Mystery solved. It sure looked odd when the Golden Globes displayed so much love for gay cowboy pic “Brokeback Mountain” (noms in 7 of 11 categories) but none for poor cowpoke Jake Gyllenhaal.

Turns out that the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. qualification committee insisted on putting Jake in the lead-actor race instead of supporting, which is the category he’s campaigning for at the Oscars and other kudos.

The contest for best drama actor was so packed this year that the Globes couldn’t find room for Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence), Tommy Lee Jones (Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada), Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener), Jonathan Rhys Myers (Match Point) or Eric Bana (Munich) either.

With so many great leads to choose from, it seems the category couldn’t squeeze in a supporting star — regardless of how much they love him in his Stetson and chaps.