Sidelines November - December 2026

This Issue! The 2026 Horsepeople of the Year and Holiday Gift Guides for the Horseperson in your life!

2026

HORSEPEOPLE

of the YEAR

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

Letter from the Editor

2026 HORSEPEOPLE

OF THE YEAR

12 CARA GODACK

18 SARAH COHEN

20 JP GODARD

32 KRISTIN MCLEAN

36 DEONTE SEWELL

40 MOLLY RYAN

44 SARAH CHABOT

48 JUSTIN HAEFNER

50 WENDY DOULTON LATHAM

52 ANNABELLA BOWSER

54 JEN SEDLATSCHEK

58 KJ PEARSON

60 MADDY SCOTT

62 MATT MCHUGH

66 SARAH POLLOCK

68 BRIAN LOOKABILL

70 MICHAEL MONTREUIL

72 DAVE SCHAEFER

74 PAULA HITZLER

On the cover:

Welcome to the inaugural

Horsepeople of the Year Issue.

November/December 2026

About this photo:

Deonte Sewell, one of the Sidelines

2026 Horsepeople of the Year.

Photos by KC McAllister

Volume 38 Issue 11 • SIDELINES (ISSN 1071-3859) is owned by TRAUB CAPITAL PARTNERS and is published ten times a year.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

GIFT GUIDES

Under the Sidelines Tree

Sarah Farrell’s Amateur (Gift!) Guide

Courses & Cocktails Ammy Wish List

Justin Haefner

Photo By Erin Gilmore

IN EVERY ISSUE

10 Letter From the Editor | 77 Sidelines Business

78 Sidelines Directory | 79 Advertisers Index | 80 Sidelines Spotlight

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Britney Grover | editor@sidelinesmagazine.com

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Sarah Pollock

Photo By Elizabeth Hay

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

LETTER FROM

Stay in touch by emailing editor@sidelinesmagazine.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sidelines_magazine

Sarah Cohen

Photo by Laura Elser

JP Godard

Photo by Natalie Suto

Sarah Chabot

Photo by Christina Stewart

The Inaugural Horsepeople

of the Year Issue

his holiday season closes out a year of transition at Sidelines.

The magazine has undergone changes with a new editorial lead;

we’ve refreshed our online presence and have been striving for

more social media engagement with our dedicated readers. We have been

seeking to balance our heritage with looking forward—and this issue is the

epitome of that endeavor.

For many years, the last Sidelines issue of the year has featured our Hot

Horsemen—chosen not based on their appearance but on their dedication

to horses and the industry. Going forward in that spirit, and in gratitude

to the Sidelines community for embracing us as we’ve evolved, we thought

the best way to thank our readers was to celebrate YOUR stories—both

men and women, from announcers and show managers to competitors and

foxhunters, shaping the industry or quietly shaping lives.

For the first time in Sidelines history, this issue is entirely generated by

our readers, in their own words. We asked for your submissions and

received an outpouring of appreciation for your peers in the form of

nominations for our inaugural Horsepeople of the Year. Thank you to all

those who participated!

We hope you enjoy getting to know the selected Horsepeople of the Year,

presented in no particular order. You’ll also find gift guides from some of

our Online Exclusive columnists, and don’t miss the runner-up covers on

the last page.

From all of us at Sidelines, thank you for a fantastic year; may your holidays

be joyful, your horses be healthy and the new year bring exciting new rides.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

CARA GODACK

I am pleased to nominate Cara Godack, MFH for her outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to the sport of foxhunting.

As a young woman joint master of foxhounds with Wicomico Hunt Club, Cara has helped guide the club into its next generation, while

honoring its traditions. She played a key leadership role in the club’s successful effort to purchase its own kennel property, ensuring a strong

future for the organization. Cara is deeply devoted to both the club and the sport, and she has a remarkable ability to make newcomers feel

welcomed, valued and eager to become involved. Through her vision, enthusiasm and tireless service, she has made a lasting impact on

Wicomico Hunt Club and has done wonders to strengthen and promote the sport of foxhunting.

~Genevieve Macfarlane, sister

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

S I D E L I N E S • 2 0 2 6 H O R S E P E O P L E O F T H E Y E A R

Photo by Jeffrey Smith

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

2 0 2 6 H O R S E P E O P L E O F T H E Y E A R • C A R A G O D A C K

I have been a member of Wicomico Hunt Club for many years and have

been the honorary secretary for seven of those years. I watched Cara come

to the sport of fox chasing, learn the ins and outs, go through a few different

unsuitable horses (until she found the right one!), volunteer on committees,

join the board of directors and generally fall in love with the sport as so many

of us do!

