In the past decade, gay rights have grown by leaps and bounds, but in the days before pride months, gay people had few places where they could find community.
One of them was the gay rodeo.
The first in Nevada was in Reno in 1976, and it was created in part to bucked gay stereotypes.
In this conversation from 2012, former State of Nevada producer Luis Hernandez speaks with Gregory Hinton, the producer of a museum exhibit called Pride in the Saddle: The Story of the Gay Rodeo.
“Gay people come from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and certainly the rural West has its share of children,” said Hinton. “We come from all places, and this is just one chance for us to kind of honor our backgrounds and the country western lifestyle.”
That’s what led Hinton, who grew up in Wyoming, to produce the exhibit Nevada Pride in the Saddle: The Story of Gay Rodeo which was featured at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District in 2012 which showcased a number of posters advertising the rodeo through the years.
“What I saw… was my own history in those posters, he said. “They start off, they're not that sophisticated. They were of the time. As I went through the years, you would see where HIV and AIDS was striking the community. Then you see concerns over ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell.’ It just perfectly mirrors the whole gay liberation era, starting from 1975.”
Ultimately, Hinton told State of Nevada, he hopes the gay rodeo continues to lead to increased acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that the gay community is a bit of a tribe, and I think that all different kinds of communities don't necessarily want to assimilate completely,” said Hinton. “I think you want to preserve your own culture and your own history, but I would hope to see a time when it wouldn't be a big deal for a rodeo competitor on the professional rodeo circuit to be openly out.”
According to the Nevada Gay Rodeo Association website, the organization plans to hold its Big Horn Rodeo at Horseman’s Park in Las Vegas in 2024.
Guest: Gregory Hinton, producer, Out West at the Autry