Hood County teen’s steer takes big prize at Fort Worth Stock Show
Over 1,500 Texas kids showed their fluffy-eared, blow-dried steers Friday at the 2026 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Junior Steer Show at Will Rogers Colesium — but just one was crowned the Grand Champion Steer.
Caiman Cody, a 13-year-old from Tolar and his steer White Castle, a European crossbreed, won the title of junior grand champion steer. Cody is a member of the Tolar FFA.
“He’s super sweet,” Cody said while talking to reporters, hugging White Castle close and beaming ear to ear. “He’s my buddy.”
Cody has been showing steers for four years, but he started showing heifers when he was just 3. White Castle — named after the burger joint, according to Cody — weighs over 1,400 pounds.
Cash Goretska, a 16-year-old from Abilene, and his European crossbred Cheeto were crowned reserve champion.
“I’m just trying to take it in,” Goretska said. “I’ve always dreamed about this show.”
Goretska called Cheeto a “home-grown calf” — his family raised the steer from the day he was born at their home.
One of the stock show’s most popular events, the junior steer show attracts kids as young as 9 from all over the state, who flock to Fort Worth to present their beloved animals to an eagle-eyed judge. The kids are part of 4-H or FFA chapter.
Kids raise their steers from calves and spend several months taking care of them, rising early in the morning to feed and brush them and once again at night. It’s often a family affair, and the steers become treasured companions even though they will one day be sold.
The coliseum’s livestock barns were full of steers as the temperature climbed Friday morning, with families watching as competitors painstakingly blow dried, shaved, and primped their animals.
Brindley Boston, a 13-year-old from Waxahachie, watched her shorthorn steer Shawty get prepped to show in the grand championship. This was her fourth year showing.
“I wash him, rinse him for 30 minutes, and some days we soap him, but some days we just rinse him so we don’t dry out his scalp,” she said.
The junior steer show lasts two days, with round after round of well-groomed cattle and their handlers filing into and of the coliseum. Teenage girls wear full faces of makeup and glittery shirts while they place their steers into just the right position. Boys who look no older than 10 pull at the lead ropes of their companions, who sometimes want to stay planted in the most inconvenient places.
Judges pick winners based on a variety of factors, including structural correctness, the way the fur looks, the shape, and the way the animals move.
Mattison Koepp, 16, from La Vernia and her American Crossbred steer Alley Cat were named grand champion in 2025. Alley Cat sold for nearly $400,000. Koepp was also named reserve junior champion in 2024.
The auction will be held on Saturday. Last year’s auction raised more than $10 million, which eclipsed the 2024 total by $2 million. Approximately 300 animals will be sold this year.
Cody told reporters that the money from White Castle’s sale will go toward building his family’s farm.
“We’ll be able to have more animals next year, and we’ll be able to come back and do it again,” he said.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM.
