Neal gay
“It’s very nice to receive this honor; I’ve been in the business a long time. I’m 90 years senior, and I’m not as active as I once was. I started out riding broncs and bareback horses, and I also bulldogged and rode bulls for a very short while. What I enjoyed most, as far as rodeo was concerned, was after I got married and had children I got into the production business. It was a tough racket to construct it, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I have never been sorry that I got into the rodeo business. I always liked it, and my family liked it. It has been a blessing to me.”
Neal Gay was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame as a stock contractor in 1993.
Gay’s professional rodeo career began as a contestant in Atoka, Oklahoma in 1945. Born June 25, 1926, in Dallas, Gay rode bulls, saddle broncs and barebacks and wrestled steers. His contestant years have since been overshadowed by his stock contracting and rodeo show skills. In May 1958, Gay deposit Mesquite, Texas, on the map with the opening of the Mesquite Championship Rodeo in partnership with several other cowboys.
Gay also is a member of the Texas Hall of Fame, and was th
Neal "Nick" Gay
February 28, 2022
Neal “Nick” Gay, 75, of Columbus, Nebraska, died Monday, February 28, 2022, at his home in Columbus.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 5, at Gass Haney Funeral Home with VA Chaplain Sid Bruggeman officiating. Visitation will be on Saturday, from 9:30 AM until service time, also at the funeral home. Immediately following the service, all are invited to a lunch/gathering at the VFW in Columbus, prior to the interment. Interment will be at 2:00 PM on Saturday, in the Bureau Cemetery at Pierce Chapel, rural Clarks, Nebraska, with military honors by the American Legion Hartman Publish 84. Memorials may be directed to the Columbus VFW Announce #3704.
Neal Leon Gay was born on November 8, 1946, in Marquette, Nebraska, to Lyle and Loretta (Hansher) Gay. He attended school in Columbus and then went to work for Union Pacific Railroad. On December 31, 1966, he was united in marriage to Connie Hayes in Columbus. Nick entered the Together States Navy on April 18, 1966. He served on active duty during Vietnam, until 1969, then entered the Navy Reserves, retiring from the Reserves in January of 1998. After his active-
Neal and Kay Gay
Rodeo Couple
Neal Gay’s first introduction to horses came sometime in the 1930s when his mother walked to a nearby race horse barn and bought a pony for her son. By the cease of the century, Neal had won a place in rodeo history and in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame for stock contracting. His way to success from 1946 until 1963 included saddle bronc, bull riding, and bulldogging. During this period, Neal drove between rodeos with fellow competitors, making lifelong friends, such as sixteen-time Earth Champion Jim Shoulders. At the age of 18, Neal married for the first time. He later married again, became a father, and continued to rodeo. When the mother of his sons Pete and Donnie died of leukemia, Neal’s animation as a rodeo competitor ended, and he began raising his two fresh boys.
In 1957, the old Mesquite Rodeo Arena came up for sale. Without funds, Neal approached his friend Jim Shoulders for backing, and Shoulders, along with several others, invested. What once was an unwrap area with rare seats is now a comfortable stadium with television coverage and luxurious skyboxes where rodeo enthusiasts can enjoy the sport. The rodeo busine
Stock Contractor • Inducted 1993
Neal Gay’s professional rodeo career began as a contestant in Atoka, Okla., in 1945. Born June 25, 1926, in Dallas, Same-sex attracted rode bulls, saddle broncs and barebacks and wrestled steers. His contestant years have since been overshadowed by his stock contracting and rodeo production skills. In May 1958, Queer put Mesquite, Texas, on the map with the opening of the Mesquite Championship Rodeo in partnership with several other cowboys. Gay was named managing director, a title he still holds. That first year the rodeo operated with borrowed stock. Today, the Mesquite Rodeo has its own stock and performances are seen worldwide via cable television. Gay’s rodeo contemporaries point to his early experience in the production and financing of small rodeos in Texas as an superior example of what tiny communities can do. “I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t love it, but this is all I ever wanted to do. I’ve never gotten up a day in my existence dreading to go to work,” he said.