Kelly Barbee and his wife, Cherilyn, reside in Concord, North Carolina and they have two adult children, Emily and Ryan. Kelly enjoys exhibiting cattle at various shows throughout North America and has had many Holstein and Jersey All-American nominations. Currently his cattle are housed at various locations across the United States where he is quick to give accolades to the caretakers of these animals. Kelly is currently employed by Holstein USA as a Holstein classifier. Previously, he ran his farm where he owned, boarded, and developed numerous Holstein and Jersey All-American and All-American nominations. Kelly buys and sells elite show/type cattle and enjoys seeing clients have success in their breeding programs in addition to the showring. Kelly has owned and/or sold over 40 animals that have achieved All-American or All-American nomination status. He has judged many county, district, and state shows across the country in addition to being the associate judge for the 2009 World Dairy Expo Jersey Show, lead judge for the 2010 World Dairy Expo Jersey Show, and most recently lead judge for the 2025 World Dairy Expo Jersey Show.

As many Jersey Canada members know, Kyle Rivington was involved in a serious accident shortly after it was announced that he would judge the 2025 National Jersey Show at the Royal in Toronto. While he has made remarkable progress in his recovery, Kyle and his family have decided that he is not yet ready to take on the demands of judging this year’s show.

The Jersey Canada board has accepted the Show Committee’s recommendation to reserve the 2026 National Jersey Show Judge and Associate Judge assignments for Kyle and his father, Brian Rivington. Therefore, no ballots will be distributed in 2025, and the regular balloting process, as per Jersey Canada policy, will resume in 2026.