Junior mechanics show off their skills in final day of San Antonio rodeo

SAN ANTONIO – The last day of the San Antonio rodeo was filled with events and competitions to highlight the agricultural field, one of which being the Junior Ag Mechanic Competition.

"This is a 1941 ford tractor, they made about 99,000 of these tractors," said 12-year-old Scott Henderson.

Scott came from Canyon, Texas, 500 miles away, just to show off his tractor that he rebuilt.

"There were a lot of hours, definitely, me and dad, definitely a lot of lectures too. Me and my dad spent a lot of time together, learning about it, researching it and we found found a lot of articles about tractors collectors have written," said Henderson.

Judges look at paint, fluids, showmanship, their book chronicling the rebuild and then, obviously, mechanics.

"And you look at the quality of the projects, and in most cases, it's higher than commercial quality in what these kids are doing and building," said Marcus Demel, the agricultural mechanics chair.

The competition is open to anyone ages 8 to 18, and prizes range from mechanic equipment to scholarship money.

It's not just tractors students can enter, either.

"Everything from trailers to ag equipment to resource recovery, outdoor items, barbecue pits, cookers, (a wide variety of things) they build to come here and show," said Demel.

Scott won third place in his class. Next up, he will take his refurbished tractor to Houston and a July 4 parade, but he's already planning for 2019.

"I actually already have a tractor lined up for next year," said Scott


About the Author:

Max Massey is the GMSA weekend anchor and a general assignments reporter. Max has been live at some of the biggest national stories out of Texas in recent years, including the Sutherland Springs shooting, Hurricane Harvey and the manhunt for the Austin bomber. Outside of work, Max follows politics and sports, especially Penn State, his alma mater.