Golden Spike Gay Rodeo Association (1979)
Utah Gay Rodeo Association (1989)
Joined IGRA in 1989
Desolved in 2007
Reborn and seated at IGRA convention in 2016
UGRA was first organized in 1979 under the name of the Golden Spike Gay Rodeo Association. It functioned under that name for 10 years as a local group of people who liked the cowboy life style.
They attended court functions, helped with fund raisers and socialized at the bars. They were referred to as the guys that would always help out and always had their cowboy hats on. As interest in the group grew so did the membership which was small but active.
Many participated in the Reno Rodeos. They brought home some of the first buckles ever awarded and were very active in fund raising for MD. Then as rodeos such as Phoenix and Denver started up, the group became more active and of interest to the community. In 1988 they had enough members to consider joining IGRA but were unable to keep their name because the acronym, GSGRA was already taken by California (Golden State Gay Rodeo Association).
There was a lot of discussion, no one wanted to change the name, but eventually it was simply stated, "we will just be the Utah Gay Rodeo Association." UGRA was presented and seated at convention in 1989.
The association disolved 2007
The association was re-started and seated at IGRA Convention 2017