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Austin Reynolds stands next to his national finalist poster in the foyer of the Ira ISD school.
It’s been a good year for budding tractor restoration expert Austin Reynolds.
After winning grand champion this spring at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Ag Mechanics Show, and with multiple other successes under his belt, the Ira ISD junior has once again found his way into the winners’ circle.
Reynolds competed at the State Fair of Texas Livestock Show Oct. 17 and won grand champion in tractor restoration and reserve grand champion in tractor showmanship. On Oct. 26, Reynolds won third place while competing for the first time in the Delo Tractor Restoration Competition during the Future Farmers of America (FFA) National Convention in Indianapolis.
“Nationals was big,” Reynolds said. “There were a lot of people, and you saw the blue corduroy (Future Farmers of America, FFA) jackets literally everywhere. I got to meet a couple of people and made some new friends.”
To compete at nationals, Reynolds underwent an application process that included restoring a tractor and creating a book and video detailing the tractor’s functions and restoration process. He also had to submit five still pictures of his tractor, two from before the restoration and three from after.
Reynolds qualified on Sept. 11 as one of 12 finalists for the national competition and spent the weeks leading up to it becoming familiar with his tractor’s functions. The final component of the competition was an in-person interview with the judges, during which finalists prepared a presentation and judges asked finalists technical questions about their tractors.
“The interview process with the judges went really well,” Reynolds said. “I felt really confident, and I thought I would be nervous, but it turned out well. There were some questions I didn’t expect, but for the most part, I knew what they were asking me about.”
Following the national competition, Reynolds approached the judges to ask them about his performance.
“I talked to the judges to get feedback from them,” he said. “They said I did really well, and it was good to hear their critiques. Since it was my first time competing, I knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but nobody’s perfect.”
Reynolds also noticed major differences between nationals and shows he has competed at before.
“The judges in Texas are kind of hard on you, but that’s so you’ll grow,” he said. “The judges at nationals are more relaxed and just normal people. Also, for stock shows in Texas, you have to be in 4-H or FFA, but at nationals, you can just be an individual who restores tractors as long as you haven’t graduated from high school.”
To announce the winners, the competition organizers held an awards banquet for participants, which included speeches and presentations. Reynolds learned that he placed third and won $3,000.
“The experience was fun, that’s for sure,” Reynolds said. “There’s some big opportunities at nationals. Different tractor companies are there looking for employees. All of those companies are starting apprentice programs, and they’ll pay 100 percent for things like your school or tools.”
While Reynolds doesn’t know what next year holds for him, he says that returning to nationals is something he would possibly want to do. In the meantime, he is thankful to all of his sponsors who helped him attend the national competition this year.