By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
A diehard “My Little Pony” fan, Eva Paliouras was obsessed with horses as a child. Eva relentlessly begged her parents to take her to a riding lesson, without any success. After her parents said no, Eva found a secret weapon—her grandma.
“A few weeks after I started begging my parents for lessons, they went on a trip and my grandma secretly took me to lessons. I haven’t left the saddle since,” Eva said. “Now as I’ve grown in the sport, my parents have learned to love it and always support me.”
Born and raised in Peru until she was 13 years old, Eva had a mixture of emotions when her horse journey began. “I loved horses so much, but as a little girl I was very scared, so I always had very conflicting feelings about them. The first time I jumped a jump, as I cantered towards it, I was crying. Even though I really wanted to jump, I was so scared about what might happen,” Eva said. “Every time I think back on that, I can’t help but laugh and think of how far I’ve come.”
Eva started competing in the mini jumpers when she was 10 years old. “The horse world in Peru is nothing compared to Wellington. In Peru, we only had jumpers. I bought my first horse, Voici, while living there and went to my first few shows,” she said.
Making Moves
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eva’s family moved to Miami, Florida. From there Eva would commute to Wellington three times a week to ride. “I wasn’t riding much, but at that point I wasn’t extremely serious about it,” she said.
That all changed when Eva’s family moved to Wellington in 2021. “Horses weren’t really a big part of my life until we moved to Wellington. I didn’t have the advantage of being basically born in the saddle, but now horses are definitely the most important and biggest part of my life,” Eva said. “I don’t know what I’d do without my horses; they’re my lifeline.”
WEF 2021 was the start of Eva realizing that she wanted to put a focus on competing. Starting in the puddle jumpers at WEF, her trainer also had her spend time in the hunter ring. “I definitely learned a few things in the hunters, but my heart has always been in the jumper ring. I love the adrenaline; there’s nothing like feeling the rush after a fast and clear jump-off. I get goosebumps when watching big Grand Prix jump-offs, because I can imagine how amazing it feels,” she said.
Two years after moving to Wellington, Eva began working with David Blake and Amanda Derbyshire, with her end goal of riding professionally. “David and Amanda are extremely talented riders and two of the hardest-working people I know,” Eva said. “They’ve taught me so much about discipline, horsemanship and technique, and, most importantly, to never give up. Each day I walk into the barn I learn more. With their help, I’ve already reached goals that I thought would just stay dreams. I’m immensely grateful for their help and can’t think of a better place for me and my horses to keep going.”
Eva recently moved up to the 1.40-1.45m High Juniors with Keoki while still competing in the 1.30-1.35m medium jumpers with her other horses, Le Belle Dame Z, or Lala, and Dacota, aka Falcon. “Lala is a little grey mare with all the hops and speed in the world. She looks just like a little bunny hopping around the ring, but she’s all business. Falcon always gives me his all in the show ring and always brings a smile to my face. He helped me jump my first 1.30 classes and always gives me confidence,” she said.
Fayuri is Eva’s latest addition to the team, a Grand Prix horse meant for the highs and attempting to qualify for the Bolivarian and even Pan Am Games. “A fiery personality in the show ring, he’s the complete opposite in the barn and has a puppy dog personality. I’m so excited for what the future holds with him,” Eva said.
Each horse in Eva’s life has helped her build her equestrian resume. “Top moments in the sport for me so far have been placing second in the 1.30m Junior Jumpers at the Hampton Classic with Lala, winning my first 1.35m classic at the Traverse City Horse Shows with Falcon and going clear in my first 1.40m class with Keoki,” she said. “It was also a surreal experience when I showed on the beach at the Longines Global in Miami.”
Eva credits Don’t Touch Du Bois, her first real jumper, with truly lighting the fire within her to stay committed to the sport. “There were so many times with her when I almost gave up, but each time we came out stronger. She made me grow as a rider and taught me how to persevere. I’m so grateful for her,” Eva said. “I have so many memories winning Low Junior classes with her.”
Another important member of Eva’s team is mental skills coach Nancy Dye. Eva began working with Nancy in 2023 and sees a huge difference in her mental game. “I used to get really upset about even the smallest of mistakes and couldn’t move on from them, in addition to having a lot of anxiety before showing. While I’m still a bit of a perfectionist, I’ve learned to see the benefits of that, which means I’m always striving to be better and I can be happy with my riding in the present moment,” she said. “Nancy has totally changed my mindset and taught me how to be mentally stronger.”
Bonnets of Hope
Eva grew up helping her mom with Knitting Hope, a non-profit organization that seeks to help people in rural areas of Peru. Inspired by the mission of empowering Peruvian women to use their skills to make knitted products and become self-sustained, Eva created Bonnets of Hope by Eva, which is part of the larger Knitting Hope organization, in 2021 when she was 13 years old.
“Since my mom was involved with Knitting Hope, I’ve known the knitters involved for a long time. I think it’s so important to give back and empower women, so I came up with the idea of teaching the women in the Andes of Peru to make horse bonnets. I learned how to knit and sew and made the first prototype,” Eva said.
For the next several years, the women of Peru created custom bonnets for the equestrian community. “We realized that logistics-wise, we needed to figure out something better for them to produce. So, we shifted towards bags and pouches, which the knitters are more familiar with making. I made a few horse-related designs to keep the products tied to the equestrian world,” Eva said. “I genuinely care for the women in the workshop, so I pivoted to figure out a way for them to keep this going.”
At WEF 2025, Anne Caroline Valtin, executive director of the Great Charity Challenge, invited Eva to attend the 16th Annual Great Charity Challenge to introduce her Bonnets of Hope to the greater equestrian community and provide gift items to the teams competing at the event. “That event helped me and Bonnets of Hope get the most exposure we’ve ever had. I was able to tell other riders the story behind Bonnets of Hope, which is so dear to me,” Eva said. “I can’t wait to keep growing Bonnets of Hope and hopefully keep working with the Great Charity Challenge in the future.”
Running a charity as both an equestrian and student takes a lot of planning and juggling Eva’s schedule around to devote time to all her endeavors. “It’s absolutely not easy and I take my hat off to all my fellow high schoolers who are full-time equestrians. I’m so grateful that here in Wellington, there are so many different and unique schooling opportunities to help riders. I go to Score Academy, which allows me to have a flexible schedule, so I usually ride in the mornings and go to school in the afternoons,” Eva said.
Eva’s also able to attend online school when she needs to travel for horse shows or Bonnets of Hope. “My school fully supports my charitable work and makes it so I can travel to Peru, when needed, to meet with everyone involved. I’m also lucky that thanks to modern technology, I can have Zoom meetings with my team in Peru to work out designs and logistics from afar,” Eva said.
While helping others through Bonnets of Hope, Eva is learning important life skills. “Being an entrepreneur has taught me to prioritize things and trust that anything is possible. Being innovative and persevering has helped me not only with Bonnets of Hope, but it’s carried on into the show ring,” she said.
Looking Ahead
A junior in high school, Eva is busy mapping out the next phase of her life and applying to colleges. “Going to college is going to be a big change in my life, but I intend to keep riding. I’m not planning on being on a college equestrian team because I want to focus on my jumper career,” she said. “I want to keep riding and showing as much as I can while balancing a regular college life. It’s a scary but exciting new step.”
After completing her education, Eva is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Amanda and David and apply everything she learns in college to her own equestrian business. “My dream is to pursue horses full time after college. I look up to my trainers as an example of what I want to do—producing horses and competing at the highest level,” she said.
Eva is currently short-listed to compete for Peru at the Bolivarian Games, which are the start of the Olympic qualifying cycle for South America, this November. A Peruvian citizen, Eva represents Peru for FEI events.
“If I make it to the team, this would be my first-ever championship. I never had the chance to compete in any of the junior championships, so I’d be going straight into my first senior championship. This year, the Bolivarian Games are held in my hometown of Lima, Peru. To jump in front of my family and friends would be a dream,” Eva said.
Eva’s appreciative to her family for helping her achieve her dreams and opening doors she never thought were possible. “My parents moved their whole lives to Wellington and have been my biggest supporters through all the ups and downs of the sport. I owe everything to them,” she said. “I can never thank them enough for everything they have done for me.”
For more information, visit bonnetsofhope.com and follow Eva on Instagram @evapaliouras_
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
