Going into the final days of the 2021 NCHA World Championships, the Careity Foundation hosted three original cast members from one of the hottest shows on TV.
FORT WORTH, Texas — For the first time, the annual Careity Celebrity Cutting rodeo event was sold out at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth Friday night, and a few cast members from the hit TV show “Yellowstone” had a lot to do with that.
The Careity Foundation provides personal, holistic, on-site care and counseling for economically challenged cancer patients in the Tarrant, Parker, and Johnson county areas.
It hosts a celebrity “cutting” event to raise funds each year. Cutting is a western-style equestrian competition. A horse and rider work together before a panel of judges to demonstrate the horse’s athleticism and ability to handle cattle.
This year, the foundation hosted three of the original cast members of Yellowstone: Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton), Jefferson White (Jimmy), and Forrie J. Smith (Lloyd).
Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek and award-winning country singer Randy Travis were also in attendance.
Smith and White competed in the cutting competition alongside Novacek, while Reilly served as an honorary host alongside the wife, Nicole Muirbrook, of the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan.
Sheridan was supposed to attend the event, but Muribrook told the crowd he couldn’t come because he was shooting the prequel series “1883,” which has been filming in Fort Worth and around Tarrant County.
Sheridan was born in Cranfills Gap and recently purchased the historic 6666 Ranch, east of Lubbock.
Reilly was the most well-known of the three, receiving the biggest ovation from the crowd when she entered the arena. Born in Britain, she told WFAA she’s never been to Fort Worth until Friday night.
Kevin Costner is her father in the series, playing the character of John Dutton.
“I’ve never been here. I just got off the plane, and now I’m having a drink talking to you,” Reilly told WFAA.
Fun fact, Reilly grew up riding even though her character doesn’t do it very much on the show.
“I was in polo club, and I used to go out and exercise the horses,” Reilly said.
She also is aware that her character is a fan favorite.
“I’m so proud of the work. I’m proud to be part of the show, and it’s exciting,” Reilly said.
Smith plays the beloved ranch hand, Lloyd, in Yellowstone. He started his career as a stunt man and has been around Hollywood for three decades.
In real life, he’s as rural and rusty as he is in Yellowstone.
“People that we’re able to help tonight – hopefully, we can put some change in the world,” Smith said.
Smith told WFAA that he enjoys Coors Banquet “Yellow Jackets” off-camera as much as his character does.
“I’ve been in the business for 30-something years, and this is the juiciest part that I’ve ever had,” Smith said.
Jefferson White is a small-town kid from Iowa who is relatively new to the limelight. His character, Jimmy, has had an ascension in the show and has gone from a background character to a fan favorite.
He also told WFAA that he had never ridden a horse until the show started.
“The audience is the reason the show gets bigger every season because more and more people find it every year,” White said.
“Failure (talking about cutting) is a huge part of learning – everybody remember that,” White chuckled.
White and Smith’s cutting skills weren’t professional, but no one in the audience cared.
Friday night was about charity and about Yellowstone.
