The record wasn't just beaten at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Saturday, it was annihilated.
Following a full-fledged bidding war, Higginbotham Insurance beat out Women Steering Business in winning the auction for the 2023 grand champion steer at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Higginbotham bought the European Cross named "Snoop Dog" for $440,000. That destroyed the previous record of $310,000, set last year.
"Snoop Dog" was raised by Sadie Wampler, 15, of Canyon in Randall County.
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"From the time I won my class, it felt like time stopped, and I was in complete disbelief," Sadie said after her grand prize-winning steer sold for the Beamonesque amount. "I was in shock, it all seems like a blur right now."
Sadie is a high school freshman and hopes to attend Texas A&M.
"I want to get my degree in animal science and then either get a Master's or Ph.D. in animal science or go to vet school," Sadie says.
And the $440,000 will come in very handy for both Sadie and her family when she does enroll in college in the fall of 2026.
"I'm very, very blessed," says Sadie. "It's unbelievable, and it's going to help me out a lot once I get to college."
Sadie's parents are obviously very proud of her.
"She definitely puts the work in," says her mother, Tasha Wampler. "She's very determined and disciplined."
"She's an overachiever, and she proved it," says dad Scott Wampler. "She did it."
The CEO of winning bidder Higginbotham says Women Steering Business pushed them to their limit.
"We kind of had a number in mind, and we got to that number and then we were out," says Rusty Reid. "So I'm glad that they didn't get beyond that, because we would have tapped out at that point.
"I know most of those ladies, and I wouldn't dare go against them," Reid continued. "If they kept going, I would have righteously tipped my hat and said thank you."
Reid understands the sacrifices that Sadie and all junior exhibitors make in getting to Fort Worth.
"They worked so hard to get to this point," Reid says. "A lot of travel, a lot of showing, a lot of work, and we're just really blessed to be part of it."
Along with raising grand champion steers, Sadie is also a talented scholastic athlete.
"This industry has taught me a lot about time management, and I've learned over the past year that I can do multiple things if I manage my time properly," says Sadie. "I have to get up before school; and then after school (and) after practice, I have to go to the barn (and) work for several hours and then homework after that."
Since the Stock Show does not take a cut, Sadie gets every penny of the $440,000 -- and since the money will go into a college fund, it's tax-free.
Despite the big payday, Sadie says she's sad to part ways with Snoop Dog.
"I spent more time with him than anyone else in my life," Sadie said. "He's like my best friend."
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