"I don't know if I'm getting any better," she says, slapping the dust from her clothes.Another regular competitor is Bailey Kier, a 27-year-old student with soft features that belie a steely dedication, who grew up in Washington State. After coming out at the age of 16, Kier moved to Seattle and then to Washington DC. Several months ago Kier started having hormone treatment and, having previously competed in the women's events, now competes as a man. Not today though: at the last rodeo he broke his arm."I definitely ran away," he admits, when I ask about his upbringing on the West Coast.
Having said that he is not a great fan of Washington DC either, despite its sizeable gay population. "There are lots of tensions."Kier also talks of the support of fellow competitors and fans on the circuit and, like many competitors, suggests that gay rodeo is simply more welcoming to gay people than straight rodeo ever could be. (One competitor points out that it was in Wyoming, one of the rodeo capitals of the US, that 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die, tied to a fence, in 1998 in a gay hate killing.) Kier says the support of friends and fellow participants has played an important role, too, following his decision to become a man.Kier's partner, Connie Morris, 35, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, only started participating in rodeo events last summer. A school psychologist, she says she likes the people who attend the events "Professional rodeo is not as open," she says.
Today she is taking part in the barrel racing event, where riders are timed as they make their way to a series of points within the arena.While the rodeo is undoubtedly partly a celebration of gay culture, everyone likes to stress that the competition is plenty serious. As many as 100 competitors regularly travel on the gay rodeo circuit, competing for the modest purses and the titles. Several of the competitors have participated in straight or regular rodeo events.One such competitor is Sonny Koerner, a handsome and clearly popular 37-year-old who was recently photographed for a national gay magazine sitting naked astride a brown and white horse. Today the former IGRA champion has all his clothes on and has competed - not well enough to satisfy his standards - in six events.He grew up in Texas where he spent hot summers riding horses and roping cattle on his grandparents' ranch and competing in local children's rodeo events. Last weekend he spent a family trip to Scotland, where his daughter (one of four kids) is at university, on an extended pub crawl 1.15pm Next on Thursday's schedule is a finance meeting Then it's catering, licensing and design Now it's the turn of smoking to dominate "Licensing is a sideshow.