Matt Livadary's Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo follows a complete season of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA). Unlike their mainstream straight counterparts, cowboys and cowgirls in the gay rodeo are free to compete in all 13 events. In fact, there is no litmus test for being gay or straight or anything in between. The IGRA, however, is a safe place for LGBT and their friends to take part in a long celebrated part of the Old West free of the fear of being shunned—or worse.
Queens & Cowboys goes on the circuit, focusing on the competition and the fans of Gay Rodeo, by spotlighting several individuals, including Wade Earp, a cowboy-hat-toting rancher in Texas who can claim lineage to legendary Wyatt Earp. He is also one of the most competitive figures on the circuit, winning over 200 buckles throughout his career. But the top prize, the All Around Cowboy, at the World Gay Rodeo in Fort Worth has always alluded him. Char Duran, a lesbian bull rider of 14 years, has never won a buckle, but she has a long line of injuries she can point to in her long quest to finally earn one. And she won't give up. Chris Sherman, meanwhile, is a 26-year-old cowboy who has long fought prejudice in the small Oklahoma town he grew up in. He learned to fight at an early age because he had to. He won a college scholarship to Team Rope on the school's rodeo team, but he couldn't find a willing team-roping partner. As a result, he had to quit rodeo and drop out of school.
But Chris, Char, and Wade found their home with the IGRA. First-time filmmaker Matt Livadary is also a longtime fan of the rodeo. After growing up in California, his childhood fascination took him on the road to a number of rodeos in the Midwest. But one chance meeting of a gay couple at one Colorado event made a big impression on him. FilmLinc spoke with Livadary prior to the Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo screening this Friday as the Opening Night film of the Mountainfilm series at the Film Society (November 21-23).
FilmLinc: What prompted your interest in rodeo and in the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) in particular?
Matt Livadary: I’ve always been a rodeo fan. My dad took me to my first one when I was 3 years old in Cody, Wyoming. It was pretty incredible and felt like you were going back in time 300 years. Back then, I thought I was going to be a cowboy, which was pretty impossible coming from Los Angeles. That cowboy nostalgia stayed with me though and while I was working in development and had to come up with a show [idea] the only content I wanted to make was about a rodeo.
FL: For a reality show?
ML: No, scripted. I always wanted to do a Friday Night Lights set in the world of rodeo.
FL: So you were first attracted to the idea of rodeo in general and not specifically gay rodeo?
ML: I had never heard of the gay competitions then actually. I went on research trips around these tiny Midwestern locations where rodeos still thrive, and on the way I found out about all these niche events for people who didn’t quite fit the mold, like Christian rodeos, Mexican rodeos, women’s rodeos, etc. And then I heard about the gay rodeo that had been around for 30 years. So I left my job and lived with my parents for three years and taught myself how to make a documentary.
FL: So you heard about the IGRA and that was a light that went off?

ML: I was sitting in Estes Park, Colorado, which is a much more liberal rodeo right near Boulder, Colorado. There was a gay couple sitting in front of me, which is something I had never seen at the dozens of rodeos I had attended. They explained that it was the only rodeo they felt comfortable attending that is not the gay rodeo. This sparked that interest. I did some research, contacted the IGRA president Doug Graff, and created this entire pitch about how I would handle the subject and why being a straight [person] would give a good perspective. Then he said, “That’s great, are you in PETA?” I said, “No,” and that was my only test.
FL: How did you zero in on your main subjects, particularly Wade Earp and Char Duran?
ML: I followed a dozen or so characters that had characteristics I just loved, but ended up with 800 hours of footage for a 90-minute movie, which is ludicrous. It all came down to the cowboy code, and that was the litmus test that left four characters who each personified an element of that code. Chris Sherman is brave and courageous for being who he is where he is, while Char is heart and Wade is integrity to me. Those are all things we wanted to exude.
FL: IGRA is also an informal support system of sorts. It was emotional seeing when everyone at one rodeo raised money for Ty Teigen, one of the women you featured, who was battling cancer.
ML: Ty Teigen was so beloved by the rodeo. This help in the community was so common. One guy sliced off his thumb during a competition and they raised $1,000 to get his thumb back. I’ve never met a group like the IGRA. They were really a family. In the traditional rodeo I was treated like an outsider since I wore khakis and I drove a Toyota. Whereas at the gay rodeo I showed up with my camera and within an hour people were like, “Put it down try and be in the rodeo to see if you really cut it. Ride my horse.”
They share everything. People come from four states away with their family and animals and pay for the privilege of being bucked around and then they lend their horses to people even though it hurts their chance of winning. You really only make money if you win first prize. There was a competition aspect though, which can be seen in Wade and David Renier. We had no idea that was going to happen when we started the [documentary].
FL: Yeah, there are a number of things that go down in the movie you could have never known would play out the way they did. The documentary gods were shining down…
ML: It was pretty special to have that work out.
FL: What were Wade and Char's reactions to the movie?
ML: Their reactions were really positive. Wade has had a really hard time in the last decade and I think it was really gratifying for him to have his story reach people in ways he didn’t expect. A woman came up to us at the Dallas Film Festival. She had grown up within a pastor family and was in the closet. Wade’s story caused her to come out on Facebook then and there and Wade started crying. He was so happy that his story reached people. Same with Char—since the film she lost a ton of weight in the hopes of getting back out there and riding, though her girlfriend was really excited that she spent so much time on the festival circuit this year instead of the rodeo.
We also had really positive reactions from straight people and it did really well at both the LGBT and conventional film festivals. David Renier really liked the film as well and called me and said he felt like he was portrayed faithfully…Ultimately, I don’t think the film is a gay film. It’s about people, perseverance, and survival.
FL: On a macro level what do you think is the IGRA’s impact on the rural West?
MT: I suppose the impact on the rural West is that it’s a place that is open to anyone. You don’t have to be gay or straight or prove it, you just have to show up and be present. With their message of inclusion, they allow men and women to do the same sport where usually women can only do specific activities [in traditional rodeo]. It also gives gay men and women an opportunity to be out and themselves.
For instance in Dallas, I was filming a hoedown and this man saw I had a camera and asked me to stop shooting. He explained that he was a teacher and if he was captured on film his family would disown him and he’d lose his job. He started crying. That was a huge moment and shows the impact of gay rodeo. It has become trendy to be gay in pop culture, but there are still places in America where it’s not safe to be yourself and openly gay.
FL: What do you think the medium to long-term impact of the IGRA on traditional rodeo will be? Some of the people you interviewed at a traditional rodeo were quite disparaging on camera. But could the IGRA lead to some changes in how the traditionalists treat their fellow cowboys and cowgirls?
MT: It will be interesting to see. Even after Brokeback Mountain, changes were felt and LGBT issues were more prevalent in the media. Logo and Bravo dedicate their programming to the LGBT community now. It’s taboo and un-PC to talk badly about the gay community now, so I had problems getting straight people to open up about the issue. There isn’t as much blatant homophobia, but it’s more insidious than that. There are little slights. Wade was once not served in a restaurant, for example, and wasn't told why. It’s crazy. I can’t imagine living that every day.
FL: We saw some of that in the film when certain venues would say they were booked and there was “no room” at the proverbial Inn. But in fact, they weren't booked.
MT: Yes, some people don’t even want to be associated with the moniker “Gay.”
FL: Well finally and on a different note… Did they get you to ride any of those horses or bulls?
MT: Yes, they’ll teach anyone how to compete. I was trained and $15 later I was on the back of a bull. Char gave me buckle fever so in San Francisco, the last rodeo of the year, I competed. If you add all four instances up, I got six seconds on the bull and a horn in the throat. Luckily people took pity on me and got me a filmmaker buckle so I don’t have to do it anymore.
