Illinois first lady outbids governor for Grand Champion Steer again
The name of Ashtin Guyer's Grand Champion Steer is King, a perfect name for someone with big – or shall we say, grand – ambitions.
Big ambitions met big money Tuesday at the 2022 Governor's Sale of Champions at the Illinois State Fair, where Illinois first lady MK Pritzker matched her record-setting bid from 2021, putting down $105,000 to buy King from Guyer and her family, who live in Robinson. The bid came after yet another bidding war between her and her husband, Gov. JB Pritzker, with MK coming out on top once again.
It was a fitting cap for Guyer's showing career. She started at the age of 6 and worked her way up to winning a Grand Championship at 21. The Western Illinois University student said the experience was something that went beyond simple words or feelings.
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"It's unexplainable," Guyer said. "You can't tell anyone how it feels and the emotions that you have going through you. I'm so proud and so blessed."
At more than 1,300 pounds, King brings a little bit of an attitude to the show ring. Ashtin said the attitude died down somewhat as he aged, maturing into an impressive-enough specimen to be named Grand Champion at the state fair.
"When we first got him, he had a little bit of a fire under him," she said. "The older he's gotten, he's mellowed."
King was among 10 champions auctioned off Tuesday, with Guyer's sister, Nalaney, showing off her Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb. The lamb sold for $5,000, another solid chunk of change for the Guyer family. Nalaney Guyer pointed out that while the two raise the animals and compete separately, there's no sibling rivalry.
"(For) Ashtin and I, it's always been a family thing for us," Nalaney said. "It's never been, 'my steer' or 'your steer,' it's always ours. It's always been a family thing."
Another champion shown off Tuesday was Turbo, Drake Fletcher's Grand Champion Barrow. Sold for $25,000 to the CME Group, the hog's name comes from his high energy and style.
"He's always had that type of attitude to him," said Fletcher, of Athens. "He's always ready to go."
Fletcher, a Lincoln Land Community College sophomore, felt honored to have a Grand Champion, saying it was every kid's dream to have an animal reach the lofty peaks that Turbo was able to accomplish.
"It's a complete, distinctive honor," he said. "We've been working with livestock (for) a long time. It's a dream that every kid showing at the Illinois State Fair has. It's just achieving it and knocking it off of our bucket list that truly makes it special."
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Drake's father, Jason Fletcher, said the hard work and determination by Drake paid off in the victory, which also showed the determination of the family to make it to this level.
"It's an amazing feeling," Jason Fletcher said. "It's a great accomplishment (and) something that we've worked at for a long time. He's worked tirelessly to get to this point (and) it's just fantastic."
Ashtin and Nalaney Guyer's work over the years came with the help of their grandfather, Delane, who had been in poor health leading up to the event. His health was bad enough that he wasn't able to be there when King was selected as Grand Champion Steer, but unbeknownst to the family, he showed up Tuesday and sat in the front row for what was his 42nd Illinois State Fair, providing a welcome surprise for a family that paired their big dreams with big accomplishments.
"That absolutely means the world to my family," Ashtin Guyer said. "He's awesome."
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois first lady outbids governor for Grand Champion Steer again
