From my dear friend and collaborator Gregory Hinton, a letter about LGBT history and Gay Rodeo:

Dear Friends of Out West:

In my digging though gay western history at the One LGBT Archives at USC, I discovered several gay rodeo photographs by Los Angeles photographer Blake Little in a 1990 glossy gay mag. I was moved by them because reflected back to me were several handsome bull riders and chute doggers I had known who passed away in the next few years. Blake photographed me for POZ Magazine in 1996 after IMP.

I contacted him several months ago. In addition to being beautiful, Blake’s rodeos photos are historical documents. He is also an excellent rodeo photographer.

After my call, he pulled together this collection which he’d put away all these years. We went through many of them together.

He has hundreds of photos and a great personal rodeo narrative. He was 1990 IGRA Bull Riding Champion of the year. I’m working on getting him an exhibit and a book!

Gay Rodeo is wonderful option for rural gay men and women to stay in touch with their country roots. These photographs say it all. This is why I am devoted to the mission of Out West, which seeks to illuminate the positive contributions of the LGBT community to the history and culture of the American West.

On behalf of Out West, I am indebted to Blake for sharing this wonderful body of work. Please visit his website. If you have personal memories of Gay Rodeo, Blake has provided an opportunity to blog.

http://www.blakelittle.com/gayrodeo

Best,
Gregory Hinton

Creator and Producer of Out West: LGBT Stories of the American West

Check these images out, they’re pretty cool!