‘She believed she could, so she did’: farewell to saddle fitter and former tack shop owner
Obituary
Jenny Godwin, the saddle-fitter and former equestrian tack shop owner died from cancer, aged 51.
Jenny grew up on a farm near Bristol and developed a love of horses from a young age. When she left school aged 16 she started working as a machinist for Marks & Spencer, and later moved to Cameron Balloons where she was involved in making hot air balloons.
In 1993 Jenny started making her own rugs and saddlecloths, but when she realised it was cheaper to buy them she discovered Snowhill Saddlery in Dorset. She regularly travelled there to collect stock and sold this at equestrian table top sales, before later asking the owner of Jarretts Garden Centre in Willsbridge, Gloucestershire, if she could rent some space. This was the start of Jenny’s Tack Shop.
The shop was a great success; the business grew and she rented a unit where she employed 14 staff members, including her three sisters. Following the economic downturn in 2008, Jenny downsized her business and undertook a saddle-fitting course. She became a Society of Master Saddlers qualified saddle-fitter and formed JTS Saddlery.
Jenny was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and had major surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. She went into remission in 2016 and continued to build her business, but the cancer returned in 2019, and again in 2021.
“Jen always remained positive, even when she was unwell she would still be online ordering stock and completing Zoom courses on equine anatomy. She still had a positive outlook,” said her family, who also described Jenny as a competent rider, who was “naturally in tune” with her beloved gelding Mr Grey.
“She had the attitude through life that she believed she could, so she did.”
On 3 September Shelley Ford, who worked at Jenny’s Tack Shop organised a show in Bristol as a tribute to Jenny, and the proceeds were donated to equine welfare charity HorseWorld and equine therapy charity The Avon Centre.
Jenny is survived by her husband Pete, son Mitch and daughter Charli.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.