Actor Ernest Borgnine once said of Brokeback Mountain that "If John Wayne were alive, he'd be rolling over in his grave." Borgnine's oxymoronic assessment of Wayne, who long epitomized the rugged masculinity associated with the cowboy, may well have been right. But one's left to ponder what the Duke would have made of a rodeo where, unlike that film's Jack Twist, the cowboys aren't just out and proud, but competing alongside women, sometimes in drag, and in events that include shoving a pair of briefs on a goat.

The Canadian Rockies International Rodeo (July 1 to 4), which features all of these things, is not your grandfather's rodeo — but that's the way people seem to like it. Now celebrating its 17th anniversary, the annual shindig moved to Strathmore last year after outgrowing its old location in Symons Valley. The rodeo has steadily expanded since its beginnings, and this year may be its biggest yet. Rob Somers, who's gone from the rodeo’s spectator to participant to organizer over the past decade, attributes the growth to a friendly but feisty atmosphere at the event and greater tolerance for it.

"Our rodeo is well-known as a fun rodeo that's inclusive," he says. "And then I think over the last 12 years or so attitudes have generally changed. People are a lot more accepting and open to new ideas."

The rodeo, like others of its kind, certainly features events that would have raised eyebrows (and hackles) in the Old West. The wild drag race, where competitors who look more like RuPaul than Roy Rogers dash towards the finish line atop a steer, is unabashedly campy. Likewise for goat dressing, whereby a duo attempts to force Jockeys onto a bemused hircine friend. But while the differences from a regular rodeo are obvious, the similarities can be surprising for first-time attendees.

"I really sort of expected it to be a lot of flamboyantly gay, kind of goofy, not serious at all, just sort of twisted comedy fest," says Marc Ross of his visit one afternoon in 2008. "But I was surprised at how some of the contestants were actually really, really good at what they were doing. They weren't just playing around, so it was a real rodeo, not just a gay parade."

Of course, like the Stampede, this rodeo is a social event as well. There's a midway, a beer garden and a dance floor. And, as Ross notes, plenty of opportunities for showing off.

"They were all dressed fairly openly and casually," he says of the crowd. "There were not that many clothes, let's say." This, he adds, makes for a refreshing change from the typical rodeo.

"There wasn't the sense of machoism. I didn't at all feel that I had to measure up to something, like ‘This is the standard of a real man kind of thing.’"

Even for gays, though, the rodeo can be revealing. Paul Wong is a veteran of queer culture but was a newcomer to cowboy culture when he visited Strathmore last year. The Vancouver multimedia artist, who came seeking inspiration for a project at the Glenbow Museum, didn't know what to expect. But like Ross, he found the contestants' dedication impressive. They were campy, but also competitive.

"I got to see them work hard and play hard, take things seriously and also laugh at themselves," he says, adding: "Many of them weren't weekend cowboys. This was very much their culture."

For Wong, the novelty of gay rodeo lies in its openness, not its existence. The sport has always had gay contestants, many still closeted. And the competitors' often flamboyant fashions, Wong believes, reflect rodeo's traditions. Hats, boots and spurs are worn in part for necessity, but they're also about projecting a certain image.

"It's one form of costume anyway," he says of traditional cowboy attire. "And the other style is another costume. They were flipping around the whole macho stereotype."

Contestants aren't merely, or even mostly, a bunch of screaming queens. As at any other rodeo, there's bull riding, calf roping, and barrel racing (though unlike at other rodeos, both men and women compete in all events). Somers says there are participants who also compete on the professional circuit.

But for some events, pluck is more important than experience. Wong isn't sure if he'll return to the rodeo this year, but he'll have the chance to saddle up, so to speak, if he does.

"They've invited me back as a competitor," he says. "They want me to compete in the goat dressing, which I definitely think I could do."

John Wayne, roll over. There's a new kind of c’boy in this town.