Next year is shaping up to be a big year for Tryphena Carter.
Miss Carter (28) has two trips to Australia lined up, competing at ploughing competitions and also representing New Zealand as the Royal Agricultural Society's rural ambassador.
The Southland woman won the rural ambassador title at the society's recent conference in Hawkes Bay, beating fellow finalists Georgia Davies (North Canterbury), Zach Mounsey (Otorohanga) and Ben Burgess (Whangarei).
Run under the auspices of the RAS and New Zealand Young Farmers, the annual award recognises excellence among young people under the age of 30 who are involved in the A&P show movement.
Miss Carter, who will travel to Tasmania next year to represent New Zealand in the transtasman competition, continues a family involvement in A&P shows.
Originally from Rakaia, she grew up on a cropping farm and was a keen equestrienne, showing and competing at A&P shows which she said had been a ''huge part'' of her life.
After studying at Lincoln University, she joined the Gore office of valuation firm TelferYoung in March 2013 as a graduate valuer covering both rural and residential, and is in her last year before applying for registration.
She joined the Gore A&P Association, which also proved to be a good way to meet people in a new community.
A member of the committee and a horse steward on show day, she was also the association's youth ambassador last year.
She has been involved with a project to build new stables at the showgrounds and it was hoped to have those ready for the next season.
Miss Carter believed the A&P show movement was ''more important than ever'' with the way farming had developed.
There were fewer breeders, whether it was sheep, cattle or horses, and it was important to continue to strive for excellence.
It was also a bridge between town and country, and for some urban children it was the only opportunity for them to get close to farm animals.
She was keen to see more young people get involved with A&P committees.
Miss Carter's other interest was ploughing and she was believed to be the only woman in the South Island who was competitively involved in the sport.
While she had grown up attending ploughing matches, as her father Gordon was heavily involved, she never initially thought she would have a go.
Her father coached family friend Nicola Smith and, spurred on by that, she decided that she would have a crack.
She has been ploughing since she was 15 and has already qualified for next year's national championships in Palmerston North.
The biggest challenge for getting newcomers involved in the sport was the cost, so she was fortunate her father had a collection of tractors and she was able to borrow his machinery.
The pair used to compete in the same class, but now Mr Carter had moved on to the vintage class.
Miss Carter was keen to see more women get involved, saying it was not a physical sport and being a female was no barrier.
She enjoyed the people involved and she also preferred individual sports.
''As much as I like team ones, you don't have to rely on anyone else - that is what's good about it.''
