Lee Francois – His Time To Shine!

August 23rd, 2018 by Simone Cobb
Lee Francois & The Animal

Lee Francois & The Animal

He made the Open Derby Final at the 2018 Summer Spectacular on 3 different horses, but Lee Francois still seems to find time to minister to the needs of others. The pro trainer you see is also a pastor and it’s something he loves to be able to do together.

He inspired the crowd with his sublime 228 run on The Animal to win the Derby Championship. An emotional Lee said it has
been a roller coaster year since the pair was Reserve Futurity Champions, making this victory all the sweeter.

“It’s always a blessing to win something here. You got your family with you and they go through the hard times too. It just feels good. It’s great, you know to ride a great horse. You grow up dreaming about these moments when we’re kids and to have that kind of horse, it makes all the hard times worth it, we’re just a blessed family,” said Lee.

Lee and Holly Francois

Lee and Holly Francois celebrate his win

The Animal sustained a hoof injury following the Futurity which put him out of action for a time.
“He had a quarter crack after the Futurity and that hindered us a lot so it was mainly just getting that healed up. I got to give Pete May some praise for getting that horse healed up and taking care of him so we got that fixed and now he’s back 100%,” Lee said.

Lee faced immense pressure in the finals, going to the herd 3 times. He gave recognition to his wife, Holly for her support.
“It was a struggle. I know Holly, she was tired of putting up with me all day you know cause of nerves and trying to figure out how to handle it,” he joked. “But you know, you just take it one run at a time, one cow at a time.”

It’s the same philosophy Lee applies to his ministry work, serving one person at a time. For people who live on the road, hauling from one horse show to another, there’s not too many chances to catch a church service. So Lee brings it to the cutters.

Lee Francois baptizing Sadie with his wife Holly

Lee Francois baptizing Sadie with his wife Holly

After a full day of showing at the recent Breeder’s Invitational in Tulsa, OK, Lee even performed a Baptism behind the stalls.
A young non pro rider, Sadie Marie Watkins had attended Lee’s service that morning before the show began and asked him to baptize her that day. So once competition was over, he rounded up a horse trough, cleaned it up and filled it with water. A crowd gathered at the stalls to lend their support and Lee did the honors.

A video of the baptism was put on Facebook which to date has been seen by almost 14,000 people. “Thank you to the Francois family and all who participate in horses how ministries to allow the Lord to work thru you for victories like this one!” said Gita Crane, one of the many voices celebrating the event.

Lee Francois is one of our featured trainers on CHTO, You can click here to login and watch his awesome videos on connecting the dots in your training and correctness and efficiency plus more! Lee is also one of Get Coached coaches. So send the 2018 Summer Spectacular Derby Champion your video of a show run or training at home and get him to critique it give you personal coaching to fast track your cutting! Click here to get started.


Dustin Gonnet Wins $75,000 Slot Cutting!

December 5th, 2015 by CHTO

Dustin Gonnet realized his dream of winning big at the Will Rogers Coliseum last night as he took out the 2015 NCHA Western Bloodstock Showdown Open Finals.

His run aboard This Cats Got Style dominated from the first cow, scoring a mighty 229, some 7 points in front of second place getter Wes Galyean. Wes was first out with a high score of 222 on Lil Rattler, until Dustin blew everyone else out of the water from the ninth hole.

Dustin, who hails from Alberta, Canada and is one CHTO’s featured trainers, surpassed the million dollar mark with tonight’s cash prize of $75,000.

This Cats Got Style is a High Brow Cat out of Moms Stylish Pepto and owned by Ronald Patton, also from Canada. The mare beat out a host of legendary horses including Don’t Look Twice in the go round to Third Cutting and Junie Wood in the final.

It’s the second ever Slot Cutting event held in the Fort Worth Arena, hosted by Western Bloodstock and the NCHA, where in this particular event, horses of any age can compete for a total prize purse of $330,000 in the Open final alone.

CHTO would like to congratulate Dustin and his wife Marla on a great win! Dustin spoke with CHTO’s Simone Cobb about what the win means to him.


Cade Shepard Rides To Victory In The 2015 NCHA Non Pro Derby

August 2nd, 2015 by CHTO

If cutting is about anything, it’s about family. Young Cade Shepard brought this point home when he won the Non-Pro Derby Final in the 2015 NCHA Summer Spectacular at Fort Worth.

Scoring a solid 222, Cade rode Twistful Thinking, a horse trained by his Grandfather Sam Shepard that he and his Dad Austin Shepard purchased. Both his Sam and Austin were turning back for Cade while he competed.

At just 13 years of age, this dedicated young cutter has won almost $180,000 to date, including the $15,000 in earnings from his Non-Pro title. Cade also came second in the 5/6 Yr Old Classic Final at the Summer Spectacular which saw him earn another $15,000 pay check.

Cade spoke to CHTO’s Simone Cobb about his win and his plans to start his own cow herd.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aeSIl5bc4lw%3Frel%3D0

Learn how to cut to win! Check out Austin Shepard as he trains his horses at home and gives lessons to riders on showing! Join Cutting Horse Training Online now to take your showing to the next level. Click on the button below to get your first week free! Use coupon code CHTO7DAYS when signing up!

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