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It's Boots and Shafts and Cowboy Hats...
Nov. 16th, 2005 11:58 pmOver the weekend, Chris and I spent some time at the Mesquite Rodeo, site of the 19th Annual International Gay Rodeo Association Finals. I'm not too sure how international it is, when the only other nation i saw represented was Canada.
It was a pretty good show, with both regular rodeo events, and some humorous ones too, like goat dressing and drag racing. Drag racing was all about pulling a bull out of the gate and over a line about 20-30 feet away, then a "drag queen" would have to get on and ride it back over the line. Really, it's a short ride, but difficult to do. I put drag queen in quotes because some cowboys were in full drag, while others just threw on a wig and a skirt over their jeans. I wonder about the lack of commitment.
On Saturday we were watching from the far bleachers, and I noticed a couple of guys along with a small film crew. It wasn't the crew from Q Television, who was filming the rodeo, and I thought i recognized the talent. After a second look I got it. It was Lynn and Alex of last year's Amazing Race. I decided to go down and make a nuisance of myself, and luckily they were both very nice.
We spoke for a little bit about their race, and then about how that this year's Family Edition really sucks because the challenges seem easy and they never go very far. They told me that they have a deal with a television station to do updates on the show, and they are having a really hard time making it sound exciting. They were in Dallas to film a new show for the Travel Channel called Gay Getaways, and what better to represent dallas than some cowboys. Even the Travel Channel is getting in on the gay travel dollar.
Both Chris and I noticed that Alex was checking him out. It was probably because Chris was rocking the mustache this weekend.
Otherwise, it's a good time to be people watching. So many great looking guys were in their boots and hats. There were several guys out here that were totally rocking my world, but I felt a little out of their league. No biggie. I also felt a little on the outside since this Texan doesn't own a hat, or boots. I'm wondering if I should invest in some, or if I'm just trying to hard to fit in.
I remember the announcer seemed to be a fish out of water as well, but for a different reason. I could tell that he must have been the regular announcer for the Mesquite Rodeo, and that he probably hadn't called a gay rodeo before. Sometimes you could here that he wasn't sure of what to say, or possibly regretted what he just said, like when he uttered the phrase, "now let's talk about the cowboy's equipment," and the crowed tittered.
Surprisingly the half-filled arena, with a few less attendees on Sunday than Saturday was the largest crowd in the Finals history. I think it was somewhere over 2,000 people who came to see it. Yes, I know the criticism that rodeo gets about taking care of animals, but I do believe that they are actually pretty good with them, concerned for both the animal's and cowboy's safety, but it's a rough sport for both man and beast.
I guess I was most amused when watching the tractor come around, tilling the soil and I commented that it seemed a lot like a Zamboni machine coming around. One person who was there with us asked, "What's a zamboni?"
The sport or eye candy, which is the real draw?
It was a pretty good show, with both regular rodeo events, and some humorous ones too, like goat dressing and drag racing. Drag racing was all about pulling a bull out of the gate and over a line about 20-30 feet away, then a "drag queen" would have to get on and ride it back over the line. Really, it's a short ride, but difficult to do. I put drag queen in quotes because some cowboys were in full drag, while others just threw on a wig and a skirt over their jeans. I wonder about the lack of commitment.
On Saturday we were watching from the far bleachers, and I noticed a couple of guys along with a small film crew. It wasn't the crew from Q Television, who was filming the rodeo, and I thought i recognized the talent. After a second look I got it. It was Lynn and Alex of last year's Amazing Race. I decided to go down and make a nuisance of myself, and luckily they were both very nice.
We spoke for a little bit about their race, and then about how that this year's Family Edition really sucks because the challenges seem easy and they never go very far. They told me that they have a deal with a television station to do updates on the show, and they are having a really hard time making it sound exciting. They were in Dallas to film a new show for the Travel Channel called Gay Getaways, and what better to represent dallas than some cowboys. Even the Travel Channel is getting in on the gay travel dollar.
Both Chris and I noticed that Alex was checking him out. It was probably because Chris was rocking the mustache this weekend.
Otherwise, it's a good time to be people watching. So many great looking guys were in their boots and hats. There were several guys out here that were totally rocking my world, but I felt a little out of their league. No biggie. I also felt a little on the outside since this Texan doesn't own a hat, or boots. I'm wondering if I should invest in some, or if I'm just trying to hard to fit in.
I remember the announcer seemed to be a fish out of water as well, but for a different reason. I could tell that he must have been the regular announcer for the Mesquite Rodeo, and that he probably hadn't called a gay rodeo before. Sometimes you could here that he wasn't sure of what to say, or possibly regretted what he just said, like when he uttered the phrase, "now let's talk about the cowboy's equipment," and the crowed tittered.
Surprisingly the half-filled arena, with a few less attendees on Sunday than Saturday was the largest crowd in the Finals history. I think it was somewhere over 2,000 people who came to see it. Yes, I know the criticism that rodeo gets about taking care of animals, but I do believe that they are actually pretty good with them, concerned for both the animal's and cowboy's safety, but it's a rough sport for both man and beast.
I guess I was most amused when watching the tractor come around, tilling the soil and I commented that it seemed a lot like a Zamboni machine coming around. One person who was there with us asked, "What's a zamboni?"
The sport or eye candy, which is the real draw?
