Mesquite
Championship
Rodeo |
|
History of the Mesquite Championship
Rodeo
Neal Gay was a city boy who grew up
liking the rodeo. He grew up in the
Pleasant Grove area of Dallas, Texas and
rode calves for fun at a relative's
farm. When he turned 17, Neal
volunteered for the Coast Guard.
After WWII he got involved in organized
rodeo in 1945. Neal recalls: "My dad had
a garage in Pleasant Grove, and Tex
Lewis would come around. He was a bronc
rider who always talked about rodeos.
One day Tex said, ‘Neal, let's go to
Garland [a suburb of Dallas] and ride in
the rodeo.’ I didn't have anything else
better to do, so I went. I got thrown at
the whistle. That was a Friday night and
the next night I entered the Pleasant
Mound Rodeo. I won first place. It was
the second bucking horse I'd ever gotten
on, and I won $35. That was big stuff."
After those nights Neal was hooked on
the rodeo. He entered and competed in
virtually every event at any rodeo. He
broke into the top ten in Saddle Bronc
Riding.
But something kept tugging at him. He
made himself a promise that if he ever
married and had a family, he would stop
competing to be a full-time husband and
father. "I'm not knocking the others for
staying on the circuit. That's just the
way I felt."
An idea is born
During a low time Neal wondered what he
would do when he had to quit riding in
the rodeo. He had an idea about running
a rodeo that stayed in one place. That
seemed like a good idea to him, but
others thought he was crazy.
In 1952 Neal's first son, Pete, was
born. Neal needed a full-time job at
home, but it had to be something he
liked. So he ran a used car lot at the
former site of the Pleasant Mound Rodeo.
It was OK, but he couldn't get the rodeo
out of his system.
After Neal's wife died in 1957 his idea
of a stationary rodeo flourished again.
He shared his idea with buddies that he
knew and Jim Shoulders, a 16-time
all-around rodeo champion. When Neal
remembers the good old days, he recalls
that he and Jim met during WWII. “We'd
buy cigarettes in Dallas and sell them
to other cowboys, for a little profit,"
he adds with a wink.
After a long conversation they decided
to build a rodeo that stayed in one
spot. Besides Neal and Jim, the other
partners included D.J. "Kajun Kidd"
Gaudin, Harry Tompkins, Ira Akers and
Bob Grant. They bought the Pleasant
Mound Rodeo, relocated it and renamed it
“the Mesquite Championship Rodeo”. Since
something like this had never been tried
before most people didn't give them much
of a chance for success.
 In
1958 the Mesquite Championship Rodeo
opened its chutes.
Neal was named managing director to run
the operation. His dream was coming
true; he now had his full-time job and a
fancy title to go with it. But he would
have to overcome a lot to keep his
position and his title. "Times were
pretty tough," recalls son Don. "It got
scary. Debts got so bad daddy couldn’t
sell out if he wanted. On the side, he
sold houses and insurance. Anything to
keep it going." During its first season
the rodeo lost $13,000. The partners
bought livestock from Harry Knight,
Tommy Steiner, and other rodeo
contractors.
By now Neal was married to the former
Kay Frances Nickels, whose strong will
matched his. They sold tickets before
each performance and picked up trash
afterwards. Bank notes and bills never
stopped dogging them. Their small wooden
office building doubled as the ticket
office. Many times Neal stared out a
window and wondered what he was going to
do. One by one Neal's partners left for
other opportunities. The rodeo faced an
uncertain future. Neal figured that he
could always sell the land that the
rodeo was located on if it didn't make
it.
Getting noticed
One of the biggest challenges facing
Mesquite Rodeo boss Neal during the
early years was getting noticed. "I
remember one opening night," he recalls.
"It was around 1958, we'd try almost
anything to get attention. Anyway, this
guy came by and said he'd jump out of a
plane and parachute into the arena to
promote the season kick-off." "That
night he came down alright. Only he
missed the arena and landed in a pile of
tangled wire about 100 yards away. I
thought we'd never get him out of that
mess."
The big breaks
come ... finally!
In 1964 a roof was added, which allowed
performances year round without exposure
to the elements. With a roof protecting
the rodeo, rain no longer killed shows.
In 1970, I-635 was completed. Freeways
were scarce back then. "We'd give people
directions over the phone, but they'd
get lost," Neal said. "I'm sure some
never did find us. The freeway gave
people easier access to the rodeo and
we didn’t have to worry about them
finding us anymore.”
 1974 was a very good year. Neal’s son,
Don, won his first bull riding
championship; Neal’s son, Pete,
qualified to compete at the National
Finals Rodeo, the “super bowl” of pro
rodeo. In 1981, Neal's youngest son Jim won
the Texas high school bull riding and
all-around titles. In addition, close
friend and Mesquite native Monty
"Hawkeye" Henson won three saddle bronc
riding titles. With all these people in
place, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo
was the place to be.
In 1979 Don, who won a record
eight-world bull riding titles in his
career, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo
Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, CO.
During the mid-1980's ESPN began
televising the rodeo performances.
In 1985 ground was broken for the new
and updated Resistol Arena. Construction
was completed just in time for the World
Championship Tennis Finals party in
April 1986. This was to be the arena's
first event. The kick-off for the rodeo
season was a few days later.
In 1993 the Texas legislature proclaimed
Mesquite the "Rodeo Capital of Texas."
That same year Neal was inducted into
the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, joining Don,
as the only father-son team to receive
this prestigious honor.
In 1998, Resistol Arena was enclosed and
received air-condition. Construction was
also completed on the Hampton Inn &
Suites and the Convention Center &
Exhibition Hall
New ownership
In 1999 Dallas' own Tom Hicks acquired
the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, adding
to his sports empire that includes the
Texas Rangers baseball and the
Dallas Stars hockey teams.
Retirement for
Neal ... sort of
Neal and his family continue to produce
the weekly rodeo, but most of his time
is spent at his 1,000 acre ranch near
Terrell, Texas, where he, Kay, Jim and
wife Brenda live. Neal keeps more than
$1 million in rodeo livestock on his
ranch for the annual
Fort Worth Rodeo and Livestock Show.
Neal and Jim also run a
livestock-breeding program here. This
program started in 1992 when it became
apparent that they couldn't always count
on a consistent source for top bucking
bulls and broncs. The program is a
success. Just like the rodeo he started
back in 1958.
|
|
|
