2025 Judges
Horse Judges
Gay Lynn Owens is from Creston, Iowa.
She is honored to be an American Quarter Horse Association Judge for 41 years, National Reining Horse Association Judge for 37 years, and a PHBA judge.
Her favorite classes are Reining, Ranch Riding and Trail.
Gay Lynn Owens has had the privilege of judging the AQHA Open and Youth World Show, the Quarter Horse Congress, the PHBA Open and Youth World Show. Judging duties have taken her to Japan, Australia, England and Germany.
She is a multiple bronze trophy winner in the NRHA and at the AQHA Open World Show she has placed Top 10 in 6 different events
She has been blessed to have bred and raised 3 horses that placed in the Top 6 at the NRHA Open Reining Futurity, including raising NRHA Hall of Fame Mare, Princess In Diamonds.
Gay Lynn is grateful to her mentors, Howard Pitzer, Bob Loomis and Doug Milholland.
Jackie Morin grew up on an Equine ranch in southern Manitoba. Draft horses have been a major part throughout her life. Her family have shown a hitch of Percheron geldings for many years. Aside from showing Percherons, she also showed light horses and ponies with her family. Jackie was also a member of the 4H horse club. This is when she got her first taste of judging.
Jackie has had the pleasure of attending 5 World draft horse shows. 4 World Percheron Congresses in St Paul, Minnesota in 1986 and Calgary, Alberta in 1998. Both of these shows were as a spectator. In 2004 Jackie was on the show committee for the World Percheron Congress held in Brandon, Manitoba. In 2022 Jackie was also on the show committee and was in charge of the Youth Ambassadors and ribbon and award presentations for this show. In 1996 she also attended the North American Belgian Championship Ill in Brandon, Manitoba where she helped family friends at the show.
During the summer, you can also find her at the Manitoba Provincial Percheron Show as the announcer.
Jackie is a current member of the Manitoba Percheron/Belgian Club, and a member of the Canadian Percheron Association as well as a member of the Canadian Livestock Records under the prefix of Black Jack Percherons.
Jackie has 2 adult children and 3 adult step children and 6 busy grandchildren. She enjoys travelling with her husband Brian. They enjoy quadding checking the herd of Simmental cattle in the summer pastures, and the odd day trip to the Casino, and spending time with family and friends.
Jackie would like to take this opportunity to THANK the North Dakota State Fair for inviting her here to judge the show. Jackie and Brian really appreciate and enjoy the friendly hospitality they receive while visiting North Dakota. Good luck to all the exhibitors.
Charlene Carter is a national and international multi-carded judge, coach, and clinician. She holds cards with AQHA, APHA, APHC, NSBA, PHBA, ABRA, PTHA, NASMDA and has also officiated at NRHA, IEA, NCEA, IHSA and YEDA shows. She has experience as a Coach and Clinician, having successfully coached the AQHA United Kingdom’s Youth World Cup Team, as well as holding clinics worldwide. She is judging the 2025 AQHA YOUTH WORLD SHOW, as well as the ABRA WORLD SHOW for buckskin horses.
Charlene and her husband Mike have previously produced, instructed, and shown many World and Congress Champions in multiple events. As a judge, she enjoys the rewarding challenge of finding the best horses and riders, those that have the most natural talent and trained techniques.
The Carters have raised their two grandchildren. Brianna is a senior at the University of South Carolina and is an athlete on the NCEA EQUESTRIAN TEAM. Their grandson Ty is successfully in the United States Navy.
Equine professional Mike Carter has been in the horse business for over 40+ years. He has successfully trained and shown numerous AQHA World and Congress Champions. Along with his wife Charlene, they have prepared champions in almost every category that the AQHA has to offer. He is an approved ABRA, AQHA, APHA, NSBA, PTHC, POA NASMA and APHC judge. He has had the opportunity to judge various AQHA World Shows, the APHA World Shows, the All-American Quarter Horse Congress, the APHC Nationals, the ABRA World, the PTHC World, the AQHA and the APHA European Championships, as well as judging various Championship shows in numerous international countries. Mike truly has enjoyed training and showing horses, but it is a great honor for him to judge the different breeds. He also enjoys holding clinics and aiding exhibitors in the techniques for successfully training their own horses for the show ring. Mike looks forward to judging the 2025 APHC Nationals.
Beef Judges
Born and raised in Mantachie, Mississippi, Anthony now resides in Middletown, Indiana where he claims Trennepohl Farms home. He serves as the herdsman of he Registered Simmental/ Sim-Angus operation and oversees the cow/calf + show cattle operation alongside his son Lane and his wife Ami.
