by Katie Fanuko

A rider wrangles a horse during the 2008 ILGRA Rodeo

Two men dressed in complete cowboy gear stand tentatively in the blazing sun. A buzzer goes off, and they begin a mad dash toward a goat at the opposite end of the arena. One has a pair of tighty whities wrapped around his hands while the other quickly picks the goat up off the ground so that the first man can slip the underwear over the goat’s hind legs. Then, they both furiously race back to the starting point. They congratulate each other for making good time while the goat stands there, completely bewildered. This is a typical scene from a rodeo that is anything but ordinary – the 12th Annual Windy City Rodeo.

This not being your standard rodeo, the Windy City Rodeo sets its own precedent: “It’s more inclusive compared to the traditional or straight rodeos; they only let women go into the less dangerous events, and that is so sexist,” says Peter Dillon, a rodeo contestant who traveled from Toronto to participate. “In the gay rodeo, women compete in every event that men compete in, and it’s totally equal, so in that way we are miles ahead of traditional rodeos.”

The WCR was held in Crete, Ill. from Aug. 22-24 and is sponsored by the Illinois Gay Rodeo Association. The ILGRA is a non-profit organization that raises proceeds for local charities through the WCR and other events. This year’s charities of choice include Howard Brown, Vital Bridges, and Direct Aid. “The Gay Rodeo started out as fundraisers, and that has always been our tradition,” says George Grayson, ILGRA Media Director.
The ILGRA has been holding the event at the Six Guns Ranch Arena in Crete because “the people who run this place have been absolutely amazing to us,” says Grayson. The owners of the ranch also participated in this year’s festivities by showcasing a bull-riding exhibition.

The ILGRA holds other events and fundraisers aside from the rodeo, most of which are promoted by the ILGRA Royalty: Miss ILGRA, Ms. ILGRA, and Mr. ILGRA. “This year they did the Halsted Street Rally, which was basically a scavenger hunt along Halsted where we had teams compete and raise money along the way,” says Grayson.

The ILGRA Royalty is an integral part of the rodeo event because they help to fundraise, promote the event and connect with the community. In order to qualify as a contestant in the ILGRA pageants, contestants need to raise at least $500, and afterward, participate in an interview process and compete in a pageant. The Miss ILGRA pageant will take place in December at local Chicago bar Charlie’s. “We have to do the interview as a boy and have facial hair, then later that night we do the actual competition which consists of public presentation, Western wear, and entertainment,” says Cherise Pretty, 2008’s Miss ILGRA.

As Miss ILGRA, Cherise isn’t able to spend much time kicking back to watch the rodeo, but one event that cannot be missed is the drag race. “I remember one year someone went out and bought a bunch of plastic bags and stickers and made a plastic bag dress and put stickers all over it and it was hysterical,” says Cherise.

The event draws contestants and spectators from all across North America and for some, this is a major appeal. “It’s kind of neat because you get to know other people from Texas or New Mexico that you would never see except for at rodeos that you each go to so you make new friendships,” says Dillon.

Although some travel far and wide to participate in the event, others are perfectly content to sit on the sidelines and watch. “I love horses. I love to pet them, but riding one would scare the hell out of me,” says Karla, a spectator from Chicago. Karla has known about the event for a few years and decided to come this year with a group of friends. She feels that the event is very inclusive but could make an effort to draw a younger crowd as well, especially with event vendors. “There needs to be better merchandise here; there are only four booths and [available merchandise] is man-sized or embroidered and not necessarily for our age group,” she says.

The event has grown steadily over the years and has increased its audience size. “It’s a really nice environment and you get straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, families, dogs, I mean you have everything here, and I think it’s a great event,” says Cherise. Karla thinks that the event is very inclusive but feels that it would benefit from additional publicity. “ I don’t think that a lot of people have heard of it, so there definitely needs to be more publicity because I think [the event] could explode.”