Gay rodeo shows South Florida how West was fun*

By Elizabeth Baier
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 15 2007

Davie -- They wore Wrangler jeans and Stetson hats. Some sported
decorative belt buckles to boast of former rodeo triumphs.

But at Saturday's Sunshine Stampede, some of the spectators and
participants also waved a symbol not typically associated with rodeos --
the rainbow flag.

Thousands of people converged on the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds for the
state's second gay rodeo, hosted by the Florida Gay Rodeo Association.
The Florida group is one of the newest members of the International Gay
Rodeo Association, which has more than 4,500 members in 33 associations
throughout the United States and Canada.

The amateur association was established to promote gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender Western lifestyles, not necessarily to be a
statement against traditional rodeos, according to organizers.

Throughout the day, about 120 contestants, gay and straight, competed in
classic rodeo events, like calf roping and bull riding, and more offbeat
contests, like goat dressing and steer decorating. They will continue
the competition today, with hopes of winning a belt buckle, the rodeo's
grand prize, and accumulating points toward the national championship.

Roberto Lopez and Roy Faircloth, of Fort Lauderdale, competed Saturday
for the second time in the goat-dressing contest. The two worked to get
a pair of white jockey-style underwear over a goat's rear hooves.

"It's just fun," said Lopez, 35. "We feel accepted here, like everyone
is a comrade."

Jason Smith likened the ambience of the event to a country song. The
40-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident sat in the bleachers with friends
Jim Durhan and Larry Gureski, also of Fort Lauderdale.

"There's so much emotion and passion," Smith said. "It's about regular,
down-to-earth people, doing what they love."

Around Smith were gay and straight couples, families and children. Many
wore cowboy hats and vests, as the spicy aroma of jerk chicken wafted
through the air and The Village People's "YMCA" played in the background.

Proceeds from the Sunshine Stampede will benefit the Poverello Center in
Wilton Manors, which helps people with AIDS; and the EASE Foundation in
Davie, which helps the working poor, according to rodeo director Jim
Mitchell.

Gay rodeos are among the few places where men and women can compete in
all the events, even the ones that are not typical for women, like
bareback bronco riding.

Vanessa Hodgson, 23, traveled from Niles, Mich., to take part. She has
been drawn to gay rodeos for the last year, though she has been riding
bulls for five years and bareback broncos for three.

"It's such an adrenaline rush," said Hodgson, who is bisexual. "I just
hang on tight and wish for the best."

Others at the rodeo, like Nicki Hughes of Davie, came out to enjoy the
contests and support the gay community, even though she is not gay.

"A lot of people do make the assumption that because it's a gay rodeo
only gay people are going to be here," said Hughes, 28. "My daughter
asked me, `Why are the boys holding hands?'"

"Because they are gay," Hughes said. "She said, `Oh, OK.'