Donald ("Don" or "Donnie") Gay (born September 18, 1953) is an American professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

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 bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

. 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, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) bull riding world championships; a record as of 2024. 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 rough stock - bucking horses for Bronc riding, saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding (called buck jumpers in Australia) and buck ...

. 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, p ...

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 city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

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

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce 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

s 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. He attended Mesquite High School.

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 issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issui ...

and began flying himself to rodeo events in a private plane. He won almost every major rodeo in the United States 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. He also won the NFR bull riding average title in 1976. His next four world 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 championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It 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 f ...

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

Post-rodeo career

From 1989 to 1996, Gay was a

as the owner of All-Star Rodeo, providing livestock to professional rodeos and bull riding events across the United States. Since 2002, he has been the general manager for Frontier Rodeo Company. He also does live announcing at a number of rodeos. He has also provided commentary for televised rodeo and bull riding events. From the 1980s through 2000s, Gay was a commentator for the

Mesquite Championship Rodeo The Mesquite Championship Rodeo is a rodeo located in Mesquite, Texas, United States, that operates from June through August. It is only a 15 minute drive from Dallas, Texas. It is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA ...

when the weekly event was televised. Around the same time, he was also a commentator for other televised regular-season PRCA rodeos. He also provided commentary for *

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...

events on TNN from 1993 through 2001, * PRCA Xtreme Bulls events on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

from 2003 through 2010 and

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network owned by Great American Media. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming such as television series and Television film, made-for-TV movies—some of whi ...

(GAC) from 2011 through 2013, *

Toughest Cowboy ''Toughest Cowboy'' is an American rodeo competition-based reality television program that followed twelve professional cowboys as they competed in the three professional roughstock rodeo events — bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding an ...

Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on M ...

(FSN) in 2007 and 2008, *

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) ...

events on GAC in 2009 and 2010, * the

Tuff Hedeman Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman (born March 2, 1963) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized 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 is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western programming and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, later took the name ...

in 2018, * the bull riding during the live telecasts of the

each December from 2003 through 2017 and again since 2020 . Starting in 2011, Gay 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, b ...

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 sportsperson, athletes, coach (sport), coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Sports in Texas, Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association ...

* 1997 PBR Ring of Honor * 2000

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

* 2007

* 2008

Rodeo Hall of Fame The National 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. ...

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 American West, Western and Native American art works and Artifact (archaeology), artifacts. The facility also has the worl ...

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

References

External links

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
- Official website
Mesquite Championship Rodeo
- Official website
ProRodeo Hall of Fame
- Official website
Professional Bull Riders, Inc.
- Official website
Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
- Official website

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 Sportspeople from Mesquite, Texas Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Rodeo announcers Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees