Rainbow Rodeo: Reno and the Gay Rodeo Movement
By Carly Sauvageau
In 1976 in Reno, Nevada, Phil Ragsdale decided to start something that had never been done before: a gay rodeo. The rodeo was like many others, involving bull and bronc riding, calf roping, and pig wrestling. However some events set it apart from a traditional rodeo, “goat-dressing” and cow milking events were participated in by teams of gay men, lesbians, and drag queens. There was a drag queen pageant and women could participate in bull-riding, something completely unique to this rodeo. The Reno Gay Rodeo had humble beginnings, but eventually formed into the international movement it is today.
Phil Ragsdale was often called the “Marlboro Man” by his friends, as he was tough and rugged looking, a square jaw complete with a thick mustache, often wearing Wranglers and a cowboy hat. Being a gay man himself, Ragsdale created the rodeo to counter gay stereotypes while raising money for the local senior citizens of Reno.
The rodeo had a rough start, as Ragsdale couldn’t even find a supplier for livestock, but as the rodeo grew people from all over the country took interest in it. By the mid-1980s thousands of people filled the stands, with participants from all around the world. It became a place for gay rodeo participants to come and be themselves, and in this sense it brought a different sense of masculinity, sexuality, and rural culture. The Reno Gay Rodeo became the spark for a movement of gay rodeos and gay rodeo associations that are still competing and vibrantly active today.
The Reno Gay Rodeo was the homeplace for the beginnings of a historical event that became an inspiration, community, and home to many people, but it is largely forgotten in the community it originated in. This is partly due to a gay rodeo not being successfully held in Reno since the 1980’s. The documentary Rainbow Rodeo—made by University of Nevada, Reno, Reynolds School of Journalism students and alum Bree Zender, Carly Sauvageau, and Emily MacDiarmid—looks at the beginnings of this rodeo as told by the people who lived it through interviews, memorabilia, and archival footage. Through this documentary and Nevada Humanities’ recent Salon: Reno’s Gay Rodeo, the true history of the Reno Gay Rodeo will now be more widely known.
Reno Gay Rodeo Trick Rider credit: Ray Martin and Michael Yaeger
Double Down blogger image credit/Carly Sauvageau
Carly Sauvageau is from Tonopah, Nevada. She moved to Reno in 2016 to attend the Reynold’s School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. She will get her BA in Journalism in May 2020. She was the editor for the documentary for Rainbow Rodeo.
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