Don Gay

Don "Donnie" Gay is an eight-time PRCA world champion bullrider. Born in 1953 to Neal and Evelyn "Cookie" Foster and was only a year old when she died of leukemia. Kay Gay raised Donny and Pete as her own.. He grew up in Mesquite, Texas, and started rodeo at age 6. His father is Neal Gay, a well-known rodeo competitor and rodeo producer. Don was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979; his father was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive that honor.^[1] Don retired from professional rodeo in 1989.^[2]

Gay now does television rodeo commentary for PRCA events on Fox Sports as well as on ESPN. He was also the commentator for PBR big-league events on TNN between 1994 and 2001. In 1997 he received the PBR's Ring of Honor.^[3]

In 2007 Gay was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame along with his brothers Pete and Jim.^[4]

Rodeo career

Don started riding calves at age 6. His Father ran the famed Mesquite Rodeo which still operates today. He used Mesquite to perfect his skills on both bulls and broncs. He got his PRCA permit just out of high school and hit the road. He soon got his pilots license. He used the plane to make more rodeos.^[5] This practice was still quite new to rodeo at the time. Don Gay won almost every major rodeo in the country at some point during his career. He won the first of 8 world titles in 1974. He would go on to win in 1975, 1976,and 1977. His next four titles came in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1984. The record of 8 world titles in bull riding still stands to this day.^[6]

References

1. ^ MCR History 90's Mesquite Championship Rodeo, accessed March 31, 2010
2. ^ "Famed bullrider Don Gay still a big part of rodeo" TimesRecordNews, June 21, 2008, accessed March 31, 2010
3. ^ Professional Bull Riders, Inc. Ring of Honor, accessed March 31, 2010
4. ^ Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductees, accessed March 31, 2010
5. ^ "Collected Wisdom: Donnie Gay", November 30, 2008, accessed March 31, 2010
6. ^ Inductees - Don Gay ProRodeo Hall of Fame, accessed March 31, 2010

External links

• Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association [1] - Official Web Site

• Mesquite Championship Rodeo www.MesquiteRodeo.com - Official Web Site

• ProRodeo Hall of Fame [2]

• Professional Bull Riders, Inc. [3]

• Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame [4]

• MCR History 70's [5]

• MCR History 80's [6]

• MCR History 90's [7]

• MCR History 00's [8]
• "No Guts, No Glory", September 06, 1982, accessed March 31, 2010
• "Don Gay Talks With Weekender", January 24, 2008, accessed March 31, 2010

• Don Gay: Bull Riding Champion Quiz [9], accessed March 31, 2010

• Maestro Gaxiola - "Rodeo Classics" - Donny Gay [10], accessed March 31, 2010

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Name	Gay, Don
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Date of birth	1953
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