Maddox, More Than a Winner

By Sara McClendon

In several ways, 2023 was a remarkable year for Maddox Reedy of Tuscola. He celebrated several big wins at the state fair, including grand champion Land of Lincoln with a steer named Maverick. He also won reserve champion shorthorn heifer in the junior show and champion shorthorn heifer in the open show. On top of those wins, Maddox was named Premiere Herdsman. Any showman would be proud of these accomplishments, but when you consider the fact that Maddox is just 11-years-old, his success is even more impressive.

Maddox’s parents, Kyle and Sarah Reedy, both showed cattle growing up. However, they did not push Maddox into following in their footsteps. He naturally showed an interest from a young age. In fact, Sarah recalls that when Maddox was little, he had a stuffed cow toy that he would lead around their living room every night. That developed into a true interest in the art of showing, with Maddox competing in his first show on his sixth birthday.

“Back in 2017 we bought a heifer we were just going to use as a cow,” Kyle explains. “Maddox got to messing with her and they just became best buds. We really had no intentions of him showing that year but they just became the perfect partnership.” At that first show, Maddox was nervously fidgeting with the lead and accidentally unhooked it from his heifer. However, Maddox stayed calm. He stood steady in the middle of the ring, petting the heifer who stood dutifully by his side. It was a memorable first show and Maddox immediately fell in love with showing.

“I just got hooked,” Maddox says. “I just love being around show cattle. It was just very fun.”

A Sense of Purpose In and Out of the Show Ring

Maddox’s first year at the Junior Nationals competition was in 2020. The family had to decide whether to go through with the show.

“I remember we were sitting at the dinner table as the world was starting to shut down,” Sarah says. “His world at the time was crashing down. Baseball was getting canceled. School was out. He looked at Kyle and I, and I’ll never forget, asked why we were even doing this if the world is going to shut down. We were on the fence if we were going to go to Texas to show or not. And Kyle said, we are going. We made the haul, and it was a great week. That was a turning point in our child’s life.”

Maddox’s hard work has paid off with several showmanship awards in the few years he has been showing. “He’s been kind of natural,” Kyle says. “He’s very observant. I don’t have to show him things very often a second time. He always catches right on. He’s been showing five years, and he’s probably won more showmanship awards than Sarah and I combined. He pays attention to so many details.”

Other recent wins include the Beef Expo, where Maddox picked up champion Shorthorn heifer and reserve champion Shorthorn heifer in Ring A, and champion Shorthorn heifer in Ring B.

The Junior Beef Association through Illinois Beef Association is yet another important endeavor for Maddox. This year, he was in the top 10 in points in steers and heifers.

“Your membership gives you something to work at,” he explains. “And you get to meet older juniors that you can learn from.”

The Secret to Success

Maddox attributes his success in showing to practice, keeping good company and a lot of hard work.

“You have to practice a lot,” Maddox explains. “And surround yourself with good people. You have to work hard every single day during the summer. You can’t have any bad days in the show barn. If you don’t fix that one bad day, you’re basically leading up to Junior Nationals or State Fair with a bad day.”

Tyler Cates, owner of Cates Farms, is part of the good company Maddox keeps. Tyler sells show cattle to juniors, so he has seen plenty of young people involved in showing. However, Maddox’s drive, determination and maturity stand out to him.

When it was time to purchase Maddox’s first show heifer, the family turned to Tyler. Kyle and Sarah kept it a secret from Maddox at first. They took a video as they unloaded the heifer and sent it to Tyler. In the video, Maddox asks where they got the heifer from, and when his parents replied asking him where he always wanted one from, Maddox immediately said “Tyler!” with tears in his eyes.

“I still have the video,” Tyler says. “What I do is time consuming and stressful. But it’s things like that and kids like him that remind you why you do this.”

Garrett Lampe with Earlybird Feeds works with the Reedy family to make nutrition recommendations, something Maddox has taken an interest in. Maddox even says that he would want to be like Garrett one day, working as a nutritionist.

“Maddox was pretty attentive and had a lot of questions,” says Lampe. “He’s one of the kids who you can tell is showing for the right reason. I think he’s extremely mature beyond his age. With that, probably one of the happiest kids that you’ll meet. He’s a jokester and just a real privilege to be around.”

The maturity and hard work Maddox shows has also been noticed by Karl Miller, advisor for the Illinois Junior Shorthorn Association.

“Maddox possess a winning mindset,” Miller says. “The success he has had within and outside of the showring gives hope. A lot of kids can look up to him as someone that works hard and is determined.”

The network of supporters has continued to grow with the Reedy family, which is something they deeply appreciate.

“After our accomplishments at the 2023 State Fair, we’ve had so many people reach out to us and congratulate us,” Sarah says. “It just makes us so happy that we are raising Maddox in this environment. There are so many good people, and people that we didn’t even know were in our corner are in our corner congratulating us. It’s just reassuring that we’re doing the right thing.”

A Love of Beef Cattle Brings Benefits Beyond Awards

For Maddox, working with beef cattle has benefits beyond just winning awards and being recognized.

“Beef cattle teaches you a lot of good work ethic,” says Maddox. “There’s a lot of interesting people to meet and you get to travel to new places. It teaches you life lessons.”

Plus, his bond with his show cattle keeps the whole family inspired. Maverick, the grand champion steer from this year’s state fair, is more than just a winner. Maddox has had a connection with him since the beginning. One day, the Reedy family got a call that they had a cow calving. Turns out, it was a nearby relative’s cow. Maddox and Sarah went to check and ended up assisting with the birth. That calf was Maverick.

“It’s a full circle story,” Sarah says. “He was involved with breeding Maverick, raising him up, and showing him.”

Kyle and Sarah have off the farm jobs, so Maddox is hard at work caring for their cattle. He works all summer feeding, washing and spending time with the cattle. Kyle says the family is always encouraged by seeing his hard work each day when they get back home after work.

Cates attributes Maddox’s worth ethic and willingness to learn to his parents. As Maddox continues to grow, it is clear to him that Maddox is someone others can look up to.

“I have a nine-year-old,” Cates says. “It’s nice to have kids like Maddox that I can tell my daughter ‘watch him show and try to implement his style.’ However, more importantly, she can emulate the kind of kid that he is. How he interacts with people. How he carries himself. How he behaves. I think he can be a role model for my daughter. You need that as parent.”

A Bright Future Ahead

“He’s wise beyond his years,” Sarah says. “He can hold a conversation with anyone he comes in contact with. That skill alone will take him places. If he chooses a career in animal agriculture, that’s great. If he chooses a different route, that’s okay too. I think we’ve given him an avenue to be successful in whatever he chooses to do.”

Maddox also has found a passion for learning all he can about livestock, impressing the adults around him.

“He can tell you pedigrees of livestock like an older gentleman would,” Sarah says. “He’s been studying it his whole life. The books that get read in our home are not ones he can take a test on in school. But he can read a cattle magazine or farm magazine and look up pedigrees and think about how he wants to breed them.”

Lampe says the dedication to learning and attention to detail is a trait Maddox comes by honestly.

“They are a hard-working family,” Lampe says. “They pay a lot of attention to detail. They are always willing to learn, and take suggestions, even with the success that they have had. They are still looking for answers and knowledge.”

Miller points out that showing helps kids develop real-world skills that will benefit them in the future, no matter where their path takes them. Hard work, determination and improved communication skills, are benefits any child can gain from getting involved in showing cattle, something the Reedy family highly recommends.

In the words of Maddox, “Follow your dreams and don’t ever back down.”