Ellie Fredericks, 22, has announced the launch of her business Ellie Fredericks Equestrian on her graduation from Cardiff University with a degree in philosophy.
Throughout her academic studies Ellie has built up a reputation for producing young horses for sale and competition including taking Pure Trendsetter to the Le Lion d’Angers World Young Horse Championships and the partnership then went on to represent Team GB at Young Rider European Championships.
Ellie is following in the stirrups of her Olympic mother, Lucinda Fredericks, the eventing rider who represented Australia to secure a team silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and piloted Headley Britannia to be the only mare to win three different five-star events with their back-to-back Burghley and Badminton titles in 2006 and 2007 followed by Kentucky in 2009.
Lucinda and her then husband, Clayton both competed at the London Olympics in 2012 but following their divorce the following year, Lucinda recalls, “I felt the only thing that mattered would be making sure that, if anything happened to me, our daughter, Ellie, would be safe and financially secure.”
Devastatingly, Lucinda’s international career was curtailed through a shattering knee injury sustained when getting on to a client’s horse in America in 2017.
Lucinda says, “At the time it was through buying, producing, competing and selling horses that I kept our home at Rosegarth going but, when I couldn’t ride to that level again, it put enormous pressure on me to find ways to survive and I only coped with the stress thanks to the unwavering support of my long-term partner, Dick (Dr Richard Sandford-Hill) and so many other good people who have been with me along the way.”
Building a breeding empire and her coaching skills came to the fore but Lucinda admits, “It has been really tough.”
“I didn’t want to put any pressure on Ellie becoming an eventing rider and so encouraged her to study but she’s kept coming home to ride at every opportunity and it’s clear this is where her heart is”, she adds.
Ellie says, “Dick gave me the confidence to go to University and ensure I could make an educated choice, and Lucinda has given me the confidence to still make horses my career!”
In order to help Ellie establish herself, Lucinda had sought to sell off the family home where Ellie was born but a surprise approach from the parents of Eve Stamper, a livery at Rosegarth, Mark Stamper and his wife, Alice, purchasing the Wiltshire equestrian facility separate from the house and immediately then going into partnership with Ellie.
Lucinda says, “It is the perfect scenario; Mark and Alice love everything about Rosegarth; Alice shares Ellie’s competitive ambitions and Mark’s business acumen means he’s a fabulous mentor for Ellie to have while I’ll still be on hand - by appointment - to help with the horse side of things.”
Ellie says, “Going into partnership with Alice and Mark gives me the freedom to establish my own equestrian career and I’m looking forward to achieving some life-long dreams including representing Australia in the Olympic Games just as my parents did.”
“Alice is calling it Operation Brisbane 32”, she adds.
Mark hasn’t let Ellie out of the classroom too quickly though with Ellie explaining, “I’ve already taken my CPC training for my commercial HGV licence and then it’s full steam ahead to get my BHS coaching qualifications”, adding, “I don’t know what I’d do without Mark’s oversight.”
Lucinda is impressed by the speed with which Ellie is taking a handle on the business side too saying, “It was only a week, and I got an invoice from my daughter!”
Ellie had ridden her mother’s homebred Upper Class Brit to Intermediate level but now she’ll just be on hand to produce her at home and explains, “I’ve had some good results with her but in competition she really is a man’s ride and the difference in her way of going with Gubby Leech really confirms that it’s best I focus on competing horses that are suited to my strengths.”
Ellie already has a string of international successes including wins at CCI-L3* level and has produced and sold horses to 1.40m in pure show jumping but as she starts out as Ellie Fredericks Equestrian, she does so with just three young horses at the start of their careers.
“We’ll look for more owners on the eventing side we’re also hoping another budding Olympian will want to base themselves here”, says Ellie.
However, it isn’t purely as a competition yard that Ellie sees the business venture developing.
She says, “I believe that, with the range of facilities, accommodation and gorgeous location with hacking on the plains, we can add revenue streams with schooling liveries, fitness liveries, riding holidays, equine rehabilitation livery and of course Lucinda will be a welcome visiting coach too!”
Lucinda is to continue coaching both at Rosegarth and further afield but also has some travel plans which included a four-day trip to Italy just days after Ellie took over the running of the yard.
Lucinda admits, “I didn’t want to go away for long but it was great and I am already realising what a big change it is for me”, adding, “When I was mowing the lawns for the last time at Rosegarth it felt weird but then Dick reminded me, I could now mow the lawns at our home!”
Ellie admits, “Lucinda is going to find it hard to step back – she’d only been back half a day and asked when a field was going to be poo-picked”, adding, “We all went to Badminton for the day to celebrate and while it began to start to feel more real for her, it felt both exciting and terrifying for me!”
Lucinda says, “I have no doubt Ellie will work hard, and she’s got some great ideas, so I’m looking forward to supporting her”, adding, “I’m so proud of the legacy I’m giving my daughter, but I still can’t help asking her what she’s doing!”
