This is partly due to a gay rodeo not being successfully held in Reno since the 1980’s. 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. 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. 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.
By the mid-1980s thousands of people filled the stands, with participants from all around the world. 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. Being a gay man himself, Ragsdale created the rodeo to counter gay stereotypes while raising money for the local senior citizens of Reno. 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. The Reno Gay Rodeo had humble beginnings, but eventually formed into the international movement it is today. There was a drag queen pageant and women could participate in bull-riding, something completely unique to this rodeo. 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.
The rodeo was like many others, involving bull and bronc riding, calf roping, and pig wrestling. In 1976 in Reno, Nevada, Phil Ragsdale decided to start something that had never been done before: a gay rodeo.