Anothony has spent his lifetime invested in the cattle industry, working for Gamble Angus, Express Ranches and Gerdes Show Cattle throughout his career. In 2018, Anthony was recognized as the American Simmental Associations Herdsman of the Year and received the 2024 Simmental Sweepstakes Herdsman of the Year.
Anthony expresses great gratitude to have the opportunity to sort through your open show cattle throughout his time in North Dakota.
Swine Judges
Originally from Caney, KS. Andrew was a member of the competitive livestock judging teams at Northern Oklahoma College and Kansas State University. Additionally, he received his degree in Animal Science from KSU. Andrew served as an assistant judging team coach at K-State for two years. He now serves as the head livestock judging coach and Animal Science instructor at Eastern Oklahoma State College where he and his wife, Kennedy, live in Wilburton, OK.
Sheep Judges
Bryce McKenzie is from Buffalo, WY, where he and his wife, operate BAM Sheep Co. Their small operation consists of club lamb sheep and a small flock of Columbias. Bryce grew up raising and showing Columbia and Hampshire sheep through 4-H, FFA, and the National Breed Shows. Following high school, he attended Northwest College in Powell, WY on a livestock judging scholarship. Bryce continued to the University of Wyoming (UW) where he earned a Bachelor’s of Agriculture Communication. During his time at UW, he was part of the Collegiate Wool Growers and coached the Collegiate Wool Judging team under Dr. Whit Stewart. They were crowned the 2019 National Western Stock Show Champion Collegiate Wool Judging Team. Upon graduation, Bryce returned to Buffalo, WY and worked at Mountain Meadow Wool Mill, specializing in raw wool intake, custom processing, and the initial phases of the mill process. He now works as the 4-H/Youth Development Educator for the University of Wyoming Extension in Johnson County and enjoys working with youth in the livestock sector across the region.
Poultry Judges
Jeanette was born and raised in Montana. Her parents always kept chickens so that was part of her life early on. She was pretty much the “keeper of the flock”. As a parent herself, she introduced her children to chickens and they each chose the breed they wanted to raise and show. This is where her interest in judging began. She worked with 4-H beginning in the mid 1970’s. Jeanette was fortunate enough to have worked with some good judges who were very encouraging for her to get her licenses. She obtained her APA in 1993 and ABA in 2004. Jeanette still enjoys working with the young people testing her knowledge and hopefully mentoring future generations.
Dairy Goat Judges
Sam grew up on a hobby farm in Michigan, raising and showing Alpines in 4-H, club, and national shows under the ADGA herd name “Charmed Alpines”. Breeding and showing goats were how the Stokes family spent their free time, and Sam loved spending her formative years learning from the incredible people in the dairy goat community.
After leaving farming for almost 10 years and receiving a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management from Michigan Technological University, several serendipitous events brought Sam to MSU Tollgate Farm. She rediscovered her passion for livestock while managing Tollgate’s herd of Toggenburg’s, sheep, and other livestock while obtaining her master’s in environmental justice from the University of Michigan. Sam’s dedication to the small ruminant industry was solidified while serving as the performance improvement coordinator for Chubb E Acres Farm and Caprine & Ewe Veterinary Consulting before moving to the Twin Cities.
In addition to judging ADGA shows and offering small ruminant consulting services, Sam has spent the last several years working as a food & farm supply chain specialist for Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems. Her professional work in the agricultural industry, passion for dairy goats, and the fulfilling and fascinating experiences she’s gained in the world of small ruminant medicine prompted her to pursue vet school. She was recently accepted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s class of 2029 and is looking forward to the start of a veterinary career in farm animal medicine track that focuses on small ruminant production.
Dairy Judges
Crystal Sinn grew up in Cleveland, Wisconsin on her family’s Registered Holstein farm where she exhibited Registered Holsteins at local, state, and national levels. She has bred one EX-95 cow, Siemers Alisha Gold Ava-ETS, who was recognized in 2012 as the Star of the Breed, courtesy of Holstein Association USA. Alongside her mother and grandmother, Crystal enjoys acquiring, breeding, and showing elite Jerseys and Holsteins under the name “Cupid Cattle Company.”
In 2016, she was part of the winning team at the National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest at World Dairy Expo. Crystal graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Food Business Management. After graduation, Crystal worked for the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection serving Wisconsin’s agriculture industry as the 70th Alice in Dairyland.
Crystal works for Midwest Dairy as a Business Development Manager for their Foodservice division. She collaborates with fast-food chains to establish partnerships to grow dairy sales and support innovation.
Crystal, her husband Ean, and their son Marvin live in Sherburn, Minnesota, where they own and operate the Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center, a funeral home and event space. Outside of work, Crystal is passionate about mentoring the next generation—whether she’s coaching young professionals on their career development or helping youth sharpen their dairy judging and showmanship skills.