Ladies Godiva Riding Group

The Ladies Godiva honor our late co-founder Lady Ellen...mother, wife, surgeon, horsewoman, lover of life, BADASS!!! She is missed beyond words. 💜💚💛🐎

In 2002, Ellen met her heart horse, Sugar Jack, a tiny, chestnut Morgan gelding that fit her wild and free nature. The two could be seen in the evenings galloping full speed down the Mississippi River levee with Jack’s mane flying and Ellen flat against his neck!

Ellen paved the way for the fruition of Allison Barca’s dream of a LADIES GODIVA parade group when she witnessed a female scuba diver in a n**e-colored wetsuit appear completely naked from afar! Within a year, five airbrushed wetsuits paraded with the Krewe of Muses on medieval costumed horses for the first time!

Ellen was a beloved OBGYN to so many women and the tales of her prowess in delivering stubborn babies in impossible scenarios is legendary. She was small but mighty, charging through the halls of Ochsner Hospital and practicing medicine and surgery HER way, with patient care of primary importance!

She married her late husband David and the two purchased a tract of land in Poplarville, MS where they hunted deer and boar regularly. Ellen once shot dinner, a turkey tom, right from her kitchen window! Another night, she shot a dangerous boar that was approaching her in the dark while she was smoking a cigar and admiring the night sky alone on the farm.

She approached LADIES GODIVA with the same excitement and exuberance as she did everything else in her life and eagerly shopped for signature throws for the group each year. She breathed energy and giddiness into preparations for our big night every single year.

Jeff Goad Kurt Owens

Honoring Lady Liz who is not parading this year but holds a special place in the hearts of the Ladies Godiva! Look for her in the quarter these days still seeing the streets of NOLA between the ears. 💜💚💛🐎

"I have ALWAYS loved all equines, and got my first horse for my 13th birthday. While I’ve never had any formal riding instruction, my horse, Toby, and I were fearless as we rode all over Harahan and the Mississippi River levee – sometimes even swimming together in the river batture. And as I watched mounted horse units in Carnival parades over the years, I always thought, “One day I’m going to ride a horse in a parade.” When I saw the Ladies Godiva in Muses their first year I knew - I HAVE to do that!

As school, work, and family took most of my time and money, I was without a horse from 17 years old until I got Bandit for my 55th birthday. But once I got him, I immediately resumed my interest in riding with the Lady Godiva group. It helped that Ellen Kruger, one of the founding members, kept her horse at the same place I boarded mine. In 2019 I fulfilled my lifelong dream of riding my own horse in a Carnival parade, and it was even more incredible than I imagined - because I got to do it ‘naked’ as a Lady Godiva! It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.

Having ridden on a float in Orpheus a couple of times in the years before, I knew the exhilaration of viewing the parade as a participant rather than spectator. But to ride a horse, and be able to see the revelers on both sides of the streets as the parade was passing, was just… indescribable. It made my heart VERY happy!

Sadly, Bandit and I only rode with Lady Godiva one time. He and I still enjoy more leisurely rides along the levee, with an occasional ride through Audubon Park. But he’s 26 now, and I’m… much older.

I still get plenty of equine exposure, though. After retiring from 35 years of corporate travel management, I began working with Royal Carriages doing mule-drawn carriage tours in the French Quarter. If I thought seeing a Carnival parade “between the ears” was a thrilling perspective, seeing the Quarter that way has been truly unbelievable. My love for horses, donkeys, and mules has been fully requited at work and play! Laissez le bon temps rouler!"



Jeff Goad Kurt Owens

Presenting the lovely Lady Kim who will not be riding this year but was a member for several years with her divine horse Carousel Dreams 💜💚💛🐎

"I have been in love with the beauty of horses for as long as I can remember. Every chance I got to interact with horses, I took pony rides and carriage rides, and I never missed an opportunity to pet them if I saw them on the street. On the weekends, my family would visit my godparents at their farm in Hammond, and I would ride Ginger, an ornery little Shetland pony with a bad attitude. She was always appalled that she was being asked to work when I showed up, but I loved her anyway. She knew that when I arrived, she would get lots of carrots and apples.

I boarded my horse, Carousel Dreams, at Denny’s Stables with Dr. Allison Barca for years. When she and Ellen Kruger formed Lady’s Godiva, I was one of the original Godivas to sign up to ride naked through the streets. Our maiden ride was exciting from the start—putting together costumes not only for ourselves, but for our horses as well, down to the decorated horseshoes. My first ride was exhilarating as I watched people’s expressions when they realized we were “naked,” riding through the streets of New Orleans. I had a blast that first year. Each year, as the group evolved, the costumes and throws became better and more elaborate, leading to what it is today. My friendship with some of the ladies of The Lady Godivas—especially Dr. Allison Barca and Dr. Daphne Glindmeyer—has lasted more than 20 years.

I’ve had two horses, and my heart horse was Carousel Dreams, aka CD. He was bred at Angola State Penitentiary as part of their breeding program and later joined the Sheriff’s Department Mounted Division before enjoying an early retirement. For twenty-three years, we rode to City Park, down St. Charles Avenue, along the levee, along the Lakefront, through Audubon Park, and on the Abita Trace. We went glamping in Brushy Creek, attended dressage clinics, and rode everywhere else I wanted to go. With all those miles under saddle, I felt completely comfortable riding him in the parade. When we rode, he didn’t necessarily want to be in charge, but he always wanted to know who was—just in case some s**t went down! LOL. As my trusty steed in the Muses Parade, he was beautiful, and he knew it.

Thank you, CD, for an incredible four-year run with The Lady Godivas."

Jeff Goad Kurt Owens