By Kimberly Gatto
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
When Liza Towell Boyd and her husband, Blake, brought their newborn daughter Elle home from the hospital, the first thing they
did was stop at the barn. It was a tradition that had begun many years prior when Liza’s own parents, Jack and Lisa Towell, had brought her home. “My dad always told me how he brought me to the barn and held me on top of one of the horses,” Liza said. “And we felt we should continue that tradition with Elle. We came right to the barn and held her up on one of our Grand Prix horses, First Lady. It was such a memorable experience for all of us.”
That memory was more than a decade ago. Elle, now 13, is an accomplished pony rider and a devoted big sister to 8-year-old Adeline. Both girls have inherited the family passion for horses and actively compete in the pony divisions on the “A” hunter circuit. They ride under the tutelage of their mom and their grandfather, the legendary Jack Towell, at the family’s Finally Farm in South Carolina. Liza’s brother Hardin Towell—a highly accomplished professional hunter rider—also teaches his young nieces, and brother Ned Towell, who runs the Wateree Hounds, guides the girls on trail rides and foxhunts.
The Beginning
Since her first introduction to horses as an infant, Liza has set numerous show ring records, beginning with her days in the pony divisions. Among the titles Liza won as a Junior include being named Overall World Champion Hunter Rider three times and capturing the Best Child Rider Award at the Washington International Horse Show four times. Additionally, Liza is the only rider to have won USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider titles in all three divisions: Pony, Junior and Professional. Liza showed some of the most legendary pony hunters of her day, including Himself The Elf and Tickled Pink, among others. As an adult, she won numerous tricolors with her “horse of a lifetime,” the now happily retired Brunello, including three USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships. Along with her father, Liza has trained countless champion hunters and their riders.
Both Elle and Adeline began riding at a very young age and appear to be following in the family’s footsteps. “With Elle, I was a little nervous, as I was a first-time mom—probably more so than I was with Adeline,” Liza said. “But she loved the horses right from the beginning. Elle started leadline classes as soon as we could get riding clothes that would fit her.” The youngster began her show career aboard a small pony by the name of Otis Spunkmeyer. “Otis is like a little unicorn. He’s an adorable little grey, with one blue eye,” Liza said. “Otis taught both of my girls from their walk-trot days and took them right through Short Stirrup.” In fact, in 2017 Elle earned her first Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) championship aboard Otis when the pair dominated the crossrails division.
Since then, Elle has amassed quite a resume of horse show accomplishments. In 2021, she competed at her first USEF Pony Finals in Lexington, Kentucky, where she proved herself to be an elite pony jock. Eleven-year-old Elle piloted Betsee Parker’s bay Welsh-cross mare, Baroness Of Lochiel, aka Twinkle, to top honors in the Medium Regular Pony Hunter division. The victory was a bit nostalgic for Liza, who had captured the Large and Grand Pony Championships aboard Tickled Pink back in 1991—at her own first trip to Pony Finals.
When asked how she felt after winning such a key event, Elle was quick to compliment her pony partner. “Twinkle is just so smooth, and gentle, and kind,” she said at the time. She also noted that her main goal for the competition was to “just get a good, solid round and stay consistent.” Exceeding that aspiration, Elle and Twinkle earned a score of 542.00 for their jumping round, which boosted them from 16th to first overall in the standings. Elle also won the reserve championship in the Small Pony division aboard Jill Shulman’s Secret Crush.
“Elle was very excited to win Pony Finals,” Liza said. “But her personality is the same whether she wins or loses. She just loves the entire experience.”
Elle is currently helping her mom train several green pony hunters. “We all love winning blue ribbons,” Liza said, “But I really think Elle is just as happy when she teaches a green pony to do a lead change as she is when she wins a big class at a horse show.”
Sisterly Love
Among Elle’s biggest fans is her younger sister, Adeline, a top pony rider in her own right. In addition to competing in the pony hunter divisions, Adeline has been making a name for herself in the Itty Bitty Jumpers. “I think Adeline was able to progress a little quicker in her riding since I was not as nervous as I had been with Elle. And, of course, Adeline wanted to do more and ride faster to keep up with her big sister.”
Adeline made her Short Stirrup debut at WEF in 2021 aboard Hakuna Matata, a chestnut small pony with a distinctive white face. The night before the show, the youngster saw the course being set up and was excited to begin her rounds. In an effort to help her girls remember their courses at such a young age, Liza had taught them to memorize the jumps by color. “We named all the jumps by their color, so it was easy for her to remember the different lines,” Liza said. “For example, the outside course was the orange line and the diagonal line was blue. By memorizing the colors, it was easier for her to learn the courses and not get overwhelmed.” The plan paid off, as Adeline and Hakuna Matata won the championship for their division.
