by Scott Nishimura, Fort Worth Report
February 7, 2026
White Castle, the 1,459-pound European crossbred steer exhibited by a 13-year-old from Hood County, sold for a record-smashing $550,000 Saturday at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s annual Junior Sale of Champions.
Trico Electric, a 40-year-old commercial electric contractor based in Azle, outlasted major bidders including Hillwood, represented by Ross Perot Jr. Gary Menzies, Trico’s founder, said his previous high spending at the stock show auction was $58,000.
“Yesterday morning, I woke up and said I’m going to go ahead and do it,” Menzies said in an interview.
The stock show’s previous record for the grand champion steer was 2023’s $440,000, spent by the Fort Worth insurance brokerage Higginbotham, which was also in on Saturday’s bidding for White Castle. Last year, the grand champion went for $375,000.
The money left White Castle’s exhibitor, Caiman Cody of Tolar, virtually speechless.
“Just unreal,” he told reporters. “I can’t even explain it.”
New Braunfels’ Karson Neuse shows his reserve grand champion wether lamb during the Junior Sale of Champions Livestock Auction on Feb. 7 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
The Codys raise and show cattle for a living and are used to competing for high stakes. Caiman’s dad, Bret, is a fourth-generation cattleman.
“You always have it in the back of your mind, but it really is hard to reach,” Kasey Cody, Caiman’s mom, said of the payday for White Castle. “We’re so blessed to have the opportunity to come here. We’re so overwhelmed and grateful for all the blessings we have.”
The Codys plan to use the prize money to grow their operation of about 100 head of cattle. Caiman said he wants to help other youth interested in agriculture careers.
“I’d love to go to college one day, and I want to educate more kids about agriculture,” he told reporters.
Tolar resident Caiman Cody, 13, leads grand champion steer White Castle during the Junior Sale of Champions Livestock Auction on Feb. 7 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
The family’s love of cheeses and burgers helps direct the names they give their steers.
The Codys will look for a different kind of splurge on their way home: an ice cream shop.
“That’s how we celebrate,” Bret Cody said.
Trico has 75 employees and specializes in commercial installations from the ground up, Menzies said.
He is a longtime member of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, the largest of the nonprofit groups that raise commitments and money to buy the 300 champion steers, barrows, lambs and goats exhibited by youth at the stock show.
Adalynn Peugh, 16, pets reserve champion barrow Prager during the Junior Sale of Champions Livestock Auction on Feb. 7 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
Even though Menzies hadn’t bid into the stratosphere before Saturday’s auction, he said his rationale remained the same.
“It’s a great cause,” he said. “You’ve got to support the kids. You’ve got to turn it back.”
Cheeto, the reserve grand champion steer exhibited by Abilene 16-year-old Cash Goretska sold for a record-matching $300,000 to Hillwood in Saturday’s auction.
“It was a blur of numbers,” Cash, whose family also raises cattle for a living, told reporters. “I heard $200,000, and it started working up and up, and it sold. It was wild.”
Abilene resident Cash Goretska, 16, walks reserve grand champion steer Cheeto during the Junior Sale of Champions Livestock Auction on Feb. 7 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Cheeto sold for $300,000. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
The Fort Worth auction is unusual among youth livestock sales in that 100% of the proceeds go to the youth who show the animals. The event lived up to its reputation for the Codys and Goretskas.
“There’s nothing compared to this auction,” Cash’s dad, Tracy, told reporters. “Unbelievable.”
Lott resident Carson Newell walks his grand champion wether goat during the Junior Sale of Champions Livestock Auction on Feb. 7 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Other Saturday sales of this year’s grand champion and reserve grand champion animals largely reflected longstanding bidders for the stock show’s top animals:
Stock Show Syndicate officials said the auction raised $10.2 million by its close late in the afternoon.
The 45-year-old Syndicate opened the day $4 million short of $100 million in total spending by members in its history.
By the end, it surpassed that mark.
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at [email protected].
Disclosure: Higginbotham is a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
