A field of 17 judge applicants flocked to North Texas, April 27-29 to put their equine knowledge to the test as they worked to earn their APHA judging credentials. Qualified applicants were invited to test for their cards at the 2015 Judge Applicant School, which took place April 27–29 in Gainesville and Denton, Texas.

Testing included live judging, video judging, a rule book test and interviews; based on their scores, nine applicants were awarded their APHA judging card. New judges include: 

Dean Bogart
A horse trainer from Delray Beach, Florida, Dean is already carded with AQHA and NSBA; he’s judged approximately 150 shows, including the All American Quarter Horse Congress, the AQHA Select World Show, the NSBA World Show, the Reichert Celebration and the Arizona Sun Circuit. Dean has shown several Paint Horses and trained many world champions in other breeds.

Manita McKool DeFoor

A Temple, Georgia, horse trainer, Manita’s resume includes a number of world and congress champions in various breeds. Carded with AQHA and NSBA, Manita has judged approximately 60 shows, including the NSBA World Show, the Reichert Celebration and the Region 9 AQHA show.

Steve Lackey

Trainer and breeder Steve Lackey is from Greensboro, North Carolina. Already carded with AQHA, NSBA, PHBA and ApHC, Steve has judged approximately 600 shows, including the AQHA Open/Amateur, Youth and Select World Shows, All American Quarter Horse Congress and the Reichert Celebration.

Larry Little 

Show manager and trainer Larry Little is from Mebane, North Carolina. Carded with AQHA, NSBA and NRHA, Larry has judged approximately 300 shows, including the AQHA Open/Amateur, Youth and Select World Shows, All American Quarter Horse Congress, AQHA European Championships and NSBA World Show.

Linda Long

A horse trainer and judge from Tioga, Texas, Linda Long is presently carded with AQHA, ApHC and NSBA; she previously held an APHA card, as well. Linda has judged approximately 50 events, including the ApHC World Show, Austrian National Championship and Appaloosa Pleasure Horse Association futurities.

Don McDuffee

Ocala, Florida, horseman Don McDuffee is a horse trainer and breeder and exhibitor; associated with more than 50 world champions in various breeds, Don has also won many Paint futurities and a APHA World Show Top Five. Carded with AQHA, PHBA, NSBA and IBHA, Don has judged approximately 300 shows including the AQHA Open/Amateur, Youth and Select World Shows, All American Quarter Horse Congress and major futurities in the United States and abroad.

Jodie Moore

A trainer from Langley, British Columbia, Canada, Jodie has coached a number of APHA world champions and currently holds cards with PtHA, ABRA and HCBC. She’s judged approximately 20 PtHA and ABRA breed shows, as well as about 15 open shows annually.

Leigh Ann Skurupey

A Ph.D. candidate and horse judging team coach at the University of Florida, Leigh Ann is also the assistant farm manager at the UF Horse Teaching Unit in Gainesville, Florida. A carded 4-H and open show judge, Leigh Ann has judged about 30 shows in Florida and Colorado. She’s also served as the official judge at several 4-H and FFA horse judging contests in Florida, Colorado and Kentucky.

John Tuckey

A horse industry veteran, John has trained and exhibited horses his entire life. The horseman from Liberty, Kentucky, is carded with AQHA, NRHA, NSBA and NRCHA, and has judged approximately 300 shows, including the AQHA Open/Amateur, Youth and Select World Shows, All American Quarter Horse Congress, NSBA World Show, NRHA Futurity and Derby, European Championship, Italian Reining Futurity and the Reichert Celebration.

“I am very proud and excited to welcome these nine applicants to the APHA judges list,” APHA Director of Judges David Dellin said. “They all performed very well, and will be fantastic additions to our already impressive group of judges. I look forward to seeing them at shows in the near future.”

All APHA-approved judges, including their contact information, can be found online at apha.com/association/judges. 

Learn more about becoming an APHA-approved judge online at apha.com. 

About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded. APHA creates and maintains programs that increase the value of American Paint Horses and enriches members’ experiences with their horses.