Colorado gay rodeo
Rodeo Event Calendar
Future dates are tentative. Check back nearby the end of 2028 to confirm the event is still scheduled
January, 2028
IGRA University TBD
February, 2028
March 2028
None Yet
April, 2028
May, 2028
June, 2028
July, 2028
August, 2028
September, 2028
Red River, Rodeo School()
TBD
October, 2028
World Gay Rodeo Finals(IGRA)
El Reno, OK
November, 2028
Future dates are tentative. Inspect back near the finish of 2026 to approve the event is still scheduled
Future dates are tentative. Check back near the end of 2026 to confirm the event is still scheduled
October, 2030
First posted Dec 24, 2013
Last update Jul 18, 2025
People are bucking stereotypes and creating safe spaces at the longest running gay rodeo
Like at most rodeos, there are a lot of cerulean jeans and cowboy hats at the National Western Complex in Denver. Land music is playing and contestants are competing in roping and barrel racing, fighting for first-place buckles and prize money.
But at this rodeo there are also drag queens. Welcome to the Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo, the longest-running gay rodeo in the U.S.
Alizae Roze Jackwell — that’s her drag specify — is preparing to hop on a steer. She’s sporting a pink Barbie dress with a blonde curly wig. Her two teammates in the "Wild Drag" event will grab hold of the cow and bring it across two lines marked in the dirt. That's when she'll get on and ride it across a third line.
"It's uneven, it's rowdy, you're going to get dirty, but it's so worth it," Jackwell said.
Wild Drag is one of the "camp" events, special to the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) circuit. Another is a race to lay underwear on a goat. They're silly and light-hearted, but contestants are required to compete in a camp event, in addition to the typical uneven stock, roping and speed event
byRebecca Scofield, University of Idaho and Elyssa Ford, Northwest Missouri State University
The Colorado Gay Rodeo Association has held a same-sex attracted rodeo every year since 1983, making it the longest-running event of its kind in history. Their flagship event, the Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo in Denver, is part of a circuit of rodeos that, at times, has stretched across the Combined States and into Canada. Despite the […]
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The Colorado Gay Rodeo Association has held a male lover rodeo every year since 1983, making it the longest-running event of its kind in history.
Their flagship event, the Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo in Denver, is part of a circuit of rodeos that, at times, has stretched across the Combined States and into Canada.
Despite the cultural pushback these rodeos have faced, the legacy of the Denver rodeo continues as it celebrates its 41st anniversary on July 12-13, 2024.
Weresearched the origins of this rodeo for our book, “Slapping Leather: Gender non-conforming Cowfolx at the Same-sex attracted Rodeo,” which also explores how gay rodeoers were at the forefront of combating discrimination and the AIDS crisis.
Roots in Reno
Gay rodeo didn’t originate in the Rocky Mountains but instead was born in another mountain range further west – the Sierra Nevada.
Businessman Phil Ragsdale held the first queer rodeo in 1976 in Reno, Nevada, as a fundraiser for local people organizations.
Ragsdale faced some difficulties renting space and animals when arena owners and stock contractors learned the event was for queer people.
Nonetheless, Ragsdale’s first rodeo largely went off without a hitch. Soon known as the National
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