King for a day: a steer named Checkers fetches $110,000 at rodeo auction

Eighth-grader Dawson Campbell of Celinaand his Grand Champion Main Anjou Cross Bred, Checkers, gets a final bid of $110,000 from buyers as Texas 4-H and FFA exhibitors offer their cattle up for auction at the 2018 San Antonio Stock Show. Over the years, the San Antonio Stock Show has generated more than $198 million for the youth of Texas through scholarships, grants, endowments, junior livestock auctions, the youth Western art auction, calf scramble and show premiums. less Eighth-grader Dawson Campbell of Celinaand his Grand Champion Main Anjou Cross Bred, Checkers, gets a final bid of $110,000 from buyers as Texas 4-H and FFA exhibitors offer their cattle up for auction at the ... more Photo: Kin Man Hui /Staff File Photo Photo: Kin Man Hui /Staff File Photo Image 1 of / 116 Caption Close King for a day: a steer named Checkers fetches $110,000 at rodeo auction 1 / 116 Back to Gallery

It seemed fitting that a steer named Checkers was crowned the big winner Saturday at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, fetching a kingly sum of $110,000 for young Dawson Campbell after a feverish few minutes of bidding.

The boy and his beast triumphed at the junior market steer auction that also earned Campbell, 14, a $10,000 scholarship that will help him pursue his plans to study agriculture at Texas A&M University.

“I feel overjoyed and blessed to be champion,” said Campbell, an eighth-grader from Celina, a town of about 8,000 residents some 40 miles north of Dallas. “It’s been an incredible experience and I’m just proud of what we accomplished.”

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He devoted a couple of hours after school each day honing his showing skills with Checkers, a 16-month-old 1,369-pound Maine Anjou that moved in small, nervous circles in the auction ring as bidding began.

But posing for photos afterward in a backstage area of the Auction Barn, the black-and-white steer appeared as poised as his teenage exhibitor.

“We’re elated,” said Carrie Campbell, Dawson’s mother, who along with her husband, Heath, runs Wild H Cattle Co. in Celina. “Dawson started showing when he was 8 years old, and he’s always been motivated. But after this, he’ll really be motivated.”

Last year’s rodeo yielded $11.3 million for Texas children through scholarships, grants, auctions and various contests, and students competed for $1.7 million in auction proceeds. Checkers topped the amount paid for the 2017 grand champion steer by $4,000.

After introductory remarks by auction chairman Neal Brodbeck, auctioneer C. Jason Spence took command of the hall, his gavel patter prodding bidders to keep hoisting their hands during the steer sale.

In addition to the $110,000 for Checkers, buyers anted up $80,000 for the reserve champion, a cross steer shown by Mikala Grady, 16, of Grandview.

Ronnie Urbanczyk, owner of Urban Concrete Contractors in San Antonio, has taken part in the auction since 1983, and he belonged to the group of 11 buyers that purchased Checkers.

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“The whole family aspect is the best part of the experience,” he said. “There’s a lot of hard work by the families to prepare these steers for today.”

The auction brings an end to the bond between the young exhibitors and their animals, with the steers headed to the processing plant. But for Dawson, the thrill of the moment eclipsed the sadness of parting with Checkers.

“Even though it’s definitely hard to say goodbye,” he said, “it’s still one of the biggest, happiest days of my life.”

Adam Potts, a show consultant who worked with the teenager to fine-tune his technique, offered a football analogy to describe the victory.

“We put so much time, effort and emotion into doing this,” he said. “For us, it’s like winning the Super Bowl.”