Community Corner

GAY RODEO: Get Ready for Goat Dressing

Two days of rodeo include calf roping, team roping, steer decoration, chute dogging, barrel racing and bullriding, organizers said.

Hot Rodeo 2011, sponsored by the Greater Palm Springs Chapter of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association, is coming to Banning this weekend.

Two days of rodeo include calf roping, team roping, steer decoration, chute dogging, barrel racing and bullriding, according to organizers.

Pre-event parties are planned Thursday and Friday nights in Cathedral City and Palm Springs. Rodeo events are scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Saturday in Banning.

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Events specific to gay rodeo, including goat dressing and wild drag races, are among two days of sanctioned rodeo competition at A.C. Dysart Equestrian Center, 2101 W. Victory Ave. in Banning, organizers said.

Goat dressing is a competitive event in which two contestants try to put underwear on a goat, according to the International Gay Rodeo Association.

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"The team stands 50 feet from the point where the goat is tethered," an IGRA web page states. "One of the team members has a pair of jockey-style underwear worn over their forearms.

"When the whistle sounds, the team runs to the goat. The team member without the underwear picks up the goat's rear hooves, grabs the underwear from around the other member's arms, and pulls it up the legs of the goat."

Both team members must then race back and cross the start-finish line to stop the time, according to the IGRA.

"The underwear must stay over the goat's tail bone until the timer is tagged by both members," its web site states.

Gay rodeo events are set up for amateurs and first-timers to participate, and all events are open to men and women competitors, organizers said. Anyone is welcome to compete.

"Goat dressing is the most popular event," marketing coordinator Kirk Harris said. "We welcome first-timers, and because so many people enter this event, the cash prize is bigger and all the top cowboys enter it too."

Organizers estimate more than 200 competitors from California, Arizona and Nevada will take part, Harris said.

Profits from the event contribute to the City of Banning's Youth Scholarship Program, Greater Palm Springs Chapter president Jimmy Golden said.

"This is the third or fourth year they've had the event in Banning, and they've been very generous with scholarship donations," said Heidi Meraz, Banning Community Services director.

"Their contributions have been in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $2,500 each year, in addition to facility rental fees and water usage fees," Meraz said.

An opening night party is scheduled Thursday at DiGS in Cathedral City, and registration for competitors is Friday at the Holiday Inn Resort, 1800 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

Rodeo events are scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets purchased in advance are $15 per day, and $40 for both days plus admission to the Saturday night country-western dance in Cathedral City. Tickets at the gate are $20 per day, and $10 for the dance.

The event is on the International Gay Rodeo Association calendar. More information on tickets, the four-day schedule and rodeo events in Banning are available at the Greater Palm Springs Chapter web site.

Editor's Note: Thanks to Patch reader Julia Olsen-Rodriguez for her research on goat dressing, and for commenting on an earlier Hot Rodeo 2011 report.


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