Oakdale Honors Kay Martinelli at 24th Annual Cowgirl Luncheon

By Dee Yates

The Oakdale Cowboy Museum’s 24th Annual Cowgirl Luncheon brought 400 cowgirls together on April 8, dressed in their finest, bubbles flowing and cowboys serving with attention to every detail. The event was sold out months in advance, as it always is. People line up the day before, some staying overnight to purchase tickets to what has become the hottest ticket in the Central Valley’s rodeo season. But beneath the celebration and the pageantry, there is always a purpose: honoring a woman whose contributions to the Western way of life have shaped her community and inspired everyone around her.

This year, that honor belonged to Kay Martinelli.

The Oakdale Cowgirl of the Year award recognizes women who have gone above and beyond to preserve rodeo and ranching traditions for future generations. Kay Martinelli, a longtime rodeo participant and judge who now devotes much of her time to animal rescue, embodies everything the award represents. At a sold-out event in a county town that lives and breathes rodeo culture, she was the one being celebrated. After spending an hour with Kay, it’s easy to understand why she’s deserving of the title—and equally easy to see how one might not realize she’s done all she has.

The blind date that changed everything happened in 1969, the night the moon landing captured the world’s attention. A few friends set her up with a handsome cowboy for dinner in the Bay Area, and that evening sparked a 48-year marriage to Bill Martinelli, a Rodeo Hall of Fame honoree. Bill passed away in May 2020, but the life they built together left an indelible mark. They raised four daughters—Mickey, Angie, Megan, and Tasha—and welcomed over a dozen grandchildren. “I don’t feel like I’ve ever had a bad day,” Kay said of her years with Bill. “I’m so grateful for my life.”

As a young woman, Kay showed steers in 4-H and participated in gymkhana. She wasn’t an academic student—her father had to get involved with the school board to help her graduate—but she had other talents. She worked at UC Medical Center and Stanford Medical Center after attending Heald Business College, jobs that offered experiences she’d never imagined. But when she met Bill, everything changed. She joined the WPRA, Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, and barrel raced while her husband pursued his rodeo career. The family traveled in a motor home to rodeos across the country, their small daughters coming along for the adventure.

As her daughters grew older, Kay shifted from rodeo wife to rodeo mom. All four girls competed—barrel racing, roping, goat tying—and learned the ranching life alongside their father. When her daughters finished high school, Kay was asked to judge State Finals rodeo. Confused by the invitation, she thought they were joking. But that request launched a 30-plus-year career judging high school rodeo throughout California. “I love it,” she said. “I like to help. I enjoy judging.” For 27 years, she also drove a bus for Oakdale schools, another role that shaped countless young lives in the community.

But perhaps what Kay has become most known for in recent years is her work rescuing dogs. It started years ago on a drive home from Wyoming, following the High School National Finals. The Martinelli family came upon a terrible collision with multiple fatalities. In the brush, injured and alone, was a small dog. With no one to turn it over to, they brought it home to Oakdale. When Kay found the dog’s owners through its ID tag, she learned the dog was the only survivor of the crash. “I think that was my first true rescue,” she said. She shipped the dog to the extended family in Ohio, never imagining it would set her on a path of rescuing hundreds more.

Kay currently shares her home in Knights Ferry with five rescues. She credits social media—Facebook in particular—as instrumental in her success, whether reconnecting dogs with lost owners or finding them new homes. She works with local shelters but will never say no to an animal in need. “If you’re sitting at home and you want to do something, call me up,” she said, emphasizing that rescue work requires more than just adopters and foster families. “We need people. If you can’t foster, maybe you can transport.”

When asked what it means to be a cowgirl, Kay was characteristically humble. “There’s so many women that are far more cowgirl than I am,” she said. Yet her knowledge, respect, and reputation in the rodeo world speak for themselves. When she received the call from Oakdale Cowboy Museum Manager Bambi Porter about the honor, her first reaction was hesitation. “Well part of me was, I don’t think I want to do this,” she said with a laugh. “I have done a lot, but not for recognition, not for recognition at all.” Still, she didn’t downplay it. “It makes me proud. It’s good for my heart. It makes me feel good that people have recognized me.”

As for Bill, the cowboy from that blind date 57 years ago, she smiled knowing what he would think. “Oh, I think he’d be grinning from ear to ear. He’d be happy. But he was so humble and quiet, he didn’t say a whole lot. I think he’d be very pleased.” In a life lived full and authentically, through rodeo seasons and rescue missions, through raising daughters and serving her community, Kay Martinelli has earned that recognition. And Oakdale is proud to call her their Cowgirl of the Year.