By Jessica Grutkowski
Portraits by Sara Farrell
As a little girl growing up in Washington state, Emilie Goddard devoured every horse book she could find at her local library. No one in Emilie’s family rode horses, but she was largely inspired by her grandfather’s obsession with all things Western, and her father’s passion for art and design.
Emilie was especially enamored with books on different horse breeds and horse care, and stories about famous horses across any discipline—from the racetrack to the centerline. “I decided Fjords and Haflingers were my favorite breeds. They both had unique coloring and fun hair,” she said. “As a kid, those things seemed very important.” Little did Emilie know how much this early decision would shape her life.
Emilie began taking lessons at a local barn, and she continued to read as much as possible. “I remember loving any story about horses succeeding in non-traditional jobs, like a mustang doing dressage,” she said. “My 14-year-old self decided that my life’s passion was to wear a fancy shadbelly and compete in the Grand Prix.”
At the barn, Emilie watched her instructor train a Fjord to be a vaulting horse. “I told her that Fjords and Haflingers were my favorite breeds, and she told me Haflingers were better for dressage,” Emilie said. “Right then and there, I decided I would be the first rider to compete in a Grand Prix on a Haflinger.”
Unfortunately, someone achieved this “first” on a wonderful horse named Star Wars before Emilie could level up. “I actually got to meet him when he was in Washington at a horse show,” she said. “He was doing Second Level at the time, and I followed his progress for years.”
A Heart for Haflingers
When Emilie was searching for colleges, she visited Lexington, Kentucky, in the hopes of immersing herself in horse country. “I actually searched for a Haflinger farm in Lexington to visit while we were there,” she said. “That’s how obsessed I was!”
Emilie toured the farm and began college at Midway, but she never forgot about that special day. She had finally met a real-life Haflinger, but her dreams finally came true when she got to ride one during a college IHSA show. “I volunteered to help warm up horses for the Midway team at shows,” she said. “I wasn’t on the hunt team, but I loved any opportunity to ride. Stylemaster was on loan for the show and we flatted around doing leg yields. It was a magical moment.”
After graduation, Emilie had planned to move back home to Washington. But when the time came, she decided to contact the Haflinger farm she had toured years earlier to ask about a job. To Emilie’s surprise, the owner remembered her and suggested she come for an interview. “I will never forget that day. My friend offered to lend me her car if I dropped her at the Kentucky Horse Park first,” Emilie said. “The security team was testing a new traffic pattern that day. I literally sat at a standstill for three hours, contemplating an off-roading situation and begging the horse crossing guards to let me pass.”
Despite arriving three hours late, Emilie’s interview at Deer Haven Farm went well and she was offered a training position. “I was so embarrassed and anxiety-ridden when I finally arrived,” she said. “I also doubted my qualifications, but I was a quick learner. My new boss, Rachel King, really believed in me.”
Emilie worked at Deer Haven Farm for five years. In addition to teaching and barn management, she had the opportunity to help with promotional events at Equine Affair and the World Equestrian Games. “I would have stayed forever, but sadly, Rachel passed away from a rare form of cancer in 2013,” she said.
Rachel also worked in real estate, but the market wasn’t doing well, and she had no choice but to sell the farm. “Her partner wasn’t a ‘horse person,’ so I took on the role of managing it all, meeting with anyone who inquired about purchasing her horses, tack or supplies,” Emilie said.
A year before she passed away, Rachel suggested that if there was a horse Emilie wanted to keep, that she should tell her now. “I had my eyes on a gelding named Abercrombie,” Emilie said. “Despite my efforts to sell him, he never found a buyer—even though he was perfect.” That Christmas, Rachel told Emilie that Abercrombie, lovingly known as Crumble, was hers to keep. “Technically, I bought him for four quarters,” she said. “I remember Rachel gave me a bottle of bourbon to celebrate!”
Lost and Found
The loss of her mentor, Rachel, along with her dream job left a void in Emilie’s life. Luckily, she had gained a forever friend in Abercrombie. With her heart horse in hand, Emilie decided to move to Wisconsin. “There is a big Haflinger community up there, and I wanted to feel part of something again,” she said. Emilie and Crumble made the journey from Kentucky to begin their next chapter together.
Six months later, Emilie was settled into her new life in Wisconsin when she got a call from her friend and former roommate Annie O’Brion about a job opportunity with dressage professional Ruth Hogan-Poulsen. Emilie first met Ruth back in Lexington while Annie was working for her as a part-time groom. “Annie had a full-time job on top of her grooming position, so sometimes she would have me ‘pinch hit’ for her,” she said.
Annie was working for Ruth in Wellington, Florida, for the winter circuit. “Annie would call me and say how much fun she was having,” Emilie said. “One day she called to say, ‘This is definitely more for you than me,’ and suggested I take over her role,” Emilie said. “I was so tempted, but couldn’t fathom moving again.”
Despite laying down roots in Wisconsin, her new friends convinced her not to pass up the opportunity. “It felt like an impossible dream, but I sold one of my horses and drove down to Florida,” she said. “I decided to ship Crumble down to be with me and competed at my first Global Dressage Festival.” After that first winter in 2014 as a working student, Ruth asked me to consider going home with her team to Vermont in the spring. “Eventually I said yes and spent the next several years in Vermont with Crumble.”