“So much has changed since the days when I was riding ponies,” Liza said. “The courses are much more technical now. These little kids are doing rollbacks, trot jumps and bending lines.” This is apparent when the girls watch old videos of their mom when she was showing ponies. “The girls like to watch videos of me competing back in the day. Sometimes they will ask me how I won a class when my pony swapped in front of the jump,” Liza said. “The truth is, by today’s standards, I probably would not have won. The girls—especially Elle—get a kick out of telling me I missed a distance and they like to score my rounds when watching these old videotapes.”
Kids Having Fun
While much is different now, Liza finds it refreshing to see that some things have stayed the same over the years. “Kids still love to set up makeshift ‘fences’ and jump over them on foot,” Liza said. “The other day, I came into the barn and the girls had a lunge whip set up between two poultice containers as a ‘jump.’ They all took turns hopping over it—even the older kids and the grooms joined in on the fun. It’s great to see that things like that have never gone out of style and even though these girls are in a highly competitive sport, they still want to enjoy themselves and just be kids.”
Though the Boyds compete at a high level, Liza is careful to ensure that the sport remains fun. “It’s important to me that they get out of the ring and just enjoy the time with their ponies,” Liza said. “We are so fortunate that our farm is on the edge of foxhunting country. The girls are able to ride their ponies through the woods and in water. It’s such a great thing for kids to be able to do that at a young age when they have no fear.” Last Christmas, both Elle and Adeline asked for bareback saddles. “They love to gallop around and jump bareback,” Liza said. “Since we compete often and are being judged, it’s nice that they can have a break from that formality and just act like normal kids.”
Liza is also determined to make sure that her girls become well-rounded horsewomen. “The care of their ponies is incredibly important,” she said. “It’s great for the girls to have responsibility at a young age and realize that they need to take care of their own ponies in the barn. I always try to instill a good example that horse care is part of the package. For example, after a long day, I may be tired and it would be easy for me to just hand my horse to the groom. But I tell myself that I have to do better and set a good example for the girls. It’s not just about riding and winning ribbons. It’s important that we give back to these animals who give us so much.”
The girls are also learning some valuable life lessons at the barn. “Since we are a sales barn, we often train ponies and then they move on to their new homes. That in itself provides a lesson for the kids,” Liza said. “And they learn that their ponies can have good days and bad days. I joke that in some ways, these ponies raise my kids better than I do; they certainly are tougher on the kids than I am!”
Another World
In an effort to keep the girls well-rounded, Liza has encouraged them to have other interests outside of horses. The family often takes ski holidays as their schedule allows, and recently enjoyed a family trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Adeline has taken tennis lessons; Elle enjoys relaxing by fishing at a nearby pond. Both girls have gone away to camp in the summers, and the sisters attend regular schools. “When we’re not in Florida, they go to school during the week and meet me at the shows on the weekend,” Liza said. “It’s important to keep that good balance as my own mom, Lisa, did with me. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the horse world, but it is important to remember that there is another world out there too.”
Liza is quick to credit her husband, Blake, for helping to maintain the family balance. “I couldn’t do any of it without the support of my wonderful husband,” she said. “He holds down the fort at home when I’m horse showing or teaching. Blake is a great cook, so he often prepares dinner, and he picks up the girls from school. He’s super comfortable around the horses; he grew up in a horse family and works in the equine insurance field. Blake is also an amazing horse show dad—he’s the girls’ biggest fan. We are very lucky.”
Among her many blessings, Liza feels fortunate to have developed many close friendships within the equestrian community. “The girls have formed so many wonderful friendships through horse showing, just as I did. Some of the best friends I had in my pony days are still among my dearest friends today,” she said. “I also am lucky to have a great circle of other pony moms; we’ve developed a very close-knit group. When we’re in Wellington, we all get together and have parties after showing. Even though our kids are competing against each other, at the end of the day, we’re all friends. That, to me, is very special. I love spending time with them.”
As the girls continue to grow, it will be interesting to see if their chosen paths will include horses. At this time, all indications point that way. “Recently we watched the World Cup Finals,” Liza said, “and Adeline turned to me and said, ‘I’d like to do that someday.’ Regardless of what they decide to do going forward, I am just so grateful that they’re able to grow up surrounded by horses, as I did. These animals give and teach us so much; it’s such an honor to share our lives with them.”
For more information, visit www.finallyfarm.com and follow Liza on Instagram @lizalou8
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
