This year is bittersweet for Cole -- JJ is the last animal he'll be showing before heading off to college.
"I still get kind of emotional about it, even after six years," he said.
Cole is one of hundreds of teenagers taking an animal to the rodeo to show. Grand champion steers can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
For senior Mandi Lee, who's taking her heifer Sadie to the show, the pressure of rodeo can be tough, but she said she is "very excited" to participate.
Amanda Kacal, the teens' agricultural science teacher, told Eyewitness News that the rodeo animal projects teach students as they become adults.
"Anyone can do this, take it on as a responsibility," she said.
SEE ALSO: Rodeo cattle 101