Careity Foundation Moves On to Focus on Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
November 28, 2024 — After three decades of initiating, developing, and running a signature-quality, celebrity-studded three part (dinner, cutting, concert) event at the National Cutting Horse Association’s NCHA Futurity, Careity announced plans earlier this year to move on and devote energy to a fundraising event through the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo (FWSSR). Careity had already begun to work with FWSSR in 2023.
History with NCHA
At the request of then-NCHA Executive Director Henry Conley 30 years ago, Careity founders Lyn Walsh and Beverly Branch agreed to rescue the fledgling NCHA Celebrity Cutting event and produce it during the NCHA Futurity, held at the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, that would benefit Careity’s cause.
In the decades since, Careity Celebrity Cutting has grown into a signature event, applauded for its celebrities, pageantry, and exemplary horsemanship—but most of all, for raising millions of dollars that have provided timely and direct care to thousands of their cancer patients.


Benefiting cancer patients
“Top sponsors like The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Solis Women’s Health, First Bank Texas, and Leon Henry, along with several local hospital systems, have given us the ability to save lives,” Walsh said. “And let me be clear: Our mission and services will continue. We are moving on from producing the Careity Celebrity Cutting for NCHA, not from the work of saving lives.”
A legacy of celebrities
Walsh and Branch credit celebrities like Joe Montana, Tanya Tucker, Brad Paisley, Cody Johnson, Lyle Lovett, Barry Corbin, Randy Travis, Kix Brooks, Travis Tritt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jay Novacek, Clay Walker, Bob Kingsley, and many cast members from Yellowstone and 1883 for helping to generate sold-out crowds that raised money for the cause. “They rode with our physicians and cancer patients,” Branch said, “generating a powerful emotional message that resonated in our crowds.”
“In 2018, we invited Yellowstone producer Taylor Sheridan to participate in the Careity Celebrity Cutting,” she said. Sheridan and his wife, Nicole, then served as honorary chairs of the Careity Celebrity Cutting for several years.
A friendship developed that led Sheridan to provide several Yellowstone experiences through a nationwide auction that Walsh and Branch arranged raising over $500,000 for Careity’s direct patient services.
New venue, new opportunities
As Walsh and Branch move on from this beloved and impactful fundraising event, they say they continue to be energized about Careity’s patient services.
“We plan to continue for many years,” Walsh said. “We’re looking forward to this fresh way of building an even larger base of community presence and awareness in Dickies Arena as the ‘Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Goes Pink’ benefits Careity Foundation for the third year in 2025.”
