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FOR
SOUTHWEST
RANCHES
horse
trainer
Heath
Gunnison,
images
of
the
butt-kicking,
bad-ass
cowboys
best
exemplified
by
a
Waylon
Jennings
song
or
a
Sam
Shepard
drama
are
romanticized
notions
of
the
past.
While
he
admits
to
cutting
loose
and
getting
a
little
crazy
at
a
honky-tonk
or
dance
party
alongside
his
cow-poking
brethren,
Gunnison
says
the
heart-breaking,
gun-slinging
desperado
of
lore
is
more
fiction
than
fact.
“The
bad
boy
cowboy
is
from
such
a
long,
long
time
ago,”
Gunnison
says.
“Now
there
are
cowboys
from
all
walks
of
life.”
These
days,
he
says,
it’s
relatively
safe
to
date
a
cowboy,
or
at
least
grow
up
to
be
one.
Waylon
Jennings
could
be
rolling
in
his
grave.
Gunnison,
28,
is
one
of
about
90
gay
and
lesbian
cowboys
and
cowgirls
who
will
be
defying
stereotypes
by
competing
in
the
fourth
annual
Sunshine
Stampede
Rodeo
in
Davie
this
weekend.
Now
in
its
fourth
year,
the
gay
rodeo
has
helped
to
bring
a
new
light
to
both
gay
people
as
well
as
to
the
rodeo
circuit
while
raising
thousands
of
dollars
for
charities.
“To
be
able
to
represent
[as
a
gay
cowboy]
is
important
to
me,”
Gunnison
says.
“It’s
nice
to
be
out
there
competing
and
having
the
support
of
so
many
people.”
At
first
glance,
the
Sunshine
Stampede
has
all
the
markings
of
mainstream
rodeo
competitions:
strapping
cowboys
ride
bulls,
lasso
calves,
and
wrestle
huge
cows
into
submission
in
front
a
crowd
of
rodeo
enthusiasts,
who
will
peer
out
from
beneath
10-gallon
hats
while
sipping
beer
at
Bergeron
Rodeo
Grounds.
But
look
closer
and
you’ll
see
this
rodeo,
sponsored
by
the
Florida
Gay
Rodeo
Association,
is
different.
To
start,
house
music
will
be
pumping
from
the
speakers
along
with
the
traditional
country
tunes.
But
more
significantly,
the
Sunshine
Stampede
will
feature
women
competing
in
bull
riding
and
bareback
bronco
riding
—
events
that
are
usually
reserved
for
men
only.
Men,
as
well,
will
be
competing
in
barrel
racing,
an
event
normally
reserved
for
women.
At
the
Sunshine
Stampede
transgendered
men
and
women
can
compete
in
whichever
gender
category
they
choose.
“When
you
come
to
the
gay
rodeo,
you’ll
see
all
the
events
of
a
[mainstream]
rodeo,”
says
Barry
Luke,
a
trustee
and
spokesman
for
the
Florida
Gay
Rodeo
Association.
“And
you’ll
see
some
stuff
that
will
make
you
go
oooh,
wow.”
Luke
notes
that
members
of
the
audience
will
be
able
to
compete
in
team
contests
such
as
goat
dressing,
which
involves
a
two-person
team
chasing
a
goat
and
fitting
it
with
a
pair
of
boxer
shorts;
or
steer
decorating,
in
which
teams
compete
in
decorating
a
castrated
bull
with
a
red
ribbon
on
its
tail.
And
then
there’s
the
“wild
drag
race,”
which
ends
when
a
cross-dressed
patron
rides
to
victory
atop
a
steer.
Luke
says
the
rodeo
stands
staunchly
against
animal
abuse.
In
fact,
the
FGRA
disqualifies
contestants
who
in
any
way
abuse
animal,
and
it
prohibits
the
use
of
electrical
cow
prods.
But
what
might
distinguish
the
gay
rodeo
from
the
mainstream
rodeo
the
most
is
the
nature
of
the
competition.
“In
the
traditional
rodeo,
people
are
out
for
themselves,”
Luke
says.
“They
have
to
do
well
to
improve
their
standings.
In
our
rodeo,
everybody’s
there
to
help
each
other.”
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