Canadian show jumping athlete Lily Elliot was just 19 when she packed her bags, took the plunge and moved to Europe after winning team gold at NAYC in 2023, looking to develop her skill set as a young professional. She was selected to be a part of the CSIO 3* Nations Cup team in Kronenburg, the Netherlands, in June of this year, and is currently based out of Limburg, NED, where she trains with Chad Fellows at a busy sales and training operation.
“I’m very fortunate to have a diverse group of horses at the moment,” says the 21-year-old, “and other than the big sport horses, we do a lot of work in developing young horses and sales, so it’s really a bit of everything!”
Elliot grew up in Vancouver, BC; her introduction to horses came when she was six, and didn’t exactly follow the traditional trajectory of someone who finds themselves atop the podium at major junior rider competitions in their last junior year. Her first mount was a Quarter Horse pony that she showed in the small jumper classes, and from there she moved directly onto horses.
“It isn’t conventional nowadays, but I think that the approach what I took with horses in the early parts of my career have really shaped me as a rider now, which I’m very glad for,” she says.
Her junior year culminated with wins in the JC Medal Final in 2022 at the Royal Horse Show and NAYC Young Riders team competition in 2023 in Traverse City, Michigan. Elliot believes these two high-pressure wins in what are cornerstones of the North American system helped shape her young professional career.
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“The equitation classes taught me a lot of fundamental skills as a rider that I still carry with me today,” she explains, “but I would say it mostly helped to shape my mentality. I learned to be very disciplined and meticulous in every aspect of the sport.
“It also offered exposure to some high-pressure classes, which taught me to manage the mental side of it before I got to the jumper ring. They were high pressure situations for different reasons ‒ Medal Finals was a culmination of my junior years, and NAYC was my first team championship experience. What I learned in both of them is that the most important thing is just to ride the round that’s in front of you.”
Elliot says her current role as rider at Fellows’ operation is an opportunity that came out of a somewhat fluke encounter. “Chad helped me at a show in Lier back in December, and I ended up winning the 2* Grand Prix at that show. We just sort of got to talking about plans and whatnot, and from there I joined his team in Spain for the Sunshine Tour and moved into our new base in the Netherlands shortly after that.
“It’s an opportunity that came as a result of just keeping an open mind, because you never know what opportunities could present themselves. I’m very grateful for this current setup, and I’ve learned so much not just in the ring, but also about horse management and the business as a whole.”
Despite the obvious challenges of uprooting your life at a young age, she says the move to Europe has been a relatively easy adjustment.
“I love living here,” she says. “Life here with the horses is so much more enriched and worth the challenges of being away from family and friends back home. I’ve really fallen in love with life here and I think that regardless of my goals, there is a lot of value in diversifying your education as much as possible. I’ve learned a lot more about developing horses and finding a system that produces and maintains horses for long and successful careers.”
Aside from the obvious highlight of being selected for the Canadian Nations Cup team in Kronenburg, Elliot says her continued growth as a horsewoman is what makes her proudest. “The way that I’ve learned, and continue to learn, to develop, educate and improve horses is the best feeling. I love to watch as a young horse problem-solves and understands what you are teaching them. It’s a very different set of skills to develop as a rider, but it’s what I find the most rewarding ‒ to watch a horse with a particular challenge progress and improve is really something special.” I find the small wins or progressive milestones with each horse are equally rewarding.
With a diverse and fluctuating string of horses, Elliot’s plans for the future include the development of young horses and working with some talented sales mounts.
“I’m very fortunate to have a lovely group of horses, between my own and those from owners. There’s some really exciting young talents, as well as some lovely commercial types, and we always try to keep a balance of both in the stable.”
Her top horse at the moment is the 11-year-old Pesgo Adelheid Z (‘Gatsby’), the horse she brought over with her in 2023 with whom she won the 2* Lier Grand Prix. “He is an extraordinarily talented horse, and I look forward to this season with him. I would say I’ve already achieved one of my biggest goals for this year, which was wearing my red jacket at a senior Nations Cup show!”
And what does the future look like? “I hope to jump another Nations Cup, and continue to achieve results in some bigger classes as well as continue to work on developing my string to be the best they can be.”
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