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Kit and Charlie Moncrief: Ranchers, Cow Horse Breeders and Fort Worth Philanthropists

A Fort Worth couple who paired oil-patch success with working ranches, cutting and reined cow horse breeding, and decades of civic leadership.

Who Are Kit and Charlie Moncrief?

Kit and Charlie Moncrief are a Fort Worth couple who have spent more than four decades splitting their time between the oil business, working ranches and the civic life of Texas cattle country. They married in 1981, and both come from deep North Texas roots. The Texas Trail of Fame describes them as ranchers, wildlife conservationists and animal welfare advocates who gave their time and money to many causes.

Charlie died on January 6, 2021. Kit continues her public work, and this profile covers only the professional and civic record that the hall of fame pages and breed association pages make public.

Moncrief Ranches: Cattle and Cow Horses

According to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame honoree page, the couple manage Moncrief Ranches in Parker County, Texas, and near Gunnison, Colorado. They raise cattle and Quarter Horses, and the page credits them with producing cutting and reined cow horse world champions.

The horse side of the operation shows up in the record of the National Reined Cow Horse Association. The NRCHA athlete page for the Moncriefs says their breeding program earned Million Dollar Breeder status. It names two stallions, Mr Playinstylish and Royal Fletch, and lists offspring with lifetime NRCHA earnings above $100,000 each, including My Stylish Cat, Mr Comin In Hot and Fabulous Fletch.

Charlie Moncrief: Oil, Geology and the Stock Show

Charlie was an independent oil and gas producer and a certified petroleum geologist. He was a partner in Moncrief Oil and Montex Drilling Company, and the Cowboy Hall of Fame page notes he worked in those firms alongside his father, known as Tex, and his daughter Gloria. He attended the University of Texas, graduated from Texas Christian University, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later worked as a U.S. Marshal.

His cattle-country service ran through Fort Worth institutions. He sat on the Executive Committee of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo for about 45 years and served as its secretary. He also served on the board of the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the State Fair of Texas and the Moncrief Foundation, and as a trustee of TCU and Culver Military Academy.

Kit Moncrief: Horses, Boards and Fort Worth Institutions

Kit is a fourth-generation Texan and a lifelong Fort Worth resident. The Cowboy Hall of Fame page says she has shown horses, or had them shown, at the Fort Worth Stock Show every year since she was ten, and that she has ridden in its Grand Entry for 25 years.

Her board work is wide. She is president of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, co-chair of the Fort Worth Zoological Association, and a past president and current vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Foundation. She is also a vice president of the Moncrief Cancer Foundation and sits on the board of the UT Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Institute. On the TCU board, the older Cowboy Hall of Fame page calls her the first woman vice chairman, while the Texas Trail of Fame inductee page describes her as chair, the first woman in that role at the university.

The Key to the Moncriefs' Success

The couple's record shows an operation built on several steady commitments rather than a single bold move. Their ranch breeding program, their oil-and-gas background and their institutional service reinforced one another in a city where the stock show, the cattle raisers and the universities all overlap.

Stories of cattle families often skip the work of staying power. For the Moncriefs, the documented pattern is long service and consistent breeding choices.

  • They kept ranching tied to a working breeding program, with named stallions and offspring tracked in NRCHA earnings.
  • Charlie's oil and gas business, run with family partners, gave the couple an independent financial base apart from cattle prices.
  • They stayed with one institution for decades: Charlie spent about 45 years on the Stock Show executive committee.
  • Kit built leadership roles across cattle, education, arts, wildlife and cancer research boards, which kept the family visible in Fort Worth.
  • Both showed horses and rode in public events, so the breeding program had a visible proving ground.

Honors: Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Texas Trail of Fame

The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame lists the couple as 2020 honorees. The Texas Trail of Fame, which honors people who shaped the cattle and Western heritage of Fort Worth and Texas with bronze stars set into the sidewalks of the Fort Worth Stockyards, shows them as 2024 inductees.

Readers who follow ranching stories can find related reporting on the farm.FM ranching section, including more profiles of Texas ranch families and a farm.FM story about the Fort Worth Stock Show.

Timeline

  1. 1949Charles Beggs Moncrief is born (per his TCU Magazine memorial).
  2. 1981Kit and Charlie Moncrief marry.
  3. 2020Named Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame honorees.
  4. January 6, 2021Charlie Moncrief dies.
  5. 2024Inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame.

Frequently asked questions

Who are Kit and Charlie Moncrief?

They are a Fort Worth couple known for ranching in Parker County, Texas, breeding cow horses, and decades of philanthropy and board service. Charlie was an oil and gas producer who died in 2021.

Where is Moncrief Ranches?

The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame page says the couple manage Moncrief Ranches in Parker County, Texas, and Gunnison, Colorado, raising cattle and Quarter Horses.

What is Kit Moncrief known for?

Kit is known for leading Fort Worth institutions, including the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the TCU board and the Fort Worth Zoological Association, and for showing horses at the Stock Show.

When were the Moncriefs inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame?

The Texas Trail of Fame inductee page lists Charlie and Kit Moncrief as 2024 inductees.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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