GunterKingsley

Celebrities Cut for a Cure

GunterKingsleyDr. Amy Gunter and Bob Kingsley won the Careity Celebrity Cutting. • Photos by Jennifer K. HancockBob Kingsley, the iconic voice of country music’s popular top-40 radio show, credits six-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association All-Around World Champion Larry Mahan with introducing him to cutting in the early 1990s. On Dec. 1 at the 22nd edition of the Careity Foundation’s Celebrity Cutting, Kingsley and Mahan put on a clinic for the other celebrities competing.

As draw six of 16, Kingsley marked a 217 to take the lead in the competition, which added a new twist this year. Riders competed on teams of two, but the pairings were not announced until after the final rider left the working area, which kept the event champions a secret until the end.

Kingsley held the lead briefly while Eric Paslay, a platinum-selling hit songwriter, worked the herd. But Kingsley relinquished the lead to Mahan, who used his championship roughstock rodeo skills to record a score of 219.

When the scores were finalized, Mahan and Paul Bogart, a country music singer and recent American Quarter Horse Association Amateur Team Roping Reserve World Champion, finished third. Bogart marked a 190 after losing a cow.

Fort Worth radio personality and former Careity Celebrity Cutting Champion Malone and Frank Hannon, who is a guitarist and co-founder of the multi-platinum band Tesla, combined for second place. As the first draw, Malone marked a 198, and Hannon marked a 213.

Kingsley’s big score helped Amy Gunter, a surgeon and breast cancer specialist who serves on the Careity medical advisory board, secure her third Celebrity Cutting title. The third rider to compete, Gunter marked a 204.

The action in the cutting pen was followed by a concert and silent auction to benefit Careity’s programs. The charity event raises money to help support cancer patients and critically ill children. To learn more about the Careity Foundation, visit www.careity.org