

One might speculate that the sport of bull riding began as a natural progression – a sort of “Well, I rode that wild horse; what’s next?” challenge. The event is thought to have been born in 1864 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Colorado to settle a dispute about which group was best at general ranch tasks. Bull riding involves a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least eight seconds by fastening one hand to the bull with a long braided rope.

“The first time [a person] gets on a bull, it’s so amazing. It’s an incredible amount of power. It’s about respecting the power that the animal has, and then having to react with [the bull], go with it, take it and use it, and when the ride is over you have to be able to get up and walk away. After a ride, it’s as if you’re 100 feet in the air. It’s like you’re flying. It’s almost like the rush professional football players must get when they throw that perfect pass, or pro golfers get when they make the impossible hole in one, but riding a bull is harder because you’re working against an animal and you have no idea what it’s going to do,” Graff says.

Although rodeo’s roots date 200 years back, gay rodeo didn’t begin until the mid 1970s. In 1975, Reno Nevada Imperial Court Emperor Phil Ragsdale organized an event to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association by throwing a gay rodeo. After a series of phone calls, Ragsdale secured a date and place – Oct. 2, 1976, at the Washoe County Fairgrounds. It was a challenge finding ranchers willing to lend their livestock to a gay event, but eventually Ragsdale found some, and although spectators were few, their numbers grew. The event came to be known as the National Reno Gay Rodeo.

From that point on, you couldn’t rope in the rodeo.

In 1981, a contingent of gay Texans decided to compete in the event. By 1982, gay Colorado cowboys showed up, traveling in a group 400 deep. Word of the rodeo was spreading like wildfire, and that year’s rodeo boasted a crowd of more than 10,000. In 1984, the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) formed in California and, in November of that same year, the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association organized in Phoenix, followed shortly thereafter by the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association.

Gay rodeo was now beyond popular. For many, it was becoming a way of life.

“For me it started about 14 years ago,” says Tony Nicholson, vice president of administration for the San Diego Chapter of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association. “I met this crazy girl who told me she was going to a rodeo. She invited me along, and I thought to myself, ‘Why not?’ She and I attended several rodeos together, and one day I got conned into being a contestant because they were missing a person and needed someone to fill in. The first event I participated in was a camp event known as Wild Drag Racing.”

In a wild drag race, the steer stands in the bucking chute with a 25-foot length of rope attached to a halter. A cowgirl stands 10 feet in front of the chute holding the rope, while a “drag,” a cowboy in women’s attire, waits 40 feet from the chutes. When the chute gate opens, the team tries to direct the steer toward the finish line, which is 70 feet from the chutes. The drag must be mounted on the steer before it starts across the finish line, and must stay on until all four of the steer’s feet have crossed it. If the steer crosses the line before the drag is legally mounted, the team must bring the steer back to the chute side of the finish line and try again

“It’s easily the most dangerous event rodeo has, and no one understands [it]. And there are tons of people out there who are crazy enough to do it,” Nicholson says. “The first time I competed we took second, and the second time we did it our team took second place overall for the weekend – which wasn’t too shabby for someone who had absolutely no idea as to what they were doing. Once I got on the steer and once I started doing these types of events, I knew I was hooked. That was it. I was hooked.”

Douglass Graff also remembers his first involvement with rodeo in 1982.

“I actually grew up on a farm in Michigan but ran away from all that when I decided to attend college. But, as luck would have it, one day while I was on a business trip, I met a man who took me to a rodeo and I got hooked,” Graff says. “The first rodeo I competed in was the 10th annual L.A. Rodeo, which was the largest gay rodeo in the history of the International Gay Rodeo Association. My old country roots came out, gayness was more than accepted, and I guess it’s hard to explain what it’s like to suddenly wind up in a place where you belong. After that, I went back to Michigan and helped start the Michigan International Rodeo Association. I competed in two rodeos there before I left in 1986 and moved to California.”

Graff soon found that rodeo was more than a sport, and more than a weekend pastime. For him, rodeo soon became a way of life. “My life revolved around rodeo for many years, and that still holds true today.” Although his first events were limited to what those familiar with the circuit refer to as “camp events,” which include the wild drag race, goat dressing and steer decorating, he soon decided that he wanted more of a challenge. Just a few years after beginning his rodeo career, Graff decided to start riding steers and bulls. “I broke a few bones here and there; I had my shoulder blade separated. I have a screw in my elbow. None of that stopped me. I was having a blast and loved the competition of it all. In 1999, I went to 14 of the 17 rodeos the IGRA held that year and I competed in every one of them. Some I did really well in. Others – well, in some of the others I didn’t.”

Graff was crowned Mr. Golden State Gay Rodeo King in 1998 and Mr. International Gay Rodeo in 1999.

