Emotions mixed as farewell nears

A liberal dose

February 01, 2008

FORT WORTH -- The young contestants spent months working for this day: the Junior Steer Show.

They broke in their steers, washed them several times a day and fed them.

Finally, on Thursday, they walked their steers into the Watt Arena in front of a packed audience.

The contestants stood by as judges inspected the steers, which struggled to stay in place. The winners will be sold Saturday.

So, after all that time and effort, the contestants must be sad to say goodbye to their steers, right?

'You want to know the truth?' asked Tyler Yancey, 17, of New Waverly. 'He's not very nice to me.'

His steer, named 151, earned him third place even though it often dragged him around and was uncooperative.

Larissa McCool, 13, of Graham also won't be upset to say goodbye to her steer, the aptly name Knucklehead.

'He gave my dad a black eye and a busted nose,' McCool said. 'He's awful.'

Chase Vineyard, 14, of Anson was pragmatic about leaving his third-place steer, which has no name.

'It's just one more off our hands,' said Vineyard, whose family owns five steers and 12 pigs.

But Audrey Sanders, 18, of Purdon doesn't want to part with Hotrod, who came in third place.

'I'm very sad,' she said. 'I'm very, very close.'

But Sanders and the other winners are likely to earn thousands of dollars from the sales.

Rachel Clark, 13, of Allen kept that in perspective.

'This isn't your pet,' she said.

Her mother, Jennifer, chimed in, 'It's their college fund.'

And what is the name of Rachel's steer, which earned sixth place? Jackpot.

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