David Renier has all of the stats of a modern-day superhero — minus the cape.
The 6’1″, openly gay horseman is usually outfitted in Cinch jeans, and a cowboy hat and boots, instead. Oh yeah, and he frequently defeats his opponent.
When rodeo fans speak of Renier as a competitor, their common refrain is, “He wins a lot.” It was said in the 2014 documentary on gay rodeos, “Queens & Cowboys,” in which Renier is playfully depicted as the arrogant champ to fellow competitor Wade Earp’s underdog. And it’s what Jeffrey Rosenberg of Palm Springs says about Renier’s participation in the International Gay Rodeo Association circuit.
“David is an excellent competitor,” adds Rosenberg, president of the Greater Palm Springs Chapter of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association. “He’s also a generally great guy. I’ve never seen him brag about his wins. I’ve seen him help other people as well.”
Renier’s passion for rodeo and its community of athletes and performers will be on full display May 2-4 during the annual Hot Rodeo. It’s the only gay rodeo event planned in Southern California this season. Its competitive events will take place in Banning, with evening and social events in the Palm Springs area. The kickoff party is planned for 8 p.m. May 1 at Hunters Nightclub in Palm Spirngs.
Renier readily admits he works hard to win, and he’s received the accolades to prove it. He’s won more than 700 buckles during 40 years of competitions. He’s ranked No. 1 in the gay rodeo circuit, and is a formidable champ in general or mixed rodeos. Last year, he was named the reserve world champion at Adequan Select, the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show.
Raised in a ranching family, Renier began taking part in rodeos at a young age. It was a fun outlet for his youthful energy, and he did well. The commitment to always perform his best is due, in large part, to the love and support of his mother. “Ever since I was little, my mother always told me, ‘No one ever remembers who won second,'” he says. “I just did the best I could. She was very driven. She was an accomplished rider herself.”
Renier’s mother died a year ago, before he won his first world championship in general rodeos. But he realized several years before that win that the rodeo world was broader and more inclusive than he knew.
“I was competing in straight rodeos and a friend of mine had said there was a gay rodeo association,” Renier recalls. “At the time, it was in L.A. I just thought: I really don’t want to go to the gay rodeo. Being the way I raised out on the farm, you would see over-the-top [gay] people shown on TV. I thought that was how it was going to be. I went but I actually didn’t enter [the competition], because I wanted to see what it was like and the kind of people there. I saw there were people just like me. They were doing their best.”
Renier decided to compete during one day of the gay rodeo, which became a significant part of his life. Though the financial rewards are greater when he wins a general rodeo, competing at gay rodeos has allowed him to completely be himself wherever he participates.
“Back when I first started I wasn’t out at straight rodeos,” he says. “Most of the people at the straight rodeo know that I’m gay now. It’s been good for the most part. In the straight rodeo world, you kind of have to prove yourself to be accepted. They see you first as a competitor and second as a gay guy. I would like to have the gay part as a non-issue.”
Renier, who lives in San Diego and owns a hair replacement business for people undergoing chemotherapy, now competes in more “straight” rodeos than gay ones. When he isn’t working at his day job or competing at rodeo events across the U.S. and Canada, he’s training three hours a day with his horses J Wow and Easy. They train at a ranch about 20 minutes outside of San Diego.
With the training, traveling, and competition schedule, Renier says he hasn’t had a lot of time to establish a relationship with a boyfriend. However, he’s been fortunate to develop a few close friends he considers to be his family. As for his future in rodeo, he isn’t sure how much longer he’s going to compete. But the International Gay Rodeo Association’s finals, which take place in October in Fort Worth, Texas, are a certainty.
“I am definitely going there to win the all-around at the finals,” Renier says.
IF YOU GO
What: Hot Rodeo, presented by the Greater Palm Springs Chapter of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association
When: May 2-4. The kickoff party is planned for 8 p.m. to midnight May 1 at Hunters Nightclub, 302 E. Arenas Road in Palm Springs
Where: Competitive events at AC Dysart Equestrian Park, 2101 W. Victory Ave. in Banning
Tickets and info: palmspringsrodeo.org
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