Rodeo Clown Kody Gray described the moment he enters the arena. 

“The five minutes before is electric. You get really pumped up. Everyone is standing for the National Anthem, folks are singing and cheering…and then the flag-bearer comes racing out of the arena, and it’s time to go on. It never gets old. It is an adrenalin rush the whole time.”  

Gray has been experiencing that rush since he was a toddler. His grandfather, Floyd McGuire, made a name for himself as a rodeo clown, and young Kody was often right next to him. 

“I spent a lot of time standing in the front seat of grandpa’s old Chevy pickup going to rodeos,” Gray recalled, “he had me hooked on clowning.”

While it is true that most rodeo clowns begin their careers as rodeo cowboys – and often as bullfighters – Gray, thanks to his grandfather, was a direct inject into the ranks of rodeo clowns. He was 6-years-old when his grandfather quit the circuit in 1998, but those early, powerful memories remained with him. 

In 2017, the timing was right. Gray gathered up a few props and decided to give it a go. Among those props was a clown car, the Yellow Rose, made famous by his grandfather.   

Unfortunately, the Yellow Rose didn’t make the trip to Mineola this year. It was in the shop, with a wheel off, back at home in Clarksville.

The connection between Gray and the Mineola Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) Rodeo, however, also goes back to his grandfather. The founder of the Flying C Rodeo Company of Madill, Okla., Will Cook, had hired Gray’s grandfather back in the day, and it was first Will and then son Todd who gave Gray his first rodeo jobs. 

That relationship with the Flying C continues to this day. And with it comes the extended family between the Flying C Rodeo Company and the Mineola VFD.

“Coming to Mineola is a lot like our annual Red River Rodeo up in Clarksville – because it is just like coming home,” Gray explained. He described how folks know him personally in Mineola, despite seeing him only once a year at rodeo time. 

The ever-popular Mineola VFD Benefit Rodeo is a staple of every summer in Mineola on the second weekend of July. Slack day is Thursday with two nights of rodeo action following.   

He also lauded the support of the VFD, “Those guys are amazing. They handle stock, man the gates, they make it so easy for us.”

The relationships between the Flying C and the VFD manifest themselves in many ways, including the annual middle-of-the-night softball game.

There is also a new team-building event: a golf match between a team led by Gray and a team led by Flying C announcer J.R. McLelland.

“We’re not any good at golf, so we need our teams to carry us,” Gray admitted. The golf match is in its second year while the long-running softball game continues. 

The golf match, which follows the regular radio interview on Friday morning, is simply the latest example of the strong bonds between the rodeo company and Mineola.

It also highlights the special relationship between rodeo clown and rodeo announcer.

“I couldn’t do the clowning without the announcer and sound technician (McLelland’s wife, Michelle, runs the sound ) – it is a true team effort,” Gray advised. 

A big part of Gray’s support is his wife Kayla, daughter Katie (5) and son Kooper (2). They travel the rodeo circuit with him in a big car-hauler truck with living quarters.

“The rodeo environment is just awesome for the kids,” Gray noted. 

The past seven years has seen Gray realize significant success. There have been a number of distinctions from the United Professional Rodeo Association, including the 2023 Act Showcase Championship.

While the origins of Gray’s act started with his grandfather’s act, he has adopted his comedic antics for the times. At last year’s Mineola rodeo, he had great fun when talking a woman in the stands to let him use her cell phone. 

Gray still makes great use of a funny car, whether that is the Yellow Rose, or his new remote controlled ‘ambulance.’

“We have to stay current with what resonates with the crowd,” Gray offered. 

When the final events come to a close and the crowds begin to disperse it is a sad time for Gray.

“You just don’t want it to end,” he said. He also shared that “there is no better feeling” than being responsible for the laughter and wonder in the eyes of the crowd.    

Just recently Gray earned recognition with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and became eligible to work professional rodeos across the nation.

He quickly added, however, that he could never give up the small town rodeo circuit. He added, “I look in the crowd and see myself in some young boy’s eyes.”