Holly Childers clinched the 2026 Cinch Ladies Heading year-end title with 74 points—nearly 30 clear of second—capping a season that turned into a family affair alongside her son, Houston, who won the Resistol Junior Heeling. 

For the 56-year-old sixth-grade teacher from Fairmount, Georgia, the win didn’t come without adversity. 

“I was really worried I wasn’t going to be able to do it,” Childers said after missing nearly two months with a groin injury early in the year. 

Still, she made the most of her runs when it counted, stacking points through the Legends ropings—including multiple wins in #11.5 Legends across the Southeast.  

The bigger picture, though, hit even harder. 

“It’s really, really cool… to be able to share something like that with him,” Childers—whose son was too busy turkey hunting to inform her that he had won—said of them both finishing on top. 

READ: Holly Childers Hits Top 3 in Heading While Kyra Hendren Hops to No. 2 Heeler