Goda Family Honored by ASHAG and UPHA Chapter 17
Monday, February 4, 2008
John III, Barb, and John Goda Jr. each
received a special award at the recent
ASHAG Awards Banquet.
(Editor’s note: The following awards were presented on Jan. 26, 2008, at the ASHAG Awards Banquet)
The Frank Kennedy Humanitarian Award
The Frank Kennedy Humanitarian Award was established to recognize those people who contribute so greatly “behind the scene”. These people are not horse trainers nor or are they necessarily the greatest exhibitor or most outspoken advocates. They quietly contribute with their time, energy and love of the sport.
Our Humanitarian Award nominee got into the horse business the same way as many other men in this room. . . he met a girl who loved and showed horses. He soon learned to drive the horse van, groom for horse shows, put on tail sets and hot walk a horse late at night after the five-gaited stake.
Along the way he was introduced to a family that was very active in various horse associations and clubs. They also were involved in managing horse shows. He learned early on from Mrs. Kelly that the exhibitor on the telephone was a customer and customer’s first impression of a horse show often comes from the show’s secretary.
He moved to Atlanta, attending Georgia Tech, to work on his PhD and teach. He and his wife would go to horse shows to watch, but school, careers and a child kept them out of the horse business for a few years.
As all true horse people know you can’t stay away for long. They soon were back into the horse business at Great Oaks Morgans. The family was back into showing and working with everyone to help keep the horse business going regardless of breed of horse.
Today he and his wife own Friday Farm where they own, show and love the Morgan horse and the American Saddlebred. He has been the past president of the Georgia Morgan Horse Club and ASHAG, but he is probably most known as the show secretary and/or manager at many of our local horse shows.
When we think of this man, it is his quiet manner, dedication, patience and sense of fair play that has won all of our hearts. He has worked tirelessly to help make our industry better, never expecting nor wanting anything in return other than everyone having a great show.
We would like to thank him for all he has have done in the past had hopefully all he will do in the future to make our industry better.
It is our extreme pleasure to honor here tonight, Mr. John Goda Jr.
UPHA Chapter 17 2007 Old Milton Hall of Fame Inductee
Tonight our inductee into the UPHA Chapter 17, Old Milton Hall of Fame is Barb Goda. Barb has been involved with the Dixie Cup Morgan Classic, as Board Chairman, for many years when the show was strictly a Morgan “breed show”. She was instrumental in maintaining the Dixie Cup show when it moved to the Georgia International Horse Park and added Saddlebred classes.
One of the major features of the Dixie Cup Spring Classic is its financial support of the Rockdale Special Olympics and the financial support of the Department of Agriculture’s facility for impounded horses.
The Old Milton Horse Shows are also the creation of Barb and have existed for many years due to her desire to have a place where young “beginner riders” would have a fairly local place to show and gain experience without the expense of traveling out of state, especially to Kentucky. The shows started at Wills Park Equestrian Center; they have been held at Gainesville’s Chicopee Woods facilities and have moved back to Wills Park in Alpharetta for the last eight years.
She remains very active on the local show circuit by being a board member for the Southeastern Charity Horse Show. As well as a board member of ASHAG and she has sat on the show committee for numerous years.
On the national level she is a member of the Rules Committee of the United States Equestrian Federation. She is also a member of the American Morgan Horse Association Rules Committee. She co-chaired the Morgan National Conventions in 2004 and 2006, which were both held in Atlanta.
Many world championships can be attributed to son John at the Morgan Grand Nationals showing English pleasure, western pleasure and equitation.
Several Grand National Champion horses and drivers in training are P. D. May and his driving horse On Target and Mike Bertolani and his driving horse Whitemud Forever Sunbeam.
As a person, Barb cares. She cares about all animals - her horses, her cats and dogs, her birds that visit the feeders while she is working in her office and the raccoons that visit her when she goes to the barn every night to check the horses. She cares about all of the young people she has trained in horsemanship and especially cares about them as young adults and does everything she can to help them become responsible young adults. She cares.
Also she is the mom of our UPHA Trainer Achievement award winner.
Tonight she is a much-deserved inductee into the Old Milton Hall of Fame.
UPHA Chapter 17 2007 Trainer Achievement Award
John Goda III is truly a product of the state of Georgia and its horse industry. He grew up learning about the business by watching or working with many of the trainers in our area.
He kept his family hopping by splitting his show schedule so he could ride both Morgans and Saddlebreds. After his first win at his first big horse show, which was walk-trot only, at our very own Pro-Am, John decided that equitation and performance riding would be a major part of his life.
With wins at Louisville and Oklahoma City, in both saddle seat and stock seat equitation, John was able to meet and learn from many wonderful people who made up the horse show world.
While working and going to college, John Goda and Jeanie Waddell started Impossible Dream Farm with the emphasis on teaching equitation to new riders and showing horses on the local show circuit.
In 2000, faced with making a new career choice, the farm expanded and so did the number of horses showing locally and nationally. The dedication to teaching new riders and drivers helped them develop a barn family that includes people with all levels of experience and from all walks of life.
In 2008, they plan to continue the lesson, camp and training program which also includes a very active youth group.
Congratulations, John Goda III
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