CAMERON, Texas (KWTX) – A community in Central Texas raised $140,000 during a steer auction to fund a scholarship in memoriam of 18-year-old Ace Ashford of Lott who tragically died on Monday.
Ashford, a recent graduate of Rosebud-Lott High School, was reportedly working on a sick calf when the horse got spooked.
“Somehow, the man’s leg got tangled and the horse [dragged] him quite a distance in an open field,” the Lott VFD told KWTX.
Paramedics airlifted Ashford, who suffered head injuries, but was breathing and had a pulse.
He was, however, described by first responders as being in “bad shape” prior to succumbing to his injuries.
“Golden heart, never met a stranger and had friends all over the United States,” said Richard McLaughlin. “Everybody loved him, he never had a bad word to say about anybody.”
The steer was donated by local Veterinarian Jared Ranly and the auction was held at the Milam County Livestock Auction in Cameron.
The steer initially sold for $50,000 to a group of buyers made up of ranchers, businesses and families in the area. The group immediately donated the steer back and it was sold again.
This happened over and over until a total of $140,000 was raised.
“We’re all ranchers and we all do things different, we’re all sale barns and we run our businesses different but at the end of the day we all got each other’s back,” Milam County Livestock Auction Owner Kenny Mingus said.
The money raised will fund the Ace Ashford Memorial Scholarship and help young people like Ashford pursue a higher education.
“I came up with the idea Ace’s mom Jaime wanted his memory to live forever and I made her the promise that we would,” Ranly said. “I had a friend Justin Tucker, and we lined up this scholarship fund. That was our goal with this steer was to get this jump started and get this together and so we can have a scholarship to benefit young men like Ace and his legacy will last forever and touch more lives than we could ever imagine.”
Copyright 2024 KWTX. All rights reserved.
