Two Blinn students earn livestock judging All-America honors

Devyn Gaff, Kinsey Gardner among only 15 selections nationwide

May 1, 2024

Devyn Gaff and Kinsey Gardner do just about everything together as best friends, so it is fitting that both were recently named All-American two-year college livestock judges.

The roommates are members of the Blinn College livestock judging team that finished the season ranked No. 1 in  LivestockJudging.com’s community college rankings. The team won the national championship in dramatic fashion, placing first in the season’s final contest at the prestigious Houston Livestock Show.

Gaff and Gardner both come from agricultural backgrounds. Both chose Blinn because it made them feel at home. Both are planning to attend Texas Tech University as members of its livestock judging team, and both are among only 15 students nationwide to be honored for their academic and livestock judging acumen during 2023-24.

The Junior College Coaches Association names 15 students to the All-America livestock judging team each year based on criteria that include cumulative grade point averages and livestock judging excellence.

Both – of course – said the All-America team has been a goal for their college careers.

“It’s been a check mark that I had set since I started judging in the third grade,” said Gardner, from Gatesville, Texas. “I was coached by people who came to Blinn and were All-Americans here. That’s what I’ve been striving for.

“I’ve always held myself to a high standard academically and also with my judging. This award combines the two. When they called my name, it was a dream that I had reached.”

Gaff came to Blinn from the tiny Indiana town of Churubusco, which claims less than 2,000 residents. Despite her small-town origins, Gaff has always dreamed big.

“Kinsey and I were All-Americans in 4-H too, so this kind of checked the next box to be an All-American in junior college,” she said. “Hopefully in senior college, I’ll get to check all three boxes.”

Blinn’s livestock judging team competed in 15 events, logging thousands of miles on a bus. It competed in 15 contests this season, placing in the top five in each. With that much time together on a bus, a team has to be close-knit.

“I think your group is kind of unique,” said Gardner. “We’re kind of tighter knit. There’s no drama at all when it comes to judging. Our team is really deep-rooted in our faith, and that’s really helped us.”

Said Gaff, “We’re on the bus a long time. We’ve got a very competitive team where anyone can mark (place) any day. We have a lot of depth, and that speaks to the strength of our team.”

Livestock judging gave both a chance to travel overseas last summer, when the two went to Scotland and Ireland to observe contests there.

“When you enjoy it, you don’t mind the traveling at all,” said Gaff. “Looking back at junior college and 4-H, I would not have been able to travel as much as I did (without judging).”

Both said Blinn’s welcoming atmosphere drew them to the program.

“I chose Blinn because of the atmosphere. I visited a lot of junior colleges, and everybody always told me I would know where I needed to be when it felt like home,” Gaff said. “Nowhere else felt like this. From the moment I walked through the door, I knew this was where I needed to be. The coaches all have the same competitive mindset that I do. They wanted to make us good people, but also good livestock judging team members.”

Blinn livestock judging coach Adrian Austin has high praise for Gaff and Gardner.

“It has been an honor to coach Kinsey, Devyn, and each of their teammates,” she said. “While we might have originally recruited these two young ladies for the immense talent they possessed, it was made evident that their work ethic and willingness to learn is the kind of experience that makes our jobs as coaches enjoyable.”

After they graduate from college, both plan to remain involved in agriculture. Kinsey is looking toward a career in the lending business, but also plans to return to the family cow-calf operation “and continue to grow that – after I get through school and get a big-girl job.”

“I grew up watching my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents doing that, and I’ve always had a love for it,” she said.

Gaff will serve an internship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for two summers, then will have an opportunity to transition to a full-time employee after graduation from Texas Tech.

The livestock judging team is part of Blinn’s  Agricultural Sciences Program, which has one of the most active extracurricular programs in the state, including the Agriculture Club, wildlife, agriculture mechanics, and horticulture.

Blinn offers agriculture classes on all its campuses, with the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex on the Brenham Campus serving as the program’s headquarters. For more information, visit  www.blinn.edu/agricultural-sciences.