Biography

Elisa Wallace has been involved with horses her entire life. Both her parents are involved in horses: her father is an avid event rider and trainer, and her mother bred and raised young horses. Riding since before she could walk, it has always been a dream for Elisa to compete at the top international level and on the world stage at the Olympics. She did trot sets at the age of two and began eventing at the age of four. Everyone knew Elisa had talent to go to the top. Sometimes called part horse, she was often found sleeping or playing with the young foals that her mother and father raised.

With the guidance of her father, Rick Wallace, Elisa was very successful at a young age. At the age of nine, she was the youngest eventer to win a gold medal at the Georgia State Games in Combined Training. She then shifted to the Hunter/Jumper and equitation to broaden and hone her riding skills. Elisa competed successfully in the USEF Medal and Meclay equitation and qualified for the 2005 USEF Meclay Finals, in Newark, NJ, at the age of 12. In her latter teen years, she returned to her roots in Eventing with her mind set on competing in the Olympics. She trained and worked with many top riders such as Nick Larkin, Stephen Bradley, Peter Gray and Ralph Hill and studied what it takes to be an upper level rider: determination, patience, and true grit.

In a bold move in 2000, Elisa saved all of her high school graduation money and purchased a $700 Thoroughbred yearling in Iola, Kansas that she had found off of the internet. Completely on gut feelings and intuition, Elisa and her mom, Laura, made the trek to Kansas to purchase a yearling named Jack. Jackson  became a successful Advanced horse and was one of Elisa's top competition horses. Along with her mare Leap of Faith, in 2006 and 2007, Elisa was a force to be reckoned with, taking the Eventing scene by storm and marching her way to the top, with top finishes in almost every competition. Her success allowed her to qualify for the Olympics and the Pan Am games.

Following retirements of both horses due to injury in 2008, and the untimely death of Good for Me (another promising star) in 2009, Elisa has continued to seek out and train young and talented horses, rebuilding Team Wallace from the ground up.  Elisa continues to distinguish herself as a competitor, and has established a strong reputation as a teacher and trainer.  The setbacks experienced by Team Wallace, although disappointing, have only increased Elisa's passion and drive to attain her goals for the future.

Accomplishments

Full Performance Record

Press

Online

Print

Television

Entourage

Elisa will rarely be seen around the barn or at competition without her faithful entourage. Ty Ty (aka "Tyler") is a six year old Jack Russell terrier. Poohie (named affectionately after Winnie the Pooh) is an eleven year old dog of mixed breed. Recently, the entourage was joined by a long-haired red fawn Chihuahua, named 'Pocket.' Although small in stature, Pocket has a big personality and is learning quickly from the more experienced canine members of Team Wallace.