It’s an everyman story: How a 15-year-old boy from Oglesby, Texas, sold off his 8-month-old pig, Eddie to area businesses at the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last weekend.
At least that’s how Chyla Mabry, mother of the 15-year-old, Landry, sees it.
On March 20, Landry Mabry’s Grand Champion Junior Market Barrow pig sold for $505,000 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, beating last year’s record of $501,000. His was the top pig of 2,200 pigs in the show.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest livestock show in the world. This year’s junior auction sales brought in a staggering $35,217,099 — money that largely goes toward agricultural education and scholarships. Major livestock shows and auctions are seeing a consistent trend of record-breaking sales prices, with elite champion animals like Eddie selling for massive sums.
Mabry himself will keep less than 10% of his winnings. The rest will go toward funding FFA and 4-H scholarships for youth agriculture education and support the continued work of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
“I will apply for a scholarship in the future,” Mabry said.
More Than The Money
Stacy Broda is the state FFA advisor for Wyoming. She told Cowboy State Daily that, while no one in Wyoming is selling livestock for that kind of money, Wyoming’s FFA and 4H members do well at the state’s county fairs and the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
“Most of our county fair sales are bringing (4H and FFA) members more than market price,” Broda said.
But raising and showing livestock is about far more than money, she said. While there is a financial aspect to learn, understanding what goes into purchasing an animal, buying feed and calculating travel expenses — raising and showing livestock is also about teaching youth long-term life skills.
“For most of our students, (raising livestock) is considered their summer job,” Broda said. “(They learn) to take care of their animals and work with animals on daily basis. It’s a commitment. It teaches them responsibility.”
Mabry spoke to that commitment.
“It’s (work) every single day,” he said. “You can’t skip feedings.”
With the responsibility comes a practice of selflessness. Broda said the youth who raise the animals quickly learn that the animals often need to be fed before they themselves can eat.
“We’re raising animals, but we’re also raising kids to be contributing members of communities in Wyoming,” she said.
Early Start
Mabry has been raising and showing pigs since he was young — “probably (age) 5,” he said.
His dad raised show pigs during his childhood.
“One day he just asked me, ‘Do you want to start showing pigs?’” Mabry said. “I said, sure, I would try it.”
So began his journey of learning how care for pigs and show them.
“It definitely is not one person,” Mabry said. “It takes a family to do it.”
Having people to turn to for second opinions, such as how much feed to give the animal, was one key to his success, he added.
Showman’s Secrets
Mabry said his family’s motto for raising and showing livestock is, “Control what you can control.”
He has learned how to make his pigs catch show judges’ attention particularly with their skin and hair.
The Mabrys purchased what would become the record-setting pig from a show pig operation in Seminole, Texas. The pig was about 8 weeks old. Mabry named the pig Eddie, because “he reminded us of Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” Mabry said.
As he was raising Eddie, Mabry brushed the pig every day with a hard brush to remove dead skin. Then, he moisturized the skin with what he called “sheen.”
“It’s almost like putting lotion on your skin,” he said.
He washed Eddie about three times a week with a hose, using regular soap, shampoo and conditioner.
The cleaning ritual helps make his pig look healthy, he said.
“Presentation is a big part of (showing),” he said, and a healthy pig “catches the judge’s eye.”
The Win
Mabry described his big win like being at the top of a rollercoaster.
“Time stops,” he said. “Everything’s just silent. Everything’s out of body. It’s a really weird feeling.”
He continued: “It’s a rush of adrenaline. And then all of a sudden, it’s over. It’s a sense of relief, almost.”
Feeding The World
For Mabry and his family, agriculture is life.
“I really couldn’t imagine life without it,” he said. “It would be weird.”
His mom agreed.
“He lives and breathes it,” she said.
Mabry’s father served as an FFA state officer for Texas, and Mabry has grown up around show pigs and cattle.
“Our main job is to feed the world,” he said. “That’s really cool to me. We are providing for our community in that way.”
That’s another benefit to involving youth in agriculture programs early, Broda said: Kids understand that, when they are selling market animals, they are contributing to the overall food supply.
“There’s a big responsibility with that,” Broda said. “I feel that the kids in our program understand the importance of feeding our communities and contributing to (the food supply) in a safe and healthy manner.”
Eddie will be harvested and his meat will fulfill what Mabry has taken on as his mission: “Our job is to feed the world.”
“Going into it, we know that’s the end,” the 15-year-old said. “We try to make the most of it with each and every pig.”
Mom Chyla, who is also her son’s high school ag teacher, said she never dreamed Landry would win Grand Champion at Houston.
“There are 2,200 kids who came (to Houston) with the hope that they would win,” she said. “(Winning) feels unattainable because it’s so hard. But anyone with willingness to ask questions and do what those mentors tell you (has a chance).
“We’re just a normal family with ag teachers and feed salesmen,” she said. “This year the everyman got to win Houston. We’re a normal family who works really hard.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
