Rafter G Rodeo

A legendary rodeo family and a legacy that has helped shape the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo for more than four decades.

Rafter G Rodeo Company has played a major role in the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo for more than 40 years. Neal Gay, founder of Rafter G Rodeo Company, began managing the Stock Show’s rodeo performances in 1979, beginning a remarkable family legacy that continues today.

Rafter G is a rodeo family. Neal and Kay Gay, along with their sons Pete, Donnie and Jim and their families, have each played an integral role in the company and in the world of professional rodeo.

Today, Jim Gay, the youngest son of Neal and Kay, serves as manager of Rafter G Rodeo, following in his father’s footsteps and continuing the family’s legacy in rodeo production.

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The Rafter G Legacy

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo salutes Rafter G Rodeo with this mini-documentary created and produced by Westsider Media.

Created and produced by Westsider Media.

“I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t love it; this is all I ever wanted to do. I’ve never gotten up a day in my life dreading to go to work.”

— Neal Gay, Founder of Rafter G Rodeo

Neal Gay

“I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t love it; this is all I ever wanted to do. I’ve never gotten up a day in my life dreading to go to work." -NEAL GAY, Founder Rafter G Rodeo
Neal Gay’s professional rodeo career began as a contestant in Atoka, Okla., in 1945. Gay rode bulls, saddle broncs, bareback broncs and wrestled steers.

In addition to his important work in rodeo production at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Neal founded the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (a weekly spring and summer Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association show) in 1958. He and his family managed Mesquite Rodeo for a half century, from the late 1950s through the late 2000s.

Neal passed away in 2022, but is remembered for riding in the Stock Show & Rodeo’s colorful grand entry well into his 90s.

Kay Gay

A 2010 National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inductee, Kay Gay is an icon in Texas rodeo history. To Stock Show fans, she's likely best known for the design and creation of the dozens of glamours "outfits" worn by the Grand Entry's 12 pivot setters and two riders (granddaughters Summer and Megan) who lead the procession carrying the American and Texas flags.

Kay passed away in 2025 and is fondly remembered for her dedication to the fashion and splendor of FWSSR's famed Palomino Parade of Grand Entry pivot setters.

Jim, Brenda, Summer and Megan Gay

Jim Gay competed in bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding and was a very accomplished pick-up man. Along with his wife, Brenda, and their two daughters, Megan and Summer,they continue to bring the pageantry and production that Rafter G and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo are famous for.

A Legacy That Lives On

For generations, the Gay family and Rafter G Rodeo have helped bring the sport, tradition and excitement of professional rodeo to Fort Worth. Their legacy remains woven into the story of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo — and continues in the arena today.