GUYTON — Who would have figured that the winner of the wether division in the Effingham County Fair Goat Show on Oct. 18 would come down to a “Coin Toss?” 

Not Emma Connelly. She wasn’t sold on what turned out to be the grand champion of the event when she picked him from a breeder months ago. He was dubbed “Coin Toss” because she earned the right to buy him from a breeder after winning a coin flip with someone else who also had an eye on him.

“I didn’t really want him,” she said. “My dad (Eddie Connelly) did.”

Father definitely knew best in this case. In addition to winning the local show, “Coin Toss,” also known as “73” because of the number on the tag in his ear, was named the fifth overall winner in the Georgia Born & Bred Division at the recent Georgia National Fair Livestock Show.

Another Connelly wether, Felix, was the reserve grand champion of the Effingham County Fair Goat Show, giving her first complete sweep of an event.

“It’s cool,” said Connelly,  who has been showing livestock for a decade.

Last year, Emma earned a different kind of sweep at the Effingham County Fair Goat Show. She and her older sister, Bailey, claimed the top two spots in the doe division. Her entry was named grand champion.

The Effingham County sophomore admitted she likely would have ranked 92-pound “Coin Toss” a notch above 98-pound Felix in the 2022 goat show.

“I think so. I really like my wethers — my big wethers,” she said.

A 94-pound Connelly entry was named the reserve grand champion doe at this year’s fair. The 69-pound grand champion was shown by Hallie Grace Rahn of Ebenezer Middle School.