Donald ("Don" or "Donnie") Gay (born September 18, 1953) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

. He won eight

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National ...

(PRCA) bull riding world championships, a record as of 2022. His father, Neal Gay, was a well-known rodeo competitor and later rodeo producer and

stock contractor A stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply roughstock - horses for saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding (called buckjumpers in Australia) and bulls for the bull riding e ...

. Don was inducted into the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, pr ...

in 1979; Neal was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive that honor. In 2015, Don was inducted into the

Bull Riding Hall of Fame The Bull Riding Hall of Fame, located at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, is a hall of fame for the sport of bull riding. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Texas, a ...

Early life

Don Gay was born on September 18, 1953, in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was ...

, to Neal Gay and Evelyn "Cookie" Foster. He was only a year old when his mother died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. Don's father then married Kay Gay, who raised Don and his brother Pete as her own. Don grew up in

, and started competing in rodeos at age six. His father ran the Mesquite Rodeo, which still operates today. He used Mesquite to perfect his skills on both bulls and broncs.

Rodeo career

Gay received his PRCA permit shortly after graduating from high school and began traveling the rodeo circuit."Collected Wisdom: Donnie Gay"
November 30, 2008, accessed March 31, 2010 He soon received his

pilot's license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a speci ...

and began flying himself to rodeo events in a private plane. Don Gay won almost every major rodeo in the country at some point during his career. He won the first of eight world titles in 1974. He went on to win in 1975, 1976, and 1977. His next four titles came in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1984. The record of eight world titles in bull riding still stands. He qualified for the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...

(NFR) 13 times (1972 to 1982, then 1984 to 1985). Don retired from professional rodeo in 1989.

After rodeo career

Since 2002, Gay has been the general manager of Frontier Rodeo Company, providing livestock to professional rodeos and bull riding events across the United States. He also does live announcing at a number of them. He has also done commentary for televised rodeo and bull riding events. From the 1980s to 2000s, Gay was a commentator for the Mesquite Championship Rodeo when the weekly event was televised. He also provided commentary for

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...

big-league events on TNN from 1993 to 2001, PRCA Xtreme Bulls big-league events on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

from 2003 to 2010 and

GAC Family Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

(GAC) from 2011 to 2013, Toughest Cowboy on Fox Sports Networks (FSN) from 2007 to 2008, and

Championship Bull Riding Championship Bull Riding, Inc. (CBR) was a professional bull riding organization that was based in Weatherford, Texas, United States. History Stock contractor Terry Williams and Texas businessman Joel Logan founded Championship Bull Riding (CBR) ...

big-league events on GAC from 2009 to 2010. From 2003 to 2017 and again since 2020, Gay has provided commentary for the bull riding during the live telecasts of the

each December, and in 2018, he provided commentary for the

Tuff Hedeman Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman (born March 2, 1963) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship three times (1986, 1989 and ...

Bull Riding Tour (TBHRT) on

The Cowboy Channel The Cowboy Channel (formerly FamilyNet) is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took th ...

. Starting in 2011, he began running his own semi-professional bull riding organization, the Don Gay Bull Riding Tour, which sanctioned events in some southern U.S. states. In 2016, this organization was renamed the Rank Bull Rider Tour. After its 2017 finals event, the Rank Bull Rider Tour became defunct.

Legacy

Don was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979; his father Neal was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive this honor. In 1997, he received the PBR Ring of Honor. In 2015, Don was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame. In 2007, Gay was inducted into the

Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to the sport of rodeo. History This hall of fame was founded by Johnny Boren. Also contributing to the foundation were a group of Belton, Texas, bu ...

along with his brothers Pete and Jim.Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductees
accessed December 4, 2016 In 2006, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame created the Legends of ProRodeo award which is awarded annually. Again, Don and his father Neal are the only two son and father combo to receive this award. Don received it in 2013, and Neal received it in 2016. The award is given to individuals who have retired from participating in the sport of rodeo but have tirelessly continued to contribute to the sport afterwards.

Honors

* 1979

* 1996

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

* 1997 PBR Ring of Honor * 2000

Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, a western, historical museum in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, "honors those men and women who have shown excellence in the business and support of rodeo and the western lifestyle in Texas." The Hall of Fame ...

* 2007

* 2008

Rodeo Hall of Fame The Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. The h ...

of the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

* 2013 Legends of ProRodeo * 2015 Molalla Walk of Fame * 2015

References

External links

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
- Official Web Site
THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE MESQUITE CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO
Mesquite Championship Rodeo - Official Web Site
ProRodeo Hall of Fame

Professional Bull Riders, Inc.

Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame

September 6, 1982, accessed December 3, 2016

accessed December 3, 2016
"Rodeo Classics" - Donny Gay Maestro Gaxiola
accessed December 3, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Don 1953 births American color commentators Bull riders Living people People from Mesquite, Texas Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Rodeo announcers