The Greatest Bull Rider of All Time: An Interview with Don Gay

Don Gay at the Ft. Worth stock show 2020, Make A Wish child

The Greatest Bull Rider of All Time: An Interview with Don Gay

by Gina McKnight

As seen in the March 2020 Issue of Florida Equine Athlete

No duplication without permission.

“You’re looking at big eyes and a lot of slobber coming

out of a bull’s nose, and you’re on your back like a turtle.” Don Gay

Don Gay is an American icon. He is an eight-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion Bull Rider. In 1979, Don was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Loving the arena, horses, bulls, and crowds, Don began his career at an early age. Currently the General Manager for Frontier Rodeo Co., Don continues to spend time doing what he loves.

Welcome, Don!

GM: Thank you, Don, for a wonderful conversation about your rodeo career. Your new projects sound amazing, including an autobiography in the works, but let’s go back to the beginning. When did you become acquainted with horses, bulls, and riding?

DG: I was riding horses before I even knew about it as a baby. My dad [rodeo legend Neal Gay] was a rodeo cowboy. My dad started the Mesquite Championship Rodeo in 1958. I was five years old. His partner was sixteen-time World Champion cowboy Jim Shoulders. Jim was like a second father to me. I grew up in the world’s largest dirt playground. I grew up around pro rodeo cowboys, world champions, and the whole rodeo environment. That was my life. It was a good opportunity. I wanted to be a rodeo cowboy. It’s not for everybody. If I wanted to be a guitar player, I might have had a little more trouble.

GM: A wonderful life, Don. Many people would enjoy growing up in the same environment. You have an autobiography in the works. How’s that going?

DG: I’m in the process. I have been extremely lazy with. After I finish this interview, I have to send a tape to the fellow who is going to help me author the book. He’s a professor at Ohio State. I’m going to do this book. I see these people who write these books every year on TV and making money, and I’m thinking how do they do that? How do they put everything in there that needs to be in there? Then I realize, they don’t put everything in there. I think it will be a good read for anybody who has a hat, a pair of Wranglers, or a pair of boots in their closet. It is a good story with my dad starting the rodeo. Basically, we put rodeo on television. If it wasn’t for the Mesquite Rodeo telecast, we probably wouldn’t have the PBR. I feel like we’ve enhanced the industry, from my perspective. We’re all getting along in years, so I’d like to depart a little bit of information for the younger kids who are thinking about rodeo.

GM: What’s it like to be a rodeo cowboy?

DG: Rodeo is different from any other sport. It’s not if you get hurt, it’s when and how bad. It’s akin to joining the military. If you’re going to be a soldier for America, you might die. There is that possibility. It’s part of how to choose to live your life. Not a death-wish by any stretch of the imagination, but you got to be a little bit different. I would just like to say that everybody thinks they want to be a cowboy until you’re laid up in an operating room. You’re looking at big eyes and a lot of slobber coming out of a bull’s nose, and you’re on your back like a turtle. I’ve had enough surgeries that I’m on a first name basis with a lot of doctors.

GM: As a spectator, I enjoy the thrill of the rodeo and the work that goes into it. Behind the scenes, there must be an un-spoken, intentional process that all rodeo cowboys adhere to. You have rodeo genetics. What is the best advice your father has given you?

DG: Probably two things: one is you don’t halfway rob a bank. You either did or you didn’t. There’s no grey area. It’s either black or white. It’s not politics. The other saying is that’s a really good excuse, but it’s still an excuse. If you set out to do something, don’t stop until you do it. It doesn’t mean you win first place at every rodeo on every ride. If you put out your best effort but didn’t get your own way and end up a little short, put that in the rearview mirror and go to the next one. It’s just like life. It doesn’t mean to be a good Christian you’re sinless, that’s just not going to happen. But you can’t give up.

GM: Being a rodeo cowboy takes a lot of guts and grit. American movies and literature have romanticized the rodeo and the cowboy way, but listening to your story, it’s actually hard work and perseverance. Do you remember your very first rodeo competition?

DG: Me and my brother Pete went to Junior Rodeo when we were going up. There weren’t a lot of them like there are today. I remember we went and most times I won second place to my older brother. I had a big ladder to climb. My brother was pretty good at everything he tried to do.

GM: A competitor in many arenas around the world, of all the arenas, where is your favorite?

DG: I like Ellensburg, Washington, just because of the mountainous skyline above the tree-line view you have from the arena floor. I’ve always done well at Ellensburg, that’s a big help. Past that, I like Salinas, California, because it was one of the few rodeos on the west coast. It’s one of the top five rodeos in the world. The neatest arena and one that I’ve had a lot of success in and was drawn to is in Arcadia, Florida. It’s a little outdoor arena and now that I’m in the production end of rodeo, the new arena in Arcadia just boggles the mind of how well it’s designed for the spectators to come. Now they can enjoy the rodeo in the shade.

GM: Every cowboy needs a good horse. How many horses do you keep in your stables?

DG: I love horses. They’ve been in life for as long as I can remember. I have no horses on my place now. I’m looking about 30 head of cows off my back pasture right now and one stinkin’ coyote that’s out of rifle range of my pasture. My ropin’ horse is crippled and I haven’t ridden her in almost a year and a half. She’s over at my dad’s ranch. My dad’s ranch is next door to mine. He has lots of horses – mares and colts. It’s a good place for my old ropin’ horse to spend the rest of her days.

GM: If you could go back and do things over, would you change anything?

DG: I don’t think so. You’d like to smooth out all the bumps, but then you never know which bump it took to get you back up in the saddle.

GM: What does horsemanship mean to you?

DG: Being a good horseman is a vocation. It is good for the soul. A good horse spends time with a horse and not so much closed in an arena. A horse needs pasture and space. Every animal needs a job, that’s people included. You just have to be working towards something or you’re going backwards no matter what it is.

Connect with Don…

Frontier Rodeo Co.

Don's office wall.

 

1984 National Finals Rodeo, winning his 8th World Championship

Tucson AZ 1984 First Place