Texas gay rodeo association

“At the end of the year, if the rodeo is profitable and everything, that money goes back to the cities where it was raised.”

Edlin is serving his third, two-year term as TGRA president.

Participants do not have to be LGBTQIA+ to participate. “She likes to run slow,” Alexis says.

“She just does it for the fun of it,” Chicken Nugget says of the domesticated animal.

back to the hotel.” Uber, as it turns out, is a scarce commodity where they were competing in the far outskirts of town. One need not be gay to join, and it’s for a cause. Over its 34-year history, TGRA has donated more than $3 million to charity, mostly to nonprofits that help people with HIV and AIDS.

Miss TGRA

Like most tales for the ages, the story of how Chicken Nugget ended up with his rodeo name took place at a gay cowboy bar.

And it just kind of clicked,” he says.

I ask Chicken Nugget and Alexis if they have any crazy stories from the rodeo. Perhaps in cheerful anticipation.

“I got a nose bleed at finals in Albuquerque last year,” Alexis says. “I’ll do whatever you want, sweetheart,” he says. Since we got started in 1983, TGRA members (individual and commercial), Royalty, and local communities have raised and donated over two million dollars to Texas charities �primarily, though not exclusively, for AIDS-specific service support.

The IGRA attracts many women, including straight women, because it allows them to compete in events reserved for men in other rodeo associations.

The rodeo features 13 events, falling under two categories: Rough Stock and Camp.

“We have women bronc riders; we have women steer riders; we have women bull riders; we have men barrel racers; men and women compete in all the same events,” said Edlin. 

Mat Berger attended the rodeo with his boyfriend.

“We make the bag-in-the-box syrup for the spouts,” he says.

The first word out of Chicken Nugget’s mouth as a baby was “airplane.” Aviation was the career path he wanted to take. Barrels have been run, poles have been bent, and now Heineken has joined the party. They trained bird dogs and used horses to go with the dogs.

“I absolutely had this passion for horses,” she says.

There are many committees within each chapter that exist to meet the wide-range of challenges in hosting rodeos and maintaining a focused charitable concern.

Tickets cost $10 at the gate. She did so well that her dad decided to buy her a better horse.

Candy and her partner Rue, also an IGRA hall-of-famer, live here full time. “Used to be, they wouldn’t even allow us into venues, and we’d have to find a spot wherever we could,” Smith says. There is a start sign and a finish sign.

“You’ve got a goat attached to cinder blocks.

For many spectators, the show was not only a thrilling display of horsemanship and rodeo skills but also an important step towards greater inclusivity and acceptance in the traditionally conservative world of rodeo.

NBC 5's photojournalist Kennedy DeRaedt spoke with cowboys, cowgirls, and rodeo enthusiasts who have been involved with the show for years.

Wade Earp has been a member of TGRA for over 30 years.