Georgia, back-to-back national champions, again will not make trip to White House

The Georgia Bulldogs again will not attend the White House to celebrate a national championship.

The school did not attend last year after winning its first of back-to-back titles. The team defeated TCU, 65-7, this past January to win its second straight.

"Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year," an athletic department spokesman told Dawg Nation. "However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward."

President Biden originally did not invite the Bulldogs, which garnered plenty of criticism. COVID-19 safety precautions prevented Georgia from visiting last year, but defensive lineman Warren Brinson let his displeasure be heard on Twitter back in February, saying it was "crazy" the team had not yet been invited this time around.

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However, after the tweet and request signed by U.S. Rep. Earl LeRoy "Buddy" Carter as well as Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, an invitation has been sent.

"The Georgia Bulldogs, led by Head Coach Kirby Smart, completed a historic season in which they accomplished a 15-0 record and won their second National Championship in the same number of years," the political leaders wrote in their request. 

"The 2022-2023 team allowed an average of 14.2 points per game while scoring an incredible 41 points per game. This marks the fourth college football national championship in school history and the 2022-23 Bulldogs become the first team in the College Football Playoff Era to win back-to-back national championships.

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"For years, the college football national champion has had the high honor of being hosted, by the President, at the White House. Due to COVID-19 constraints, the 2021-22 University of Georgia national championship team was unable to come to D.C. It is our hope that this repeat championship team can join the many teams prior that have been honored by the President."

Both the UConn men's and LSU's women's basketball teams will visit the White House on May 26. 

A college football champion has not visited the White House since LSU did so to celebrate its 2020 title. The 2021-22 NBA champions Golden State Warriors visited the White House in January after not doing so in 2017 and 2018 while former President Trump was in office.

Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Los Angeles Lakers, the winners of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Finals, visited the White House to commemorate their titles, but the Milwaukee Bucks made the trip to visit President Biden in November 2021.

The last championship team to visit President Trump was the 2019 Washington Nationals, five days after their World Series victory over the Houston Astros. The pandemic made visits tougher and, by the time restrictions started to be lifted, Biden had taken office.

Florida riding program head arrested after 8 horses found in bad health

The head of a now-closed Florida horse riding program for veterans and children with disabilities has been arrested, and faces animal abuse and neglect charges after eight horses were found to be in poor health and "bad" living conditions.

Sara Montijo-Lopez ran Tianvica Riding Academy outside Bartow, 40 miles outside Tampa, FOX Tampa reported. 

Dani Horton, the founder of Hope Equine Rescue in Winter Haven, told FOX Tampa things went downhill after Montijo-Lopez took over operations at the academy. Horton said she was horrified at what she saw after the horses were moved to Bartow.

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"There was no shade on the property, no water on the property, no grass," Horton told FOX Tampa. "There was no food that we could see from the road. It was really just a bad situation for the horses."

The Polk County Sheriff's Office seized eight horses last month. 

Authorities had been working with Montijo-Lopez for several years to try and correct the issues. 

Investigators said horses had dropped weight and had protruding hips and developed skin problems. A miniature horse had to be euthanized because of its deteriorating condition, FOX Tampa reported. 

The other seized horses have been housed at the sheriff's office's farm, where they have put on weight. 

"If she is in jail, or if she goes to prison, she’ll be taken care of and fed, unlike what she did for the horses," Sheriff Grady Judd told FOX Tampa.

The horses were taken to Hope Equine Rescue on Monday, where they will be further evaluated and properly cared for and possibly put up for adoption. 

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