Morton Ranch HS student wins Grand Champion title at Katy Rodeo with her steer named 'Moose'

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- Morton Ranch High School student Halie Johnson has always been a fearless competitor.

She began competing in mutton busting at a livestock and rodeo show when she was just 5 years old.

Fast forward to last week, she and her steer took the title of Grand Champion at the Katy ISD Livestock Show & Rodeo.

"I was really nervous because there was just a lot of people, and you have to stay calm for the animal because the emotions get to them, so I had to stay calm, and he was all over the place. I was all over the place, but we still did a good job," Johnson recalled.

The preparation for the competition was intense.

It included feeding her steer, which she named "Moose," as well as bathing and training him to look his best for the competition.

"They've been working on that since May, and it means coming out here to the barns twice a day, all through the summer, weekends, weekdays, and just getting it done," agricultural teacher Stephanie Nite said.

Johnson and Moose were among several other competitors vying for the ultimate title.

Before competing in what was her first steer show, she had been used to competing in pig shows, so the pressure and nerves were high.

"It's not something that I was used to, so having all these people and all these big animals around you, it was a lot," Johnson said.

Johnson, a junior at Morton Ranch, said she looks forward to participating next month in another competition.

She has since sold Moose, and the money she got from the sale will go towards her college tuition.

She hopes to become a vet one day.