For the kids at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the Junior Steer Show is all about convincing the judges they’ve raised a grand champion. NBC 5’s Deborah Ferguson shows us – it’s a moment that comes after years of hard work.
The Junior Steer Show at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo has earned a reputation as the Super Bowl of steer shows around the nation.
Youngsters escort 1,400 pounds of prime beef into the arena and hope to convince a judge they've raised a Grand Champion. It's a moment that comes after years of hard work.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE"Buy them as babies then we have to halter break them and get them used to walking around and people leading them and we feed them every day," Kinley Petzold, 15, said as she talked to NBC5 from the family barn in Weatherford.
The high school sophomore was six when she stepped into the ring to show her first steer. Her parents had done it. She saw her cousins do it, too.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP Almost a decade later, banners and titles prove Kinley has raised some winners. She hopes that in her 1,380-pound European Cross named Billy, the judges in Fort Worth will see a Grand Champion steer.
"It's probably one of the best auctions of any of the major shows and it brings the most money, and we just appreciate all the buyers," she said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
At the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the kids showing the steer get to keep every cent made at auction-- which sets up a high-stakes showdown.
"When that auctioneer drops that hammer at $400,000, they're getting it all, and so that adds to it," said spokesman Matt Brockman. "I think, though, the other thing that adds to it is our history and our legacy."
That $400,000 is not a made-up number or wishful thinking.
Last year's Grand Champion, Leadfoot, raised by Elli Bezner of Dalhart, Texas, sold for $340,000. The 2023 Grand Champion steer named Snoop Dog hit the record books with a $440,000 bid for junior exhibitor Sadie Wampler from Canyon.
"It's emotional for them. They've put a lot of time and effort into it. Their parents put a lot of time and effort into it," Brockman said as he talked about the day-in and day-out process of caring for an animal that typically starts at 700 pounds and grows into a 1,400-pound show steer.
Just "making the sale" or getting the steer into the auction is a success.
"Let's be candid. Ultimately, they're putting food on the table. These animals become the steaks, the roast, the ground beef," Brockman said. "They learn the fact that what they do with that animal could impact the final product that the consumer buys."
It's a way of life for kids like Kinley who raise and show steers.
"It's probably my least favorite part 'cause you watch them grow up and then you just don't see him anymore but it's just part of it," she said.
The steer arrives in Fort Worth on Tuesday, February 4th. There are more than 4,100 entries this year. The big livestock auction, the Sale of Champions, is on Saturday morning, February 8th. That's also the last day of the Stock Show and Rodeo.
