PERRY, GA – State Representative Amy Carter (R-Valdosta) recently won the title of Reserve Grand Champion at the second annual Legislative Livestock Showdown. This event was held Saturday, October 6 at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, GA.
“This was an amazing opportunity,” said Rep. Carter. “I appreciate the role my ‘teacher,’ Gage Browning, took in helping me with the show. I have such great respect for the students who show at livestock shows and the commitment and time that they dedicate to these events.”
The Legislative Livestock Showdown pitted five teams from the Georgia House of Representatives against five teams from the Georgia Senate for a competition to determine which chamber of the Georgia General Assembly can best handle livestock in a showmanship ring of a livestock competition. Each team was comprised of one state legislator, one coach from Georgia’s FFA or 4-H program, and a steer. After receiving lessons from their experienced livestock show FFA and 4-H coaches and preparing their steers for show, the ten legislators took turns showing their livestock in the showmanship ring. The Georgia National Fair livestock judges then ranked the legislators from one to ten based on how well they handled their animals, and the resulting points were tallied to determine the winning team.
Rep. Carter was coached by Gage Browning, one of Rep. Carter’s senior students at Lowndes High School. With the assistance Mr. Browning, Rep. Carter and her steer Blanco, were able to win the second place ranking. Blanco is owned by T. J. Faircloth, who generously allowed Rep. Carter to show the steer in the competition.
The Legislative Livestock Showdown was cosponsored by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia National Fair. In addition to providing fun competition between the state House and Senate, the event allowed state legislators a unique opportunity to work with and learn from Georgia’s FFA and 4-H students.
The House team in this year’s competition was composed of Representative Tom McCall, who served as team captain, Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Representative Allen Peake, Representative Amy Carter, Representative Darlene Taylor and Representative-Elect Patty Bentley. The Senate team was led by Senator John Bulloch, and included Senator John Wilkinson, Senator Lindsey Tippins, Senator Rick Jeffares, Senator Steve Gooch and Senator Jason Carter.
With the outstanding showing of Rep. Carter and the other participating state representatives, the Georgia House of Representatives won the Legislative Livestock Showdown for the second year in a row. In last year’s competition, the team from the Georgia House of Representatives, led by Representative Lynn Smith, also captured first place.
Representative Amy Carter represents the citizens of District 175, which includes portions of Lowndes County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2006, and serves as one of Governor Deal’s House Floor Leaders. She is currently the Secretary of Higher Education Committee and serves as a member of the Appropriations and Education committees as well as the Small Business Development and Job Creation Committee.
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