1.   And as the packed sales pavilion on Saturday morning attested, the annual auction of the grand champion steer is no ordinary event in Houston.

2.   As the newly crowned grand champion steer of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Shorty is bovine royalty.

3.   At the American Royal, the exhibitor of the grand champion steer gets that much alone.

4.   The wedding was on the sawdust-covered floor of a half-ring typically used to auction pedigreed horses and grand champion steers.