The Ride With Londyn benefit team roping raised $324,618 for the medical care of Londyn Gonzales, daughter of the late team roper Brandon Gonzales, during a two-day event Aug. 8-9 at 377 Arena.
The roping, produced by CK Productions, drew 700 teams across eight ropings and paid out $261,130 to contestants. Funds for the Gonzales family came from a live auction Saturday evening, an all-day silent auction, T-shirt and cap sales and direct donations. The event carried $30,000 in added money across four ropings.
Londyn is being treated for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare liver cancer that most often occurs in adolescents and young adults. She is scheduled for surgery Friday, Aug. 14, to remove the mass from her liver.
“The support of family, friends and this little community is a beautiful testament of faith in action,” said Chance Kiehne, CK Productions producer and Londyn’s uncle. “Thank you to everyone for lending a helping hand. It took a village to produce this, and it’s proof that there is an entire village behind Londyn. We ask for continued support, prayer and love as she is having surgery Friday, August the 14th.”
The money will go directly toward medical bills and future treatment, said Londyn’s mother, Holly Gonzales.
“It brings in a lot of faith, and it brings in a lot of just positivity and hope,” Holly said.
Londyn’s father, Brandon Gonzales, a 39-year-old heeler from Lipan, Texas, died Jan. 5, 2025, after a three-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Less than a year earlier, he won the Clay Logan Open with World Champion Erich Rogers for $42,000 — the biggest paycheck of his career — days after a chemotherapy treatment.
Londyn was diagnosed shortly after her father’s death and has been living with cancer for roughly 18 months, Holly said. Surgeons plan to remove the mass rather than pursue chemotherapy or radiation at this time, she said, with a hospital stay expected through the following week and about a month of restricted activity at home.
“All I want is for people to know that cancer’s not as bad as what everybody thinks,” Holly said. “Cancer is not just about death. Cancer is about the living.”
She said seeing Londyn active through treatment has mattered to other families facing a diagnosis.
“She’s up. She’s moving around. She’s running around. She’s being a child,” Holly said. “It’s possible to still live. In my heart, I know that this is going to be the good side of the battle.”
Saturday’s slate included the $10,000-added #10.5 Country Club, a #9.5, a #8.5 saddle roping with saddles from Corriente Saddle Co. and a #7.5. Sunday featured the $5,000-added #11.5, the $12,500-added #12.5, the $2,500-added #13.5 and a #14.5. Buckles went to average winners in every roping but the saddle roping.
Event sponsors included YETI, Classic Rope, Western Legacy, Priefert, Ranch 76401 Outfitters and Signature Equine Hospital.
Donations for Londyn’s care are still being accepted via Venmo at @RideWithLondyn.