Curry steer takes grand champ at state fair

Feeding, grooming and tending a steer each day for nearly a year is quite the commitment, but Mason Franklin, 13, learned firsthand that hard work can really pay off.

For the first time in 36 years, a steer raised in Curry County won the grand championship prize at the State Fair before selling for $30,000 at the junior livestock auction on Friday.

The steer was named Dragon and was raised by Mason with the help of his father Clay Franklin since last October. The Franklins showed Dragon in the junior market steer show during this year's New Mexico State Fair where he was awarded grand champion by the judges, qualifying for the junior livestock sale the following night.

"I was so excited and happy to get it and everyone around me was excited. It was amazing," Mason said. "I had to work with him every day and every day he was more used to being showed and even started showing himself a little bit. I think that's why the judge really like how I showed him."

Mason said he put a lot of work into taking care of Dragon over the last year, feeding him daily and practicing their showmanship more and more as the competition drew near.

"He just kept growing and growing and became a great steer. He was my best buddy at the barn and I could go up and pet him and he'd just be my best friend," Mason said.

Once the steer had been declared grand champion, community members of Curry County banded together to support Mason by donating money to purchase the steer when it went up for auction, raising $30,000 in a small amount of time.

"My son spent so many hours working his butt off to get all this done over the summer and I'm really proud that at the end of the day it worked out," Clay said.

Mason said he will use the money he earned to fund future projects for years to come and eventually put what's left toward college, though he isn't sure what he'll go for yet.