Julie Goodnight is a horse trainer and clinician. Goodnight grew up on a horse farm in Orlando, Florida, where she learned to ride. She claims her father was influential because he encouraged her to ride and show. Goodnight competed in hunter/jumper shows. She later attended college in New Mexico and graduated in 1984. While she was in college, she worked at a racetrack. In New Mexico, she learned Western riding. Goodnight began organizing trail rides through the Rocky Mountains. She decided to go into horses as her profession, and to teach people to effectively work with their horses. Goodnight has a Master Instructor and Clinician ranking through the . Equine Affair named her an Exceptional Equestrian Educator in 2008. She is the official spokesperson for the CHA. She has been in equine-focused magazines including Horse & Rider and The Trail Rider.
Clinician
Julie Goodnight is a multidisciplinary rider and clinician, with experience in dressage, jumping, racing, reining, colt-starting, cutting, and wilderness riding. She teaches other riders through her Clinic Tour and through her television show Horse Master With Julie Goodnight. In one TV episode, Goodnight works with one horse and rider, analyzing their relationship, trains the horse, educates and retrains the rider and then follows-up on later progress. Goodnight's Horse Master episodes are available online to paying members at . She also does clinics at expos and has many DVDs for horse training and riding. Goodnight travelsthe world teaching natural horsemanship, emphasizing doing what is best for the horse, and also the rider's safety. She claims to believe to teach people the importance of lifelong learning.
Influences
Julie Goodnight's father made sure she could show horses when she was growing up. While she showed hunters and jumpers, she had local trainers help prepare. She also observed the horses' behavior at her father's farm. She was also influenced by ex-Cavalry instructors who were multidisciplinary riders.
