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Grand Champion Steer Named Mufasa Sold For $200,000 At 2018 Fort Worth Stock Show

Brandon Wade
/
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ben Bezner parades his European crossbred steer named Mufasa for bidders during the Sale of Champions at the Fort Worth Stock Show Saturday.

A 1,329-pound steer named Mufasa was sold for $200,000 at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which ended its 23-day run Sunday.

The European crossbred, shown by Ben Bezner of Texline, Texas, was purchased by Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood Properties during the annual Sale of Champions on Saturday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The steer was sold for $40,000 less than last year’s grand champion.

Last year, Mayor Betsy Price and members of the Women Steering Business made the winning bid for Rocco, a European crossbred shown by Mikala Grady, a 15-year-old from Grandview. The $240,000 for the 1,388-pound steer tied the all-time record set in 2015.

Despite the relatively smaller loot, 17-year-old Bezner wasn’t disappointed in the least. He initially thought he’d finished fifth in the junior steer show on Friday.

"I was in shock," he told the Star-Telegram.

As for Perot, buying the grand champion is a family tradition. Hillwood Properties has purchased the grand champion steer in 2003, 2004 and 2016. 

“It’s a tremendous honor. We feel very blessed to be here,” Perot told the Star-Telegram. “We have been in the cattle business for a long time. My first Stock Show was in 1976 and I bought the grand champion with my father that year.”

Next year’s Stock Show runs Jan. 18 through Feb. 9, 2019.