DENVER – The Colorado Gay Rodeo Association is hosting the 41st annual Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo at the National Western Complex on July 12, 13, and 14. They have come a long way from when they started.
“There was one year we were bucking bulls at midnight with our car lights around on it,” said Paula Scougal, one of the founding members of the association. “It's really changed a lot. Now we're indoors, we're in facilities that have lights, and a lot more people are showing up.”
Kade Hiller, CGRA Membership Chair, is excited about the upcoming weekend and the chance to compete with his horse Pongo.
"Pongo and I will be doing a lot of events. We’ve got four events,” Hiller said. “He's all excited. It's Pongo's first rodeo, but we're going to be doing pole bending. We're going to be doing flag racing. That's our favorite. He loves flags. Everybody watching us for that one. We'll do barrel racing, and then we'll do mounted breakaway calf roping."
Those are typical events for a regular rodeo, but that doesn’t mean that this rodeo won’t have any unique activities.
“We do wild drag race. That's a girl, a boy and a drag,” Hiller said. “The drag has to get on the back of the steer after they cross the line and stay on the back and ride it across. That one's fun. Pumps go flying, wigs go flying. Dresses are everywhere.”
Pride
Colorado Gay Rodeo Association to celebrate 41st annual event
Events at the Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo are also not separated by gender. Men and women can all compete in every event, which is different from most other rodeos.
“In a regular rodeo, you’re not always allowed to compete in barrel racing as a man,” Hiller said. “Here, at our gay rodeo, Pongo and I are super excited to be able to compete in barrel racing. And then we also let women bull ride and steer ride and do all of that.”
Previous locations of the rodeo kept many of the animals outside, and with weekend temperatures predicted to reach over 100 degrees both days, the association is thrilled to have everything indoors.
“Everybody's going to be able to come in and be a lot more cool,” Scougal said. “They're going to have all the stuff indoors instead of outdoors. People aren't going to be getting heat exhaustion.”
An 8 p.m. concert by Dixon Dallas kicks things off on Friday, with the rodeo events starting on July 13 and 14. Gates open on the weekend at 9 a.m., and the rodeo begins at 10 a.m. For the event running order, click here.
GALLERY | Gay Rodeo Programs Through the Years
To view rodeo programs fullscreen on your computer or phone, click here
