My Story
Hi! My name is Ellie, and I am a personal trainer for equestrians! I currently live in Corvallis, Oregon, where I mainly work from home. I ride in a competitive AQHA/APHA show barn and travel all over the country for horse shows. My true passions in life are coaching people and riding horses, so I built a life and a career bridging the two together.
I grew up in the suburbs of Tualatin, Oregon, in a non-horse family. I was always drawn to horses and begged my mom to let me get a job cleaning stalls at age 11. Before she knew it, I was begging for lessons, and a horse!
Even at a young age I felt a passion and a connection for horses that only horse people can understand. I love the competitiveness of showing, the bonds built between horse and rider, the supportive community, all of it.
Fitness has always been just as important as the horses to me. I always knew that if I wanted to show horses at the top level, working on myself would be just as important as riding. Equestrians are athletes- if you want to be strong in the saddle you have to be strong on the ground. This mentality pushed me to the gym back in high school, and I could see a huge difference in my riding once I started working out.
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I always knew I wanted a career in the horse industry, but when I was younger I thought the only option was being a horse trainer. During high school and college I thought that's what I wanted to do, I never really let myself explore other options.
A lady in my barn once said to me, "Ellie, I truly think you will make a fantastic horse trainer. You have the work ethic and if you bust your a**, you will make it. But I think you have another calling in life. This industry NEEDS someone with your knowledge of horses and fitness to work with the riders to make them stronger. This is what you should be doing!" I brushed the comment off at the time, and it sat with me for about a year before I really heard it.
Life has a funny way of pointing you in the direction you're meant to go. In 2020 I sustained a severe injury to my back from a riding accident. I couldn't walk for weeks, exercise or ride for months, and felt totally defeated. Here I was at age 20 with a career ending injury, before I could ever even start a horse training business.
This was a pivotal moment for me, everything I pictured for my future was thrown out the window. But, everything happens for a reason. I sat down and took a hard look at my life and asked myself what I really wanted. I realized I didn't really want to be a horse trainer, I wanted to ride and show horses, and coach horse people. I realized I could still do all of that without being a horse trainer.
Once I realized that coaching people, not training horses, was my calling in life, everything changed. My back injury slowed life down, and gave me the time I needed to make that realization. I decided to educate myself and became an NASM certified personal trainer. I started