WIHS Leaderboard Spotlight: Children’s Jumper  

Eloise is 14 years old. She is from Malibu, California. She rides at Back Country Farm with Jill Shulman, Sydney Desiderio, and Gabby Hero. Eloise rides 3-4 days a week and has been riding since she was 9 years old. She and her horse that she’s had for about a year now, Stan, will be competing at WIHS for the first time this year!

What would you say your biggest weakness is and what do you do to improve it? 

My biggest weakness is that sometimes when I’m doing good, especially at the ends of courses or places my trainers tell me “is not the spot to win the class,” I get excited, carried away, and I will mess up. I have improved this a lot over the year by staying patient and re-grouping at the end of the course. Also having more and more ring time has helped me improve.

What major highlight or accomplishment in your riding career are you most proud of? 
I think one of my biggest accomplishments has have been how much I have improved in the last year. I was barely jumping .80s on ponies and I was terrified. Now, I’ve been able to move up and improve so much. One of my favorite highlights was showing at Devon. It was so fun and I’m so happy with how I did there.

Do you have a routine you do before every competition to get mentally/physically ready? 

I don’t really have a routine before showing, but I make sure that I know all my courses and that I’m ready at the ring when it’s time to show. Sometimes if I’m not ready and have to rush, it can get stressful.

Have you shown at WIHS before?

I haven’t gotten to show at WIHS yet. I’m so grateful and excited to be able to go this year with some of my horses and can’t wait to make so many great memories!

What is your favorite thing about WIHS and how does it set it apart from other shows? 

My favorite thing about WIHS is that we get to show in such a cool environment and just the feeling of being able to show there feels so much different than other shows. I think it feels so special because all the hard work and effort you have put in to qualify and that only the top riders in each division are let in, which is so cool.

Do you play any other sports? What would you do if not riding?

I used to do competitive gymnastics and soccer but as I got better at riding, I decided to stop because it was hard to travel all around to shows and also for those sports each week. If I didn’t ride, I would still be playing those sports.

Written By: Kate Howlin, WIHS Intern