Interview with President of International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA)

From Camp - Kansas City's Voice for the LGBT and Allied Communities

Leading the Rodeo, In and Out of the Arena

Brian Helander, the president of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), will be participating in the Show Me State Rodeo in Kansas City. Helander won’t be bringing his horse, but he will compete in ground events such as chute dogging and break away roping. He lives in Santa Fe, N.M., and is also a member of the New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association, which holds its rodeo in Albuquerque.

Helander lives on a 12.5-acre ranch in Santa Fe with Donald Altman, his partner of 14 years, as well as seven horses and a dog.

“We have a 10-year old Labrador retriever that we treat like a child, named Jack, who travels to the rodeos with me and is pretty well-known on the circuit,” he said...

When asked about the number of injuries he sees at some of the tougher competitions, he said, “I wouldn’t say there are a lot, but we’ve had serious injuries, including death, on the rodeo circuit.”

Helander said they take precautions around horses and steers for some of the more intense competitions, but there are also less risky events that one can participate in at the rodeo.

“We have three or four novice events, certainly. Steer riding is a novice event. Goat dressing, steer decorating. Calf roping on foot is a great novice event.” He also said that there are lots of things people can do in the rodeo besides compete: scorekeeping, timing, judging, arena crew, chute crew, royalty. Helander said he’s often seen family members participate.

“Fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, we have those right now. … We’ve got gay children bringing their straight parents to do wild drag, goat dressing. It’s wonderful.”

“The gay parents and straight people that come to our rodeos often say they have much more fun at our rodeos because ‘we’re funner people.’ ” ....

Helander said that they would like to see more women participating in the rodeos.

“Our women population is holding steady or declining slightly. Our board approximates the demographic of our organization. Our women are about 30 percent and our men are about 70 percent.”

Helander said that they would like to see more young people join rodeo organizations, too.

“I think it’s a natural progression in a certain way. If you really think about it, the Pride events when you’re coming out and you’re young and in your 20s, you go to the Pride events to say ‘Here I am, I’m queer and get over it,’ right?” When you think about the Western lifestyle and the rodeo, many people in their young years leave that because of what they might have experienced in the country, cowboy world of their homes. And they come back to it later on when they are older and realize that there is the gay rodeo association out there and they’re coming home, they’re not leaving home.”

“I think really it’s going to take every individual in the local association to encourage and invite and bring a younger person along with them. There’s no silver bullet coming from on high, sort of, from the IGRA level that is suddenly going to attract all the 20-year-olds to the rodeo. I need to bring the youngest person I know, which I’m doing frankly. I’m bringing to San Diego rodeo a 30-year-old. OK, I don’t know anybody in their 20s, but I’m bringing the youngest person I know who’s interested in riding a horse. I’m going to let him use my horse in the rodeo. He used to show horses when he was young, but he hasn’t done it in years and would like to do it again, and we’ve been practicing on my horse. He’s going to come to San Diego and compete.”

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