By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
“A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future,” states an inspirational quote by Bruce Barton. Looking back on her childhood, some of Liz Tarumianz’s happiest memories took place in a barn or at a horse show. So it was only natural that when Liz found out she was expecting a girl, she wanted to give her daughter, Ella, the same experience.
Fast forward 15 years and Ella has fully embraced the horse-girl lifestyle Liz hoped to give her. Ella won the 2023 WIHS Pony Equitation Finals, was Grand Pony Champion at the 2022 Pennsylvania National Horse Show and 2022 USEF National Horse of the Year in the Small Ponies.
Liz credits her aunt, Ginny Howard, with infusing the passion for horses into their family. “I swear by the adage that the love for horses is in your blood. She was heavily involved in the racehorse industry, was the only one in the family who rode as a kid and she shared her love of horses with my older sisters. By the time I came around, although Aunt Ginny had moved to Kentucky, my sisters were riding and as soon as I experienced it, I was hooked too,” Liz said.
At 8 years old, Liz got her first pony. “I actually bought it from Amanda Lyerly, who grew up across the street from me and is still a dear friend. We bought the pony before I really knew how to ride,” Liz said. “The horse bug just bit me and I never went back!”
Intent on having the bug bite Ella at an early age too, Liz introduced Ella to riding at age 1. “I put her on my friend Lane’s pony named Louette,” Liz said.
Since that introduction to ponies as a toddler, Ella has happily joined in barn trips. “Mom always took me to the barn when I was younger. I’ve always loved just being around horses,” Ella said. “By the time I was 6 years old, I was showing a pony that we leased.”
Horse-Girl Experience
Kacy Brown Photography
Florida Equestrian Photographer
Liz believes there are many benefits associated with being a horse girl. Most importantly, by raising Ella in a barn she’s been able
to limit her exposure to some of the less savory aspects of modern teenage life. “Quite frankly, I think horses keep these girls out of trouble, away from boys longer and away from some really stressful social situations, especially in the age of social media and TikTok. That’s proven to be correct. When I look around at her non-horsey peers, they are definitely doing some things on the weekend that thankfully Ella isn’t able to, because she has to be on her horse at 6 a.m. to hack,” Liz said. “Being a horse girl keeps her younger for a little bit longer, which I really love.”
While Ella bonds with her fellow horse-show friends, Liz is hopeful that the bonds formed now will turn into lifelong friendships for Ella. “I look at my friends and some of my very closest friends, who were my bridesmaids and godmothers to my children, they’re horse girls. It’s really important to me that Ella develops and cherishes relationships like this through her life too,” Liz said. “Having these lifelong friendships has been so meaningful to me.”
Liza Boyd is one of Liz’s childhood riding friends she’s still close to today. “We knew each other very well because we showed against each other most weekends growing up—unfortunately for me, because she was so darn good,” Liz said.
Today the next generation has a similar friendship as Ella and Liza’s daughter, Elle, have been buddies in the sport from their earliest pony days. “I will never forget their first walk-trot class. Ella and Elle were the only competitors, and we couldn’t get them to separate. We were screaming separate your ponies, but they just wouldn’t,” Liz chuckled. “They have such a dear friendship. I really foresee those two girls being lifelong friends.”
“It has been fun growing up on the show circuit with Elle, especially since our moms have been friends for a long time, too,” Ella said.
In addition to creating everlasting bonds, riding is great for helping impart life skills like responsibility and even business sense to young riders, Liz believes. “Ella will take it upon herself to clean up our farm without any encouragement, because she knows a dirty barn frustrates me. Likewise, while bonding with animals is so important, Ella has learned that this is real life and we have to sell her ponies and horses,” Liz said. “I think this sport is so unique in teaching our kids about responsibility and exposing them to real-world situations.”
Team Tarumianz
On any given weekend, you can find Ella bouncing from the hunter to jumper to equitation rings, likely with Liz shuttling her in a golf cart. Since moving to Shadow Ridge Farm to work with Sam Schaefer and Kate Conover a few years ago, Ella has moved from the small ponies to the 3’6” Juniors and equitation rings, and has begun doing the jumpers under their tutelage.
Ella currently shows her horse Remedy in the 3’6” Small Junior Hunters, Nicarmargue in the 1.10/1.15m Children’s Jumpers and Liz’s horse, Conlaro, in the 3’/3’3” equitation classes. “I’m very new to the jumper ring and my jumper is super experienced. He’s been there and done that, so having him as my perfect partner has been a lot of fun,” Ella said.
Ella is also still in the pony ring, as she has a few catch rides and has been showing Shadow Ridge’s pony Hey Scooby. The duo won the Large Pony Hunter Championship at the 2024 Devon Horse Show. In addition to the tricolor with Hey Scooby, Ella also won the Pony Hunter Sportsmanship Award.
While Liz has been successful in the Adults and Amateur Owners for years, last year she decided to add another member, Conlaro, to the Tarumianz family. “I don’t think many people would do this, but I had a lesson on him and then bought an 18-year-old horse on a whim. We were champions our first show out at Aiken Charity and kept it up at Upperville, Blowing Rock and Harrisburg,” Liz said. “Since I’ve been at Shadow Ridge, I feel like my riding is going to the next level. It’s been fun to win at these bigger shows, when that never really was part of my plan.”
Although Liz had a fantastic 2023 with Conlaro and her Amateur horse, One Request, she’s decided to scale back her showing a bit moving forward. With both Liz and Ella busy during indoors 2023, Liz ended up spending only four nights at home in October. Although she was there for Ella, Liz missed the majority of parents’ weekend at boarding school for her son, Edwards. “It was devastating to me that my show schedule made it so I missed his big rivalry football game and other events that weekend. It was a really hard pill to swallow and I’ve vowed not to ever let that happen again,” Liz said.
Liz’s time in the show ring may be taking a back seat to Ella’s but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I absolutely love watching her compete, watching her learn and seeing the delight in her eyes when something seems to click. I love what she’s learning from Sam, Kate and Haleigh, that what you put in is what you get out,” Liz said.
Watching Ella’s transformation from a more nervous rider to a competitor with nerves of steel has made all the time and energy the family has invested in the sport worth it. More importantly, all the time together has further strengthened the bond between mom and daughter. “My mom is always there to remind me about the little things I forget, give me advice and share her horses. We’re able to talk about my mistakes and she helps me think about how I can be a better rider,” Ella said. “She also has experience going to some of the bigger shows that I get nervous about, so she’s able to help me through that.”
Finding Normalcy
Unlike many of her peers on the circuit, Ella attends brick-and-mortar Charlotte Latin School, a competitive private school. Not only does Ella attend “real school,” she’s also on the school’s field hockey team. Each day after school during the fall, Ella can be found practicing field hockey with her teammates.
With a busy academic and competition schedule, Ella admits it can be hard at times to juggle everything and just be a teenager. “I take advantage of the school days and weekends I’m home to hang out with my Charlotte friends as much as possible. I also work hard to plan ahead and do all the schoolwork I can while I’m away and meet with my teachers when I get back from horse shows,” Ella said.
Living in North Carolina and training with a Maryland-based trainer adds another element for Ella to juggle. Thankfully, the Tarumianz family owns Deer Creek Farm, which is home to several of Liz’s horses, so Ella is able to get saddle time between shows.
“My husband, Jeff, is very much a city boy, so we live in a historic neighborhood amongst our friends in Charlotte and then the farm is half an hour away from home, but it’s very close to Ella’s school. That’s how I chose the location: It’s sort of close to home, but has enough acreage for the horses to live their happiest lives,” Liz said. “Thankfully we are good commuters.”
Although Liz has leased out Deer Creek for the past three years, as they’ve acquired more horses and Ella is getting more and more serious about the sport, they’ve decided to shift the focus at Deer Creek and make it a bit more for Ella and Liz. “Having the farm at home really helps make it work when our trainers are based out of Maryland,” Liz said.
When home, Liz, like Ella, is active in the local community. “We have a very full social life and a group of dear friends who are so understanding about this crazy sport that takes us away so often,” Liz said. “It’s also important to me to give back in our community. I sit on the boards of some local nonprofits and volunteer at Ella’s school.”
Family Adventures
Although Ella and Liz are often on the road traveling for horse shows, they never turn down the opportunity to go on an adventure as a family. With a husband who loves to golf and a son who loves to fish—and was in multiple magazines for his once-in-a-lifetime catch of a white catfish—Liz usually finds herself with her family in tropical locations. “We love to go somewhere with beautiful blue water, we’ll go out on a boat and enjoy time at the beach. It’s important to pick a place where everyone has something fun to do,” Liz said.
“We try to go on a lot of family vacations, which is really fun and it’s special because it’s a lot different traveling for vacation compared to traveling for a horse show,” Ella said.
The Tarumianz family is trying to emphasize the importance of giving back to the kids. “Recently we did a mission trip to Puerto Rico as a family, where we did a few days of service and then a few days of relaxation and fun. Going forward, I’d like to focus more and more on giving back to others,” Liz said. “Over the past couple of years, I’ve really wanted to expose my children to giving back, because we’ve been fortunate in so many ways.”
As Liz looks toward the future, she’s already planning her next step in the sport. “I’d love to be able to help other young riders achieve their goals in some sort of philanthropic way that makes sense,” she said.
For now, Liz will continue to support her number-one young rider—Ella. “During my last Junior years, I hope to go to the big equitation finals and keep moving up in the jumpers. I also have my sights set on joining an NCAA riding team when the time comes for me to go to college,” Ella said.
One thing is for sure: Wherever the show circuit takes them, Ella and Liz are enjoying every moment. “It’s so meaningful to do this sport with Ella. It’s brought us a million percent closer,” Liz said. “We both get even more out of the equestrian experience because we’re doing it together.”
For more information, visit deercreekfarmllc.com
Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com