She quickly rose to the leadership role of a joint master of fox hounds with

Wicomico Hunt Club. Cara has shown her dedication to the sport and to

our club with her enthusiasm, spirit of volunteerism, giving of her time and

her willingness to help out wherever needed.

She has brought youthful momentum, good business skills and decisive

and thoughtful guidance to the club, while always welcoming and mentoring

new members.

Personally, as the secretary of the club, I am grateful for Cara’s ongoing

support of my volunteer role. With her computer skills, she has helped me

streamline and modernize the inside operations. She always makes time for

my incessant questions and requests. She is a reliable team player and a good

friend to all!

~Holly Isaacson

Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe

Photo by Amy Jacbobs/ Equus Images

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

Cara is a passionate horsewoman. She

always presents her horse in the hunt

field immaculately and encourages other

hunting riders to present themselves and

their horses in a proper way, without being

condescending. Cara has been hunting

for about nine years and has exhibited

exceptional leadership, resulting in being

selected to be a joint master in 2025.

She is a team player and always willing to

step up leading the first flight or helping

with hounds in the kennel. I am honored

to serve with her as joint masters of

Wicomico Hunt Club.

~Ed Fry, Jt. Master

of the Wicomico Hunt Club

2 0 2 6 H O R S E P E O P L E O F T H E Y E A R • C A R A G O D A C K

Photo by Jeffrey Smith

Photo by Amy Jacobs/Equus Images

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

S I D E L I N E S • 2 0 2 6 H O R S E P E O P L E O F T H E Y E A R

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026

SARAH COHEN

Sarah Cohen is an exceptionally respected and accomplished veterinarian within the hunter-jumper

community, known not only for her clinical expertise but also for her unwavering dedication to her

family as a wife and mother. As the founder of Equity Performance Equine (EPE), she has built a

collaborative network of compassionate, highly skilled veterinarians who prioritize both excellence

in patient care and meaningful partnerships with their clients, helping horse-and-rider teams achieve

success in and out of the ring. The EPE culture is unlike that of any other vet practice in our industry.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sarah exemplifies a sustainable lifestyle for

veterinarians. She is helping redefine what success looks like in the equestrian industry by

demonstrating that it is possible to excel as a veterinarian, horsewoman, business owner, wife and

mother. Through her leadership and example, she is paving the way for a healthier, more supportive

culture within the profession and inspiring young veterinarians to pursue fulfilling careers without

sacrificing personal goals and well-being.

Dr. Cohen knew what she wanted to be from a very young age—a horse doctor. Growing up

in New Jersey, she showed in the hunters and equitation before attending Purdue University for

her undergraduate education. She graduated from Ross University in June 2007 after completing

her clinical training at Iowa State University. She subsequently completed a one-year intensive

internship at Merritt and Associates Equine

Hospital outside of Chicago before joining Miller

& Associates in 2008. She founded Equity

Performance Equine in the fall of 2020 with a

bold set of ideas to build a practice very different

from what currently existed in the market.

With nearly two decades in practice, she works

mostly with hunters and jumpers with many of her

clients competing in top hunter competition or at

the five-star level; however, that did not guarantee

success when she set out to launch a new practice

during a pandemic and with an unconventional

model that was horse, rider and employee first.

She stayed true to her values, remaining focused

on a horse-first approach while keeping these top

athletes in excellent form. Less than a footnote to

this story, she was also a new mother, welcoming

her second daughter within the same two-year span

during which she launched a brand-new practice.

EPE has continued to grow since it’s inception,

just as Sarah’s family, team and business acumen

has. Even more impressively, she has been an

excellent role model and business leader for young

veterinarians in the industry as well as at home for

her daughters, now 8 and 10. Equine sport horse

medicine is a challenging career path that comes

with demanding hours, a lot of travel, time away

from home, late nights, phone calls at all hours and

a lot of student debt for some of us. Dr. Cohen

has created a veterinary practice that has a culture

like no other. The practice’s values are empathy,

respect, humor, adaptability and excellence, with

an emphasis on giving veterinarians a voice in the

practice and a stake in its future. Her husband,

Lance, is no stranger around the vet practice. He

did not ride or work with horses, but once he

met Sarah, they inspired one another to question

what “great” really is and strive for it. Lance is

an executive who’s built businesses in sports

and media, and together they have grown their

professional careers while supporting each other

and raising their girls.

Sarah and Lance split their time between

Torch Lake near Traverse City, Michigan, and

Wellington, Florida, with their two daughters,

Evelyn and June, and their dogs. Evelyn and

June have watched Sarah build Equity and know

that if the opportunity they want doesn’t exist, be

like mom and go out there and build it—a good

reminder for all of us.

~Victoria Duggan

Photo by Laura Elser

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026