Prize steer sells for $340,000 at Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo auction
FORT WORTH - The 127th Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo wrapped up its 23-day run on Saturday with the biggest event, the Junior Sale of Champions.
It was a bidding war inside the packed Watt Arena for the Grand Champion Steer. Around 300 youth from across Texas sell animals that will raise more than $7 million.
This year's winner was Elli Bezner from Dalhart, Texas, who sold her steer Leadfoot for $340,000.
"It's a lot of excitement, and I'm still kind of in shock and kind of like this is crazy that it actually happened. I mean, you dream of it and you want to do it, but getting it into reality is a hard thing to do," said Bezner.
It's a dream come true, and she's continuing her family's legacy of champions. Her dad, Steven, won back in 1991.
"To compete at the highest level, it takes a lot of time, effort, energy, and support from your family," said Stephen Bezner.
Emotions are running high for winning—but also to say goodbye to Leadfoot.
"It'll be hard, but you know it's coming at some point, so you have to be ready for it," added Bezner.
Bezner wants to take the money to go to college and get into a career to help special needs children or stay in the agriculture industry. She's one of hundreds here representing the next generation of ag-leaders.
"They're making a difference not only in their own lives but for the next generation; they are going to be those people that are going to put the food on our table and I think that's what's so important about what the stock show does," said Matt Brockman, Communications Director for the FWSSR.
Preparations have already begun for the 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, where they don't have a theme nailed down yet, but they'll make an announcement in the coming weeks.
