20
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
JP GODARD
JP Godard was raised in Aiken, South Carolina, where his mom introduced him to horses. He decided riding wasn’t for him but enjoyed
working horse shows at a young age and became friends with many others in the business that then took him under their wing because he was
so young. He was not content with just working as jump crew, so he began learning course design and jump building and decided to pursue that
path. People noticed his attention to detail and soon he began getting course designing jobs at some of the biggest shows in the country—WEF,
Pony Finals, Devon and Harrisburg, just to name a few. He didn’t stop there; he decided to get into show management and opened his own
horse show company, Equus Events. He then was hired to manage the Tryon Horse Shows and TerraNova. Most recently, he was asked to
manage the National Horse Show.
Besides managing huge horse shows, course designing and running his own horse shows, he is visiting clinics in Europe to gain more
knowledge in the FEI course designing under world-class horsemen in the business.
In addition to all the tasks he takes on and manages, he’s also raising two kids as a single parent. He makes sure to take the time to attend
their events and be present in their lives. Whether it’s a two-hour drive from the show one morning to make his son’s track meet or driving to his
daughter’s NCEA meets, he wants to make sure his children know they come first in his life.
There are a lot of people in the hunter-jumper industry that deserve credit and acknowledgment. JP stands out to me especially because he
wasn’t raised in a horse-show family, but growing up in Aiken inspired him and he’s worked incredibly hard and continues to move up the ladder,
all while keeping his family first.
I think all of these attributes make him an outstanding choice for a Horseperson of the Year. He may not be on a horse, but without people like
him, we wouldn’t have the nice horse shows we have today. He strives to make the shows exhibitor friendly, really listens to his audience about
what is needed and why and tries to accommodate those things. He’s always reaching to better himself as a course designer and goes above
and beyond to learn from other well-respected course designers. JP is also the best dad to his incredible children. All those things make him a
wonderful Horseperson of the Year.
~Ashley Morrison
20
SIDELINESMAGAZINE | November/December 2026
Photo by Natalie Suto