Frenship senior wins first place with restored tractor at San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Frenship High School senior Cade Clark is feeling confident about his next stock show and life after high school.

He restored a 1954 John Deere tractor for Ag Mechanics at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

It isn’t Clark’s first time on a tractor, and it certainly won’t be his last. This time, it’s extra sweet because this tractor won him some big bucks.

“That’s going to pay for my college,” Clark said.

Clark won first place in his class, grand champion in his division, and reserve grand champion of all the tractors in San Antonio.

“I won two welders, two torches, a toolbox, two buckles and then the $10,000 scholarship,” Clark said.

He didn’t do it for the fame, the glory, or even the new welders. He did it for the smiles he knew he’d get when everyone saw the shiny new tractor.

“The people I bought it from, they were crying whenever it left on the trailer. I really wanted to make it nice for them,” Clark said. “Their son was helping me. I knew he really wanted to see it new...”

It took 700 hours to make the tractor farm ready. Cade says the first time he started it, he knew he had done something special.

“It was like a sense of accomplishment,” Clark said.

Clark has been in FFA for four years. He says he’s learned a lot about taking on challenges from FFA.

“It’s taught me responsibility and a lot of self-discipline,” Clark said.

Clark says those life skills will help him in his next steps. After he walks across the stage, he’s plowing into his degree in agriculture business and a future in farming.

But first, he has another stock show to focus on in Houston.

“I’m pretty confident,” Clark said. “There’s a couple of things I’ve got to do to it that the judges told me in San Antonio. Once I get those fixed I feel like I’ll do pretty well.”

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