Emilie relocated to East Hill Farm in Vermont, where Ruth’s business operated the other half of the year. “It’s certainly not traditional to become a working student at 26, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it!” Emilie said. “I had learned more during those first six months in Florida than I had in my whole life.”
Last October 2024 marked her 11-year work anniversary. “Finally, it felt like I was doing everything I wanted to do,” she said. “I had my Haflinger and was immersed in the dressage world full time.”
Crumble Gets a New Job, Too
As Emilie honed her skills, she put Crumble to task as a lesson horse back home. “I wasn’t in a position to show him consistently, and he needed to earn his keep,” she said. “Crumble became the quintessential lesson horse: He was a barn favorite among the clients and trainers, and he truly loved his job.”
In 2017, Emilie had the opportunity to travel to Kentucky for the National Dressage Pony Cup, an event she showed at when she was with Deer Haven. “Rachel left a huge mark on the equestrian community in Lexington, and her peers established a memorial award in her name,” she said. “I decided to take Crumble with the goal of getting our names on the trophy.”
Rachel’s friends and fellow equestrians came out to support Emilie at the competition. “I’m so grateful that people recognized this was my dream and offered support in different, meaningful ways. Ruth took time off to travel with me to Kentucky, and a former client of Rachel’s helped with my expenses,” Emilie said. “We were the highest scoring Haflinger.”
Emilie quickly learned that winters in Vermont were not for the faint of heart. “I stayed on Ruth’s home team for three years,” she said. “I could write a book on winter essentials for staying warm in an indoor arena, but I was still thawing out in the tack room every 30 minutes. My brain had always preferred the cold, but my body did not!”
By 2018, Emilie was ready to trade Vermont winters for palm trees and sunshine in Florida. “In Vermont, I was on the barn staff and taught lessons, but in Florida I would return to my working student position with Ruth,” Emilie said.
That winter, she decided to leave Crumble at home so he could earn money towards his expenses. “I learned so much in Florida while working and riding for Ruth,” she said. “During the summer months, I looked forward to applying what I had learned in my lessons with Ruth on Crumble. Together, we got our first silver score at Fourth Level, and earned our Bronze medal.”
Destined for Great Things
After her first ride back in 2024, Emilie decided she couldn’t leave Crumble at home again and rode him exclusively all summer for the first time in six years. “I became Ruth’s assistant in 2020, and I was ready to begin riding at a higher level,” Emilie said. “Getting to Fourth Level is a huge deal for any horse, especially a breed that isn’t typically bred for dressage.” Emilie was finally able to compete in a Prix St. Georges (PSG) class at their homeschooling show. “We were past the first hurdle, and getting closer to our goal,” she said.
It was the last week of winter circuit, and Emilie saw an opportunity to compete in her first PSG at a recognized show. “My goal was to improve upon our earlier scores, and make different mistakes,” she said. “Crumble has many solid skills, but we haven’t mastered them all by any means. Ruth helped me identify where we could maximize our scores to hopefully balance out areas where we could only do our best.”
It worked—Emilie and Crumble scored a 62.5% to achieve their goal. “We improved in so many areas, especially our flying changes,” she said. “They had always been challenging because when Crumble was first learning changes, I was also learning how to teach a horse flying changes.” Over time, Emilie got to ride more educated horses and received closer instruction as Ruth’s assistant, all of which accelerated her progress. “I am still on a high,” she said.
Ruth remembers meeting Emilie more than a decade ago when she needed an extra set of hands at the U.S. Dressage Nationals. “To return the favor, I gave her a lesson on Abercrombie,” Ruth said. “Since then, she has grown into a loyal leader; she is always kind, caring and lots of fun. I’m proud of her journey and can’t think of a better right-hand woman!”
Passion Projects
When she’s not working, Emilie finds time to indulge her creative side. “I designed three coloring books, and just finished my first picture book, titled ‘From Pasture to Piaffe,’” she said. “It’s about Crumble being a little Haflinger in the field and wanting to go to a horse show. It took me several years to complete, but I wanted to finish it for his 17th birthday.”
Emilie’s Corgi, Theo, is also a muse for her illustrations. “He is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi; they always have tails,” she said. “I picked Corgis as my favorite dog breed back when I decided on Haflingers!” Theo stars in a coloring book, titled “Knights of Corgilot—Royalty, Revelry, and Ridiculously Cute Corgis.”
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, Emilie also helped refurbish a 1983 Airstream she purchased from a couple in Florida. “Florida is so expensive, and I didn’t see myself owning a home there in the immediate future,” she said. “I also hate packing. This way, I just have to tidy up a bit, secure the breakables and I can take my house with me.”
Ruth’s husband, Bo Poulsen, helped Emilie to strip down the interior, add flooring and apply a fresh coat of paint. “We built a ‘hole’ under my bed for storage, but Theo uses it as his hiding spot,” Emilie said. “The airstream is only 200 square feet, but I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I love it so much.”
Emilie has committed to be a lifelong champion of the Haflinger breed, and vows to promote their abilities in the show ring through her work with Crumble. “I never saw a breed as a disability,” she said. “Haflingers are very smart and have a lot of heart. This is what allows them to accomplish a lot more than people might think they’re capable of doing.”
For more information about Emilie, or to purchase her books, visit becausepony.com
Photos by Sara Farrell, www.threeredheadsandamoose.com
