CROWELL (KFDX/KJTL) — How many 14-year-olds can say they’ve broken records?

“For it to like actually happen? It was like a dream that you thought would hardly ever come true. So for it to actually come true, it was like an incredible and amazing feeling overall,” Junior Market Barrow Show Grand Champion Sage Bearden said.

14-year-old Sage Bearden from Crowell spent her spring break in March breaking records and making history at the Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show, showing her beloved hog Oklahoma Smokeshow, impressing the judges so much, that he sold for a whopping $375,000. A moment she and her family will never forget.

“My dad came home with it and I always dreamed of having one that was like his color because it was different and I always asked for one like that. And I knew he was special from the day he came, and he was always crazy and then one day he decided that he was going to be the best pig that he could ever possibly be,” Bearden said.

Sage’s love for animals started at a young age. Some might even say it’s in her blood, with a supportive mother and father who is an agriculture teacher. Plus, a brother who even showed a few pigs in his day.

It’s been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, and to be at this moment is such an honor.

“I wouldn’t be here, where I am without all of y’all. They have helped me a lot from teaching me how to show to telling me how to do things the right way. It’s just, they are amazing,” Bearden said.

Her hog’s grand total shattered the previous record of $250,000. Sage gets $40,000 of that sale and the rest will be used for scholarship funds at the Houston Live Stock Show. Something that helps shine a spotlight on just how vital FFA & AG programs can be.

“I know that everyone works hard, I just wanna encourage everyone and build them up because I know they put in just as much work as I do,” Bearden said.

As for what’s next?

“I’m just looking forward to the rest of the shows. You know, I don’t get to go back to Houston, I’m just hoping that maybe I can do it again at another show,” Bearden said.

Life is a rodeo and, well, for Sage, she’s staying in the saddle.

From all of us here at KFDX/KJTL, we wish Sage a big congratulations!