Livestock show kids sell projects for thousands of dollars at Sale of Champions

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MERCEDES — He’s set for success.

The boy in the red shirt would not take no for an answer Friday when his Charolais steer tried to thwart Daniel Guzman’s efforts to lead him around the ring.

Daniel’s indomitable spirit paid off in a big way Saturday at the Sale of Champions at the 85th annual Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Daniel at only 11 years old had just sold his grand champion steer for $28,000.

This boy with the courage and discipline of a polished victor was for a moment a man of few words but his parents had much to say.

“We are excited,” said his father Daniel Guzman Jr.

“We’re going to save it up for school,” he said. “It’s going to his college fund.”

The previous day after Daniel, a fifth grader at Dr. Raul Garza STEAM Academy in San Benito, won grand champion steer for his Charolais, his father spoke in great detail about how the livestock show had molded his son’s character.

“He’s a student before anything else,” said Guzman. “We exercised the animal, we fed and watered him and got him ready. Every morning we’d go to feed him. Hard work and practice makes everything better. You work hard and you get what you want.”

Keep in mind that Daniel has only been showing two years, and last year he won reserve grand champion and sold his animal for $12,500.

“It’s amazing and awesome,” said Guzman.

Is there any secret to his success?

“No, just hard work and dedication,” Guzman said.

Daniel’s mother Laura Guzman said much the same thing.

“His hard work paid off and I am very proud of him,” she said.

That seems to be the winning formula for everyone who scores high in the livestock show.

Just ask Adriana Garza, 9, and her sister Audrina, 14, who spent the last few months helping each other with their medium wool lambs. This was all certainly a family effort, and for those efforts Audrina won grand champion lamb and sold her lamb for $14,000, while her sister Adriana came in right behind and with reserve grand champion and sold her animal for $7,000.

“Last year I got what she got,” said Audrina, referring to her sister winning reserve grand champion.

“This year I came back and got grand champion,” said Audrina, an eighth grader at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Palmview.

Her father Albert Garza commended his daughters on their success.

“They are learning to be responsible and it’s teaching them character,” Garza said. “I always teach them when you start something in life you go 100% and you don’t give up.”

The youngsters coming into the livestock show are the assurance of an enduring program for generations yet to be born. They have great mentors whose success can inspire them and educate them, not only the adults but students like Matthew Sanchez, 17, who sold his reserve grand champion steer at Saturday’s auction.

Matthew has made a career raising champion and reserve champion Simbrahs over many years. His success at the yearly Sale of Champions has certainly garnered him a significant amount of money to fund his education at Texas University at College Station where he plans to study agribusiness.

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