By Buck Wargo
Cowgirl and Las Vegas Realtor Stephanie Malone-Rankin feels welcome at the BigHorn Rodeo and has represented Southern Nevada as a national champion.
The 40-year-old Malone, an agent with Realty One Group, has been a participant since 2012 in the annual Las Vegas rodeo sponsored by the Nevada Gay Rodeo association.
Malone-Rankin, whose husband, Kris Rankin, has joined her in recent years to participate in the rodeo’s events, has participated in rodeos going back to her teenage years.
She started riding at eight, jumping with horses and took lessons for several years. When she entered high school, she started participating in competitions. When she attended college at Western Nevada Community College, she participated in college rodeos.
“When I moved home, I started breeding horses and did some jack barrel races and stayed in the game and discovered the gay rodeos in 2012 when I was working at Horseman’s Park at the time,” Malone-Rankin said. “I met some of the people doing the rodeo after never hearing of it before and asked if I was allowed to enter. They were super welcoming. I went home that night and got my horse and came back and entered, and been in their rodeos since then. It’s fun, and everybody is like family to me. It’s a good time. I don’t think people realize you don’t have to be gay to participate in the gay rodeo.”
Two years ago, Malone convinced her husband to participate in the gay rodeo circuit with her.
“He thought I was crazy but, of course, will do whatever I ask him to do,” Malone-Rankin said laughing. “He used to (steer wrestle) in high school and college and now he team ropes and calf ropes. Everybody loves him. The guys fight over him about who gets to rope with him at the rodeos. The contestants learning to steer wrestle have been coming to Kris and asking him to teach them. He helps out a lot with the newer contestants learning the sport of rodeo.”
Malone-Rankin has her professional card and participates in pro rodeos and takes it seriously as all business but when she goes to the gay rodeos it’s more of a relaxed environment among amateurs,
“While I am serious about competing, I get to see my friends and relax at the trailer, have dinner with my friends and hang out and have a fun weekend,” Malone-Rankin said. “It’s not as stressful as going to a (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rodeo.”
At the gay rodeos, Malone-Rankin said there are about 15 events and the couple competes in about seven of them. Her best event is barrel racing, which is what she focuses on when she does professional rodeos. At the gay rodeos, she also does pole bending (riding a horse around a pole as part of a race), flag racing, breakaway calf roping and camp events that are fun, such as tying a ribbon on a steer’s tail and putting a pair of underwear on a goat.
“Those camp events get people involved in the rodeo who don’t own horses or know how to ride,” Malone-Rankin said.
At gay rodeos, men and women compete separately except for team events. People can identify the gender they want.
Malone-Rankin said she’s won more buckles than she can count at the Las Vegas event. She won the pole bending world championship in 2015 and in 2024 she won for pole bending and breakaway roping for the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma.
Malone-Rankin has already qualified for this year’s finals in Reno in October.
“We travel all over,” Malone-Rankin said. “Last year, we did a lot of rodeos. I went to Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, the Bay Area and Palm Springs. I was on a mission last year because I wanted to win the championships.”
Participants pay to enter the rodeo events and compete for prize money. It’s usually about a $30 entry fee for the gay rodeo.
Malone-Rankin said the most she’s won at a rodeo is $1,600 to $1,700, while her husband has won $2,500.
“If you want to have a good time and be purely entertained, you need to come out to this,” she said. “If you love (female impersonators) and horses, this is the place to be. Come with an open mind and have a good time. There’s food, horses and performances. It’s entertaining.”
