The 2024 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Junior Grand Champion Steer sold for $340,000 last Saturday at auction, the second-highest sale recorded in the history of the event.
The 1,324-pound European Cross steer, named Leadfoot, was purchased at the Fort Worth Stockyards auction by Higginbotham, a local insurance and financial services brokerage firm.
Leadfoot was selected as this year’s winner from among 1,600 entrants. The grand champion steer was raised by 17-year-old Elli Bezner of Dalhart, who will receive all the proceeds from the sale.
“This has been one of my dreams and goals that my dad and I have had for a long time,” she told NBC5.
According to Bezner, she was inspired by her father and cousin, both of whom she said won the same title in years past.
“My dad won this show, and my cousin has, too, so I always looked up to them,” she said.
Higginbotham also purchased last year’s winning steer, Snoop Dogg, for a record $440,000. In total, the 2024 Fort Worth Stock Show’s Junior Sale of Champions, which features 300 junior steers, barrows, lambs, and wether goats, generated a record $8.2 million in revenue.
The massive rodeo, which began this year on January 12, wrapped up on February 3. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the annual event draws crowds for the rodeo events, live music, carnival, and more. Last month, the show’s All-Western Parade had to follow an alternate route after a suspected gas explosion disrupted the standard path.