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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
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Ben and Mandy Wright
For Fort Worth resident Ben Wright, the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo isn’t just an annual event — it’s a family tradition, a logistical puzzle, and a two-mile commute that feels epic in subfreezing temperatures. This week, he and his wife, Mandy, captured some striking images of the Stock Show as they followed their daughter, Georgia, documenting the flurry of activity, the quiet, tender moments with the animals, and the focus it takes to raise and show livestock. Between icy conditions and bustling barns, the Wrights preserved both the harsh realities and the fleeting moments of magic that make the Stock Show a Fort Worth institution.
Georgia, a student at Arlington Heights High School, is a dedicated member of the school’s agricultural program, part of FFA, and a seasoned pig exhibitor. “When she was a freshman, she showed one pig,” Wright says. “Sophomore and junior year, she did two. Almost 20 % of the kids at Heights are in the AG program. They all participate differently, but they’ve got an AG barn where the kids run everything themselves — it’s an awesome program.”
The Stock Show may be a well-worn Fort Worth tradition, but this year brought its own challenges. Ice and cold weather threatened to derail plans, yet Wright says the city’s preparations impressed him. “The roads were prepped really well,” he explains. “With caution, finding the right route, it was safe. The kids had to take care of the animals, and the teachers, with the right equipment and experience, made sure everything got there.”
For Wright, living just two miles from the Stock Show made the commute manageable, though still challenging. His wife, a hospital worker accustomed to navigating difficult conditions, kept pace. “It was a little unsure, but we’d have managed. We could’ve run a glorified carpool if needed,” he says. The real test, he adds, was the responsibility the students themselves shouldered. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, we either get the pigs to the barn, the Stock Show, or back home to take care of them.’ It’s neat because it’s a challenge — and those kids had to figure it out together.”
Despite the cold, Wright says the experience was worth every shiver. “It was surreal beauty,” he recalls of the icy setting at Will Rogers Coliseum. “Frigid, horribly cold for us, but so neat. Most people there were participants, so it was a little ghost town, but lively in its own way. Walking past the animals, trudging through the snow, it felt like a James McMurtry song — cold, beautiful, and full of life.”
For the Wrights, the Stock Show is more than livestock and competition. It’s a chance to witness growth, responsibility, and family pride in action — and to capture moments that will last long after the ice has melted.
“We were doing the same things the founders of the Stock Show were doing over a hundred years ago,” Wright says. “And the history of it and walking between those buildings with the slush and the snow, you have Fort Worth all around you. To experience it on the most beautiful day is just as great as experiencing it on the most rugged day. And that's what it's all about. The kids learned a lot, and we had fun too.”
