November 26, 2001

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Beverly Branch 817-313-4105 Julie Hatch 817-919-7648

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Nearly a dozen world-class entertainers, sports and business legends will join local media celebrities for an old-fashioned, flag-wavin’, hand-clappin’, knee-slappin’, boot-scootin’ good time at the Celebrity Cutting 2001 Star-Spangled Round-Up on Friday, December 7at 7:00 p.m. at Will Rogers Coliseum. Co-chaired by Beverly Branch and Lyn Walsh, this 100% volunteer-driven event raises over $200,000 each year for underserved cancer patients in North Texas, and coincides with Fort Worth’s National Cutting Horse Association Futurity.

In its seventh year, this year’s special all-celebrity cutting event on the 60^th anniversary of Pearl Harbor is proudly dedicated to local fire, police and military personnel. All active-duty as well as retired police, fire, medical and military personnel will be honored for their dedicated service by receiving complimentary admission to the Celebrity Cutting Star-Spangled Round-Up. Family members accompanying those honored personnel will also be given a discounted admission of $10 for the entire family. Identification is required to be presented at the west entrance of Will Rogers Coliseum.

Reserved box seats to the Celebrity Cutting Star-Spangled Round-Up are available for $100 and include a ticket to the Cutters’ Shindig after-party. General seating at the Celebrity Cutting is $10 each. Tickets to the Cutters’ Shindig after-party at 9:30 p.m. at the Round-Up Inn are $25 each, featuring live entertainment by Craig Chambers and the Time Warp Tophands, a silent auction and refreshments.

This year’s star-studded celebrity line-up features a host of new participants including television sensation Eion Bailey (lead in the hit television series "Band of Brothers"), actress Linda Blair ("The Exorcist") and actor Barry Corbin ("Northern Exposure"). Also joining the Celebrity Cutting for the first time are top recording country-western artists Brad Paisley and Clay Walker, and sports legend Mike Renfro (former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver). Returning celebrities include singers Lynn Anderson ("I Never Promised You a Rose Garden") and Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn, as well as Bob Kingsley from "American Country Countdown" and businesswoman and philanthropist Alice Walton.

Valuable support from Fort Worth-Dallas media representatives includes participants Mike Crow (92.1 KTFW Radio), Steve Lamb (WBAP 820 Radio), Shelley Burmeister Mowery (Fox 4 KDFW-TV), Scott Murray (NBC 5 TV) and Brad Wright (96.3 KSCS Radio).

Cutting horse competition is one of the world’s fastest-growing equine sports, requiring unyielding tenacity and intense precision. Ranchers from the old west originally used the cutting horse to separate individual cattle and move them into corrals or pens. The challenge of cutting is to select a single calf from the herd, gently guide it into the center of the arena, and then – with lightening fast starts and turns – prevent the calf from ducking past the horse and escaping back into the herd. Devoted fans of cutting believe that the perfect combination of a well-trained cutting rider and horse appears to perform as one.