Dallas-native Kay Gay doesn't go to bed dreaming about penthouses, lapdogs, high-rises and tennis matches. Nope. She dreams of the Wild West, cowgirls, cowboys, their hats, boots, bucking bulls and broncos, rhinestone-studded satin shirts, barrel racing and Fort Worth's beloved Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.
"I love anything Western. My house looks like a museum filled with cowboy memorabilia…there is so much color there for your lifestyle, [and] by color, I mean action," Gay said. "Our bucking stock and our bulls aren't like little dogs that sit on your lap."
She and husband Neal have produced and centered their lives around Texas rodeos for 54 years.
Which is why she is one of the 212 women inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame for her significant part in preserving Texas rodeo history. The Museum honored Gay in 2010 for the many cowboy hats she wears - as a professional, a champion and competitor, as well as a trailblazer and pioneer.
"The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors and celebrates women, past and present, whose lives exemplify the courage, resilience, and independence that helped shape the American West…Kay Gay is an important part of Texas rodeo history. From scheduling long-haul truckers for rodeo stock to serving as secretary to keeping time, she has filled most roles within the rodeo arena," according to the Cowgirl Museum website.
Not only was Gay a barrel racer and dazzling Palomino Flag Girl in her past, she's now the woman behind the Flag Girls. I'm sure you've seen them. It's the explosion of sparkling, stunning ladies springing out of the chutes to kick off the rodeo each night. She calls it the "bling, bling" of the rodeo and has designed the glamorous FlagGirl costumes, new each year for 35 years. She also organizes the auditions and cherry-picks the perfect horses from hundreds that live on her 5,000-acre partially owned and partially leased ranch in Terrell.
She's trained women how to ride, young boys how to buck and raised three bull-riding boys herself. When they presented her with three strong horseback-riding granddaughters, she trained them too, of course.
"The whole family is still involved in rodeo. My youngest son has taken over [our] rodeo business. Our oldest son works at [our] ranch. Our middle son works for another rodeo producer and does announcing for them. Both [granddaughters] will be Flag Girls this year…they are wearing some of the costumes I wore when I used to carry the flag," she said. "It does make you proud to see the tradition go on."
At 75 years old, Gay still doesn't know how she got mixed up east of Fort Worth. She loves everything about Fort Worth's Western heritage, friendliness and the respect for cowboy traditions. She said most people don't feel any nostalgia for the Western life, but Fort Worth holds on tight whether they're "rodeo or not."
"The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is our No. 1 deal. It's a huge production. People don't realize what all goes into it. Everybody in Fort Worth seems to like that sort of thing," she said.
She named Fort Worth her beloved "winter home," spending the rodeo season living in a rented house off Montgomery Street or working in the coliseum with her Palomino Flag Girls.
"That building has so much nostalgia, and it gives you a feeling of warmth. It's old, but well kept and clean. There are pictures of the old cowgirls on the walls. The lights make my costumes show up good. It's a piece of history right there. Just thinking of all the people that have been there brings stars to the eyes," she said. "Fort Worth should be very proud of it."
