The International Gay Rodeo Association Insitutional Archives consist of administrative records, memorabilia, posters, publications and clothing from 1982-2009. Most of the materials are regarding the planning, production, and reviews of regional chapter rodeos as well as the final rodeo for the International Gay Rodeo Association.

The International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), an umbrella organization which currently encompasses 27 member associations with 34 chapters, was officially formed in 1985 but had its genesis ten years earlier. The first gay rodeo was organized by Phil Ragsdale in 1976 under the banner of the Comstock Gay Rodeo Association and was held in Reno Nevada. Conceived a year earlier, in 1975, Ragsdale encountered initial local resistance to the idea, despite a charitable aspect that carries on through today. The ensuing National Reno Gay Rodeos, as they were called, grew in popularity. Not only featuring the traditional amateur rodeo fare of horsemanship and bull riding, the National Reno Gay Rodeo also hosted entry level events as well as a country western dance competition and a royalty pageant, all of which are still carried on today at the many IGRA member association rodeos.

59.0 Linear feet (96 document boxes; 1 oversized portfolio; 130 rolls of posters)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Autry Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry National Center as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://theautry.org/research/research-rules-and-application or contact library staff at rroom@theautry.org. An item-level inventory is available from library staff.