Although Graff had become a crowd favorite, and although his love of competition was strong, sooner or later, there comes a time in contestants’ lives where they have to step away from the ring. For Graff, that day came in August of last year when a steer threw him and broke his pelvis. “As soon as I hit the ground I heard it pop. A lot of the spectators expected to see me get up, but I didn’t. When the ground crew came over, I told them I broke my pelvis, and there were several men who had been standing a good six feet away who heard the pop as well. When I looked back and watched the video it’s almost a little embarrassing because it didn’t look as if it were a rough ride at all. But my body was in the wrong place at the right time, and the wishbone part of me just gave out. I was 40 years old and my body finally decided enough was enough. Here’s your wake up call – it’s time to quit.”

Although Graff decided it was time to start keeping his feet on the ground, the accident hasn’t kept him from the circuit. Now, however, he spends his time just clowning around. “In 1999, I got a random call two weeks prior to the Sacramento Rodeo from a friend who was helping coordinate the event. He told me they were shy a rodeo clown and asked if I’d hop in. Although I’d seen rodeo clowns, I really had no idea what I was doing or what it meant to be a rodeo clown. I went out and bought all this clown gear – everything you’d see on a circus clown. But the day of the rodeo it was 114 degrees and it was hot. When they finally brought the water truck in I just stood there and let them hose me off. I took off the entire costume down to my big wrangler pants and a T-shirt. It was hilarious. After my accident, several members of the circuit said they’d remembered that and asked if I’d like to continue clowning. For me, it worked. I’ll be clowning at the upcoming San Diego Gay Rodeo in June.”

In a sport that can easily be described as one of the most dangerous, one might think that participation in rodeo is limited to men, but that’s not the case. “We most certainly get our fair share of women contestants,” Nicholson says. “In traditional rodeo, both men and women are allowed to compete, but many of the events which they’re allowed to register for are based on a person’s gender. In gay rodeo, individuals may compete in any event they wish. If a woman is crazy enough to want to get on a bull, I say ‘have at it, girl.’”

As many supporters as the gay rodeo has, there are still those who oppose it. Several years ago, during a contest in Ramona, a group of protesters gathered outside the rodeo grounds, holding signs with slurs against gays.

“It was really a sad, sad display,” Graff says. You would think that in California that people are more accepting, and that you wouldn’t see something so hateful. What was most sad was seeing parents give their kids these horrible signs with these evil sayings. Seeing parents subject their children to that, and teaching them hate, seeing those signs in the hands of little children, it was heartbreaking. So we dealt with the situation the only way we knew how. We had a two-day rodeo, which was fantastic. It’s like any other minority group that believes in what they’re doing. The best thing to do is to keep on doing it, and let the rest of the world act however they want.”

“Personally I don’t get it,” says rodeo hall of famer Cotton Roster, who is heterosexual. “There are plenty of good gay cowboys out there, and whether a person is gay, straight, green or purple really has nothing to do with the sport. Rodeo should, and does, have a place for everyone.”

“For as many gay contestants who are fearful about coming out in the ‘traditional circuit,’ there are still a few who lie on the other side of the fence. In recent years, there have been a few men who have participated in the gay rodeo circuit who have come out as ‘heterosexual.’ And it’s not unusual to have several who are either volunteering, competing or supporting us in one way or another. They’re everywhere and we love them,” Graff adds.

Life in the rodeo circuit spans beyond bull riding and steer roping. “The reason [I believe] the lifestyle is so popular is because it has such a family feel to it all. It’s about going out and having fun that weekend. It’s not about who is better and who does this or who does that; it’s about going out and having a good time. People at the core of it all are so tightly knit that we finish each others’ sentences. And we want to create an experience which will allow anyone to come out and be a part of that,” Graff says.

The gay rodeo circuit also comes with a marked sense of social consciousness. All of the money raised at IGRA rodeo events is donated to charity. The beneficiary for the first gay rodeos was the Muscular Dystrophy Association, but the IGRA doesn’t limit itself to any particular charity. Members of the rodeo administration decide as a group who the monies are going to benefit. Last year it was the Hillcrest Historical Guild. This year it will be the Lupus Foundation of Southern California.

In addition to rodeo events, this year’s 2007 Coors Light San Diego Rodeo will feature entertainment by IGRA Royalty, GSGRA State and Chapter Royalty, local celebrities, vocal performances, dance troops, The Kickers Cloggers, San Diego Cheer, Ms. Winnie Bego, special guest singers and much more. “There is definitely something for everyone, and we encourage everyone to come out because once you attend you’ll soon realize it’ll be the most fun you’ve ever had,” Graff says.

For more information on the event, visit www.sandiegorodeo.com.