Ellyn Parker and My Rosalee, the 2024 Australian Big Tour Champions. Image by Amy-Sue Alston.
Bred on a cattle station, My Rosalee wasn’t meant to be a Grand Prix dressage horse. Purchasing her as an 18-month-old filly, Queenslander Ellyn Parker has trained her all the way through from eventing at Pony Club to National Big Tour Champion.
Ellyn’s first ride on Rosette. Image supplied.
Queensland-bred, Ellyn Parker was born into family that usually spent their weekends driving up the beach chasing the sun. Horses were not part of the routine until Ellyn’s older sister decided she wanted to ride. Her parents, thinking their daughter was a little precious and wouldn’t stick with it, sent her to a riding school – fully expecting she would find she didn’t actually want to clean stables!
Well, it backfired – Ellyn’s sister came home wanting a horse, and so in the end the family moved from their suburban home at The Gap out to acreage in the Samford Valley.
“I think our parents secretly liked moving out to Samford and having a little bit of acreage there. We had three and a half acres, but we backed on to 40 acres of parkland,” explains Ellyn. With horses now well and truly in the picture, both Ellyn and her older brother also picked the reins.
Ellyn went through a progression of ponies, including a cheeky mare named Trixie who caused her all sorts of trouble and nearly turned her off riding. Fortunately, Ellyn’s mum had also caught the horse bug and had a mare named La Perche Rosette, who became a more suitable mount. “I got chucked up on her and Mum never got her back!” laughs Ellyn.
She says her love of dressage was first sparked by Blue Hors Matine’s Freestyle at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen. “Seeing that as a young girl… the tempis, the piaffe, the passage, and how fun it looked to dance with a horse probably lit my passion.”
Unfortunately, Rosette preferred jumping – so they had to meet in the middle. “She is a very hot mare and tries far too hard sometimes, which made flying changes a real challenge and so we didn’t make it past club medium level competitions… though she can piaffe and do canter pirouettes very well! In the end, we focused on eventing, which had the best of both worlds for us at the time.”
These days, Ellyn’s six-year-old daughter rides 26-year-old Rosette. “She’s given the love of riding to my daughter, which is lovely to see.”
“She’s given the love
of riding to my daughter,
which is lovely to see.”
Ellyn’s daughter Lily, 6 riding Rosette, 26. Image by Cherish My Pix Photography.
MY ROSALEE
Ellyn bought My Rosalee as an 18-month-old filly from a cattle station.
“My husband had just returned from his deployment to Afghanistan and wanted to get a motorbike. I was against the idea and so countered with a ‘if you get a motorbike, I get another horse’, thinking he’d say no,” explains Ellyn. It turns out he really wanted that motorbike.
At the time, Rosette was in her mid-teens and Ellyn’s other horse, Cobigan Renaud – who used to belong to her grandfather – was a similar age, so she took the opportunity availed by her husband to get the third horse.
“I found Rosalee on Gumtree; she was on a cattle farm in Widgee. Her mum, Angel, is a registered Cleveland Bay sport horse, and her sire is JK Big Boy – an unregistered Friesian Warmblood who was later sold on to breed buck jumpers for rodeos!” explain Ellyn, adding that Rosalee’s breeder, Esther Ruffo, still has Angel.
Rosalee’s Gumtree ad photo. Image supplied.
“Rosalee was only little at the time and refused to trot downhill. Her breeder, Esther, thought for sure I wouldn’t buy her, but my husband was able to lean all over her and she was just a sweet little thing. Being new land owners and still with a house to build, her $2,000 price tag was affordable.”
At the time, Ellyn still had a couple of years left before ageing out of Pony Club – so, once Rosalee was old enough, that is where the mare’s journey began.
“Rosalee did her first ride off-property at a Hervey Bay Pony Club rally day with all the little kiddies on their ponies!” explains Ellyn. “I did my last two years on her at Pony Club before I aged out. The first year was just dressage, as she was still so young, and then the second year we did dressage, combined training, eventing and equitation showjumping.
Rosalee having her first bath. Image supplied.
“I was pregnant with our second daughter for the majority of my last year at Pony Club, where Rosalee won the Pre-Intro class at the Pony Club Queensland State Eventing Championships. Rosalee is a fantastic jumper; I feel she really enjoys it. I still jump at home occasionally because I think it’s good for their minds to do different things.”
With the arrival of her second child, Ellyn scaled back the riding for a little while. “It’s easy to drag one child and a husband around to Pony Club events… two children and a husband becomes a challenge! Ageing out of Pony Club came at the perfect time for me. I took a bit of a step back and just tinkered around at home in 2018.”
Part-way through 2019, via Maryborough Active Riders, Ellyn met Danielle Keogh and started having semi-regular lessons with her. Ellyn and Rosalee began attending club days again and went to the Maryborough Active Riders Star Championships that year in the Participation class, gaining the highest percentage of the event.
“I think it’s good for their
minds to do different things.”
Rosalee at her third jumping competition. Image supplied.
“I started to think maybe it wouldn’t be so silly to spend the money joining the following year, if we could be competitive.” And so in 2020 they debuted at Equestrian Australia events, competing at medium level and often in the Amateur Owner Rider (AOR) division.
GRAND PRIX
“I’ve always been a very driven and focused person; you only get out what you put in,” says Ellyn. “I’ve never needed someone to motivate me and even on the days I’m not motivated, that’s where discipline comes in. I’ve never been in the position where someone else can do it for me; if I don’t train my horses, and I don’t get out there and get lessons… we aren’t going to improve and get stronger.”
The path to Grand Prix is not easy, especially when both horse and the rider are new to the level. Ellyn explains that not having ridden a schoolmaster previously to get a feel for the movements made it challenging – but by no means impossible.
Six-year-old Lily riding Rosalee. Image supplied.
“It’s certainly not easy! The road to Grand Prix is long and shouldn’t be rushed. There have been lots of moments I’ve questioned what I’m doing… am I doing it right? Is this how it’s supposed to feel?” You don’t know what you don’t know… until you know! My journey with Rosalee has been filled with people who I’ve been able to ask those questions of and have that support, which has been invaluable!”
Ellyn had four years of lessons with Danielle Keogh and also Matthew Dowsley, who both taught her an immense amount. More recently, she’s been training with Emma Flavelle-Watts and Robert Harrisson Schmerglatt.
“Emma and Robert make their students better people, as well as better riders. Robert often says ‘trust the training’. I had a massive fear of making a mistake at competitions, which often led to making a mistake because I’d tighten up! But mistakes are how we learn, and how can we learn something we don’t know without risking a mistake?”
Ellyn is all smiles with Rosalee at the Australian Dressage Championships. Image by Amy-Sue Alston.
Ellyn says Rosalee has been a terrific horse to train. “Rosalee herself, like my other mares – I’m a ‘gal’s gal’ and have nearly always had mares – is just a lovely horse with her own personality. She is easy to deal with at home as well as out, and she also lets my six-year-old ride her unassisted.
“I’m a firm believer that dressage is for everyone and every horse, and that you don’t need a purpose-bred horse to get there. I don’t think there has ever been a moment where I didn’t think I’d get to Grand Prix… it was just a matter of when, how long will it take me, and how well will we be able to pull it off!”
STATE & NATIONAL SUCCESS
As it turns out, Ellyn and Rosalee have pulled it off rather successfully in their first year at Big Tour level.
“Never in my wildest dreams though did I think we’d be a Big Tour Queensland State Champion… let alone a Big Tour National Champion. Especially with a horse I’ve broken in and trained myself! And in our first year at Big Tour… it was definitely a pinch me moment!”
Ellyn was really happy with how her mare went at the Australian Dressage Championships. “That’s only the second time we’ve been in that SIEC indoor, and it’s known for taking no prisoners. She kept with me, and she got better as the tests went on. The Inter II, she just felt a little bit tired from the travel and we had an error in the two tempis, which was a shame. My real goal is only ever to get my tempis! If I can get my tempis in a test, I’m very, very happy. We’ve got them, and it’s just one of those movements where Robert says, ‘Just trust the training!’ If you stress about them then you’re going to have an error because you’re not riding how you normally ride. By the time the Grand Prix came, she got her spark back and then the Freestyle was a bit of fun.”
Ellyn says her favourite part of the Freestyle is her ‘Cassidy Line’ where she rides two-tempis into one-tempis – a line pioneered by Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour and Cassidy. “It’s a bit of fun and I think it can surprise a few of the judges!”
“And in our first year at
Big Tour… it was definitely
a pinch me moment!”
Ellyn brought a splash of colour to the Australian Dressage Championships with her jacket and helmet! Image by Amy-Sue Alston.
Ellyn’s children – Loki, 10, and Lily, 6 – like to watch her Freestyles. “They find that really fun as they obviously get to see me practise at home. The other tests I think bore them a little bit! My daughter Lily is very excited to be able to go ‘freestyle’ her own dressage routine, but I’ve told her she’s got a little bit of waiting to go yet before she can compete.”
Not only have Ellyn and Rosalee enjoyed success in the competition arena in recent times, but they were selected also named on The Saddlefitter-sponsored 2023 Dressage Queensland Performance Squad and 2024 Dressage Queensland FEI Squad.
A SPLASH OF COLOUR
Those who have seen Ellyn compete may have guessed her favourite colour is purple – after all, it’s hard to miss the purple tails and helmet!
“I’ve always loved the colour. Around two years ago, EA became a little bit more lenient with what you could wear, driven by the FEI rules changes and the Dutch team’s orange jackets at the Olympics.
“I thought, ‘I wouldn’t mind wearing a bit of colour’. I got it approved first, and then I spent my first year just in my purple jacket – which I bought from international retailer Flying Changes – with my black helmet. And then the rules changed again to allow the helmet to match your jacket. I came across a second-hand helmet that matched perfectly, and I got that approved as well. I do have purple boots and purple gloves, but I won’t go that far, I don’t think… just the little splash of the colour!
“I always say, ‘Who could be sad in purple?’ It gives everyone a smile when they see me. If it makes you happy, why not? I’m waiting for someone else to venture out and be a little bit bright!”
Ellyn’s new project, Giselle, the day she arrived off the truck. Image supplied.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
At just 13 years of age, Rosalee is just beginning the Grand Prix journey with plenty more years left to come. For Ellyn, it’s the time spent at home with her mare she loves most. “Training is my happy space. I like chipping away at everything, and if we can get the quality of work that we do at home and in a competition, and then maintain that kind of quality throughout the test, that’s probably my next goal. I think that just comes with time and strength and experience at the level.”
In terms of future competitions, she says Willinga Park’s Dressage by the Sea is on the bucket list and she’d also love to compete at Tamworth (AELEC) next time there’s a state championship or CDI there. Another start at the Nationals is also a goal.
Ellyn also bought a yearling filly a few years back, who has now just turned three. “She’s out of a Jive Magic stallion and Signature Armaani mare. So, she’s actually properly bred, dressage-wise,” laughs Ellyn.
“She’s actually properly
bred, dressage-wise…”
Giselle has just turned three. Ellyn hopes she will be her next Grand Prix horse! Image supplied.
She explains that she was still training with Matthew at the time, and he was encouraging her to get another horse. Originally, Ellyn had hoped to purchase another foal out of Angel, but Esther was having trouble getting the mare back in foal. “I then saw another ad on Gumtree and it was within our budget. I inquired about her and got her trucked down sight unseen from Townsville!”
Giselle, as she is named, is now branded the same as Rosalee. As Ellyn explains, originally Rosalee was branded with Esther’s cattle station brand – and she agreed to let Ellyn’s new filly have it as well.
“Esther and her family have been the biggest supporters, not just with Rosalee but also with Giselle. They have become a second family and joke Rosalee has a return policy if I ever don’t want her – knowing full well I keep my horses for life – and I joke I’ll want my $2,000 back.”
Ellyn has broken Giselle in and started some basic ridden work with her. “I’m just taking it very, very slow because she’s so young. I don’t think I’ve ridden her since August. I just kind of do a little bit here and there with her. Not rushing her, but just all the same things I did with Rosalee.”
And so the journey to Grand Prix starts again.
Ellyn’s advice to others heading down the same road? “Invest in knowledge… get the lessons, as many and as often as you can! The more knowledge you can get, the easier it is. But then there’s always more to learn.
“Once you’ve been there and you’ve done that, it’s easier to say, ‘don’t sweat the little things’. Everyone has a bad day… you’ve just got to problem solve and find a different way to do it. There’s no point getting upset because a certain way is not working; it’s about finding a way that works for your horse.” EQ
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