Judges

Gayle is currently an adjunct professor at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri after being the saddle seat program director there for 41 years. Gayle holds judges’ cards in nine equestrian disciplines, and has judged competitions in 43 states as well as Australia, Canada, Great Britain and South Africa. She has also conducted clinics in 25 states and 3 foreign countries.

Gayle has judged the Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show ten times.  The first time was in 1993 and the most recent one was in 2022. She is honored and excited to be asked to judge again this year. Gayle has also judged the Northampton Morgan Horse Show twice. In 1996, Gayle coached the U.S. Saddle Seat equitation team to a gold medal at the World Cup Competition, held with Equitana in Louisville, KY. The outstanding Morgan rider, Georgia Hunter, was on the team that year. Gayle has conducted numerous USEF Judges clinics for Applicants, Morgans, National Show Horses, Saddlebreds, and Saddle Seat Equitation.

In addition to teaching and judging, Gayle also has shown Saddlebreds, Morgans and Arabians. In 1979, Gayle showed Zephyr’s King Moro to win the Ladies Park Horse Under Saddle Championship at the Grand National Morgan Horse Show.  In 2003, Gayle showed her own horse, Callaway’s Born to Win, to earn the Ladies Five-Gaited Championship title at the World Championship Saddlebred show held at the Kentucky State Fair. Additionally, at the United Professional Horseman’s Association American Royal National Championship Horse Show in Kansas City, Gayle won the Five-Gaited Ladies National Championship on Born to Win in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Gayle has been the recipient of the United Professional Horseman’s Association Equitation Instructor of the Year Award, the Missouri-Kansas Horse Person of the Year award at the American Royal Horse Show, the “Distinguished Professor Award” at William Woods University, and the Lurline Roth Sportsmanship Award at the American Saddlebred Horse Convention. In 2007, she received the Audrey Gutridge Award at the World Championship Saddle Horse Show held at the Kentucky State Fair. Also in 2007, The American Riding Instructor’s Association awarded Gayle the title of “Master Instructor”.  In 2015, Gayle was inducted into the “Missouri Sports Hall of Fame”.  Gayle was the first “horse” person ever to receive this honor other than one jockey and one rodeo rider. In 2024 Gayle was honored with “The Settler’s Award” from the Kingdom of Callaway.

In 1996, Gayle authored the book “Riding for Success, Both In and Out of the Show Ring” and in 2013, the revised edition of this book was printed. In her spare time, Gayle enjoys walking, planting trees, feeding ducks and playing ping-pong.  She even managed to win a Gold Medal at the 2000 Missouri Show Me Games in the Women’s single Table Tennis the same day she coached the first-place winner in Academy equitation at the Boone County Fair. The newest addition to Gayle’s life is Porchy, a little black feral cat, who moved in with Gayle in 2024 during a snow storm.