By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Walking into the show ring, a typical last bit of advice from a trainers is, “Good luck; have fun.” Junior rider Eleese Shillingford is taking that advice to heart as she completes her last Junior year in the Big Equitation classes and Junior hunters.
“I’m lucky enough to say that I’ve not only accomplished my dreams as a Junior rider, but I did more than I ever could have imagined. So, when approaching my last Junior year, my main goal is having fun and enjoying every last moment with my horses and barn family before leaving for college in the fall,” Eleese said.
Influenced by the older horse-loving girls in her life, including her older sister, Clare, and next-door neighbor and babysitter, Shannon, Eleese caught the “horse bug” early on. “When I was 6, I begged my parents to sign me up for riding lessons at Shannon’s local hunter barn,” Eleese said. “It didn’t take long until I found my passion.”
Known as the “Canter Kid” growing up, Eleese would happily canter her pony around the ring and ride for hours with a smile plastered on her face. Eleese could be seen cantering around local shows with the same enthusiasm. Within a year of hitting the local circuit, Eleese began her A-circuit career.
Over the next seven years, Eleese went from competing in walk-trot classes to the 3’6” Junior Hunters. As she traveled around the Southeast from show to show, a rider caught her eye. “I had seen Michael Britt-Leon of Windsor Stables compete at Brownland Farms and compete in the International Hunter Derby in Aiken on Eleventh Hour. His style and personality caught my eye,” she said.
Dream Chaser
With an interest in progressing further in the equitation world, Eleese decided she wanted to make the move to Windsor Stables in 2019. “I wanted to focus on equitation, because I felt like it was something that would really challenge me as a rider. I had grown up looking up to girls who rode in the equitation and I wanted to follow in their footsteps,” Eleese said.
Eleese wasted no time, jumping head first into bigger classes once she began working with Michael. At their debut show together, he entered Eleese into the 2019 Junior/Amateur World Equestrian Center Premier Cup Classic with her 3’6” Junior horse, Odyssey.
“I had never done anything like that before, so I went in with no expectations. I ended up finishing third,” Eleese said. “We always look back and laugh now knowing that it was really only the beginning of what was to come from our partnership. Also at 14 years old, I was really close to winning the first place prize of a Chevrolet Blazer.”
Purchased as a 4-year-old, Odyssey is a horse of a lifetime for Eleese. “He’s helped me accomplish every single one of my dreams. He’s qualified and competed with me at Junior Hunter Finals, Capital Challenge, The National Horse Show, Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Maclay Finals, Medal Finals, WIHS Equitation Finals and International Derby Finals,” she said.
Michael also helped Eleese get her feet wet in the jumper ring on his horse BenDeLaCreme. “He will always be my favorite. After an eye infection caused him to lose an eye, I bought him a skull-and-crossbones patch to cover his missing eye and he’s now known as ‘the pirate horse,’” Eleese said. “He’s been wearing it ever since and has been recognized by several magazines and featured on his namesake’s, drag queen BenDeLaCreme, Instagram.”
Doing the jumpers on BenDeLaCreme helped Eleese get more experience at the technical courses and questions that are often asked in the equitation ring. “As I only started doing the equitation classes three years ago when I moved to Windsor, I really had to rally when it came to learning and executing the skills it required,” Eleese said.
In September 2022, Eleese was able to not only accomplish her biggest goal as a Junior, she far surpassed it when she won the Zone 10 Maclay Regionals in Wellington, Florida, on Eleanor Rudnicki’s Simply Stated.
“I just wanted to place at a Maclay Regionals, so to end up winning felt pretty unreal. After my test, Michael and I were standing in the warm-up ring freaking out with excitement. I kept asking him, ‘What time is it?’ He looked at me, laughed and said, ‘Who cares? We just won,’” Eleese said. “I still laugh about our reaction to our win.”
After making the move to Windsor to chase her equitation dreams, Eleese still has to pinch herself to realize that she really made it happen. “In the moment, it felt like nothing was real, time stopped and everything got quiet. I look back at that day in disbelief. It was truly a dream come true,” she said.
Vlog Star
When Eleese was 14 years old, she begged her parents to let her start a YouTube channel. “They agreed and for the next two years, I had less than 100 subscribers and nobody watched my videos,” Eleese said. “But that didn’t matter to me, because it was a hobby I thoroughly enjoyed.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced us all into our homes to lockdown in 2020, Eleese, like many others on social media, decided to seize the moment and start producing more and more content. “While I was stuck at home, I had nothing better to do than ride my horses and film YouTube videos. My channel suddenly got more attention than it ever had before and I was gaining hundreds of subscribers a day,” she said. “I started getting brand deals and my channel got monetized.”
Today Eleese’s YouTube channel @eleese_s has over 7,700 subscribers and she’s developed her own merchandise line sold on the site. “It’s so insane to me,” Eleese said.
Eleese uses her channel to give subscribers a glimpse into her life. “I film about what it’s like riding on the circuit, building our barn and the humor my family and I have traveling around the country together,” she said. “Starting a YouTube channel was by far the best thing I ever did and I’m forever grateful for all the people who have supported me.”
Going to Rivers Academy, a hybrid school, allows Eleese the flexibility to pursue her equestrian dreams, run a YouTube channel and still have a social life. When in town, Eleese goes to school Tuesday to Thursday in the morning and if she’s traveling she submits all of her assignments online.
“I’m able to manage all of my activities just by planning out my time. I normally use Mondays to get all my schoolwork done for the week, then I have the rest of the week to ride, film and see friends,” Eleese said.
Student Athlete
This fall, Eleese will relocate from Georgia to Connecticut where she will be attending Sacred Heart University. “When choosing where I wanted to go to school, I wanted somewhere that I could not only continue to ride on their team, but somewhere that I felt would best set me up for the future,” Eleese said. “Sacred Heart felt like home the second I stepped foot on their campus, and has many opportunities I felt could be very beneficial to my future career.”
Eleese admits that while she’s excited to start her collegiate adventure, like many rising freshmen she’s not completely decided on her career path. “I plan on majoring in business; however, I’m not sure what I want to do as a job in the future. Regardless of what I pursue, a business major should be helpful,” she said. “I’m not sure where my life will take me or what I’ll decide to do in the future, but no matter what, my biggest goal is to make a positive impact on the people and environment around me.”
One thing Eleese is sure of is her excitement about being a member of Sacred Heart’s Division I Equestrian Team. “Since riding is normally such an individual sport, it will be a nice change to work as a team rather than against each other. I’m really excited about being on the team because everyone I’ve met there has been so nice,” Eleese said.
As Eleese spreads her wings this fall, she will take the lessons she’s learned from Michael at the barn with her. “The most notable thing he’s taught me is that riding is not about being perfect all the time, but rather knowing how to adapt and change your plan according to the exercise you’re trying to complete,” she said. Wise words not just in the saddle or on course, they also hold true in everyday life.
For more information, follow Eleese on Instagram @shillingford_eq and on YouTube @Eleese S
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
