At the Will Rogers Memorial Center and under the silks of Metallic Cat, “Lioness” actor Thad Luckinbill partnered with 2017 NCHA Super Stakes Ltd Non Pro Champion Holly Francois on Saturday, April 11, 2026, to score a 448.5-point win in the fan-favorite Celebrity Cutting, presented by Icon Global, supporting its mission to bring world-class cancer care to Fort Worth.
Some Goodlookin’ guys have all the Luck
To seize the victory, Luckinbill, a native Oklahoman who plays the role of a special ops extraction expert on Taylor Sheridan’s “Lioness,” climbed aboard Goodlookinsonofaich (Cat Itchi x Sheza Skeeto Rey) to tame two steers in his allotted two minutes.
Thad Luckinbill, who has starred in projects ranging from “Lioness” to “12 Strong” and had ridden a cutting horse maybe four or five times before the event, rides Goodlookinsonofaich to win the 2026 NCHA Celebrity Cutting with Metallic Cat team partner Holly Francois.
The bay horse, a 2013 gelding owned by Rockn’ Diamond Equine, helped Luckinbill make quick work of the first cow—a black baldie steer—and stayed hooked on the second, tan and white steer, calmly executing stops and turns until the buzzer, earning a 221.5.
Goodlookinsonofaich
“Best day of my life,” Luckinbill proclaimed in a mid-event interview as the pair took the lead. “I get the addiction. I didn’t until tonight, but now I get it. I’m hooked.”
Preachersdrinknagain scores 227 … Again
Francois took a moment to celebrate her teammate marking the highest score of the evening before riding 2025 NCHA Open Reserve World Champion Preachersdrinknagain(Metallic Cat x Reys Desire) to a 227. (Notably, Francois’ husband, Lee, scored 227s three times on his journey to the Reserve World Championship with the horse.)
Preachersdrinknagain
The 2018 sorrel gelding is also a member of the Rock’n Diamond lineup, and followed the bar Goodlookinsonofaich set on the first cow, getting the job done with ease. Next up, a spritely little black steer put Preachersdrinknagain on his toes and ready for action, like a quick-footed boxer. By the buzzer, the gelding left no doubt who’d won the match.
“That was badass riding that horse,” Francois said of her first experience competing on Preachersdrinkinagain.
Since the creation of the NCHA Celebrity Cutting in 2024, the mission has been to do greater good.
“Net proceeds from tonight’s event will help expand UT Southwestern’s specialized cancer patient care in Fort Worth, beginning with a new state of the art radiation oncology facility, connected to the Moncrief Cancer Institute,” explained Dr. Keith Argenbright, director of the MCC and a UT Southwestern faculty member. “Through this expansion, we are able to provide leading edge cancer care closer to home for patients and their families in Fort Worth.”
Produced by Taylor and Nicole Sheridan, who once was a patient at UT Southwestern, the star-studded event illustrates their commitment to the cause.
“We’re excited to partner together tonight,” Taylor narrates in a video about UT Southwestern’s expansion. “UT Southwestern stands as a beacon of hope, healing and discovery. I know, personally; this is the place that saved my wife’s life.”
It was a sentiment shared by many of the event’s supporters, including the winning team.
“This is a great cause,” Luckinball stated. “It’s why everybody is here. Everybody knows somebody that has cancer.”
Including his partner.
Holly Francois, 2017 NCHA Super Stakes Ltd Non Pro Champion aboard Preachersdrinknagain, who carried her husband, Lee Francois, to the NCHA Open Reserve World Championship this past December.
“The opportunity to ride this horse for this cause tonight means more to me than she’ll ever understand,” Francois said referencing Preachersdrinknagain’s owner, Leslyn Wallace, who is also a Lee Francois Cutting Horses client. “In 2019, Lee got really weak at a show in Colorado, and we got back to Dallas and found out he had a brain lesion. My father taught [at UT Southwestern] Medical School for years, so I was very familiar with everything they had to offer, and I knew that’s where we needed to be.
“They were instrumental in bringing Lee back to being able to do what he’s doing today,” continued Francois, whose niece is also battling pancreatic cancer.
