Gay rodeo finals in Nevada celebrate 50 years of drawing queer cowboys together

Contestants and line dancers traveled from across the country to the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Reno, Nevada, to celebrate a half-century of gay rodeo.

Alexander Saites, 35, asked his mentor, Chuck Browning, 61, to be his “puller” at the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Reno, Nevada, this past weekend. It’s a request built on trust, as the puller’s job is to ensure a thick rope is tightly fastened around a roughly 1,000-pound steer while the rider descends into a narrow, metal chute and into position on the thrashing animal.

Browning, who has been involved with the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) for 37 years, said that when he’s pulling for a rider, the first thing he tells them is: “You got to breathe in your nose, out your mouth, and you have to repeat that.”

On Sunday, the brown steer Saites was about to ride threw its body against the side of the chute and then lunged forward, throwing its head in the air and sending saliva flying — a warning of the explosive power that will emerge from the chute as soon as the gate is opened and the steer starts bucking.