Gilmer County students won big at the 8th annual Apple Capital Dairy Show.
Amanda Lutz, from South Carolina, served as the judge for Saturday’s show at the Gilmer County Agriculture Education Center. Students from 11 Georgia counties competed in the “Dairy Showmanship” and “Commercial Dairy Show” categories.
The “Dairy Showmanship” winner for each grade, 6th through 12th, is awarded based on the student’s ability to show their animal.
The “Commercial Dairy Show” separates the cows by weight class, and focuses on the animal, rather than the student. Eight of Gilmer student’s cows placed either first, second or third in their respective classes.
Six Gilmer students, wearing all white and boots, showed their cows in the competition. Rydlee Ponder, a 6th grader at Clear Creek Middle, won first place in Showmanship with her cow, Ella. She also won Grand Champion Junior Showman out of all the participating middle schoolers.
Cecelia Miller and Landon Benitez, both 8th graders, placed in their age group. Miller and her cow, Lacey, won first place. Benitez and his cow, Princess Diana, won third.
When asked how she felt about winning first place, Miller said, “It feels good considering that [Lacey] gave me a little bit of trouble.”
Miller also won Reserve Junior Showman. This is her fifth season showing cows, where she’s competed in about six shows per season. Miller said the majority of the time, she’s in the top five for her age group.
Gilmer High senior Jack Kenner and his cow, Alice, won second place in Showmanship for his age group. Sophomore Ava Smith and her cow, Mellie, won second in hers as well.
This is Smith’s third year participating in dairy shows. When asked what her favorite thing about the program is, she said “getting to spend time with the animals and building a relationship with them.”
Smith goes to their high school barn twice a day, every day of the week, to care for her cows. Young Farmer advisor and FFA program leader, Mike Bushey, further explained the time commitment his students make.
“They have to be at the barn on Christmas and Thanksgiving, because animals don’t take a break,” Bushey noted. “They learn a lot about responsibility, developing character, adversity and also the good times when they win as well.”
He expressed that Gilmer FFA, with around 620 members, is a diverse and successful program. Bushey explained that thanks to the amount of resources provided by the Board of Education, the county has some of the best agricultural program facilities in the state.
“We’ve got a good group of animals, a great group of kids,” Bushey said. “These shows, although we’re always very competitive in them, are kind of a warmup for the state show in February.”
Students from across the state will compete in the Georgia Junior National Livestock Show next month. He said that’s where they will be able to see where they rank amongst all Georgia students and 400 to 500 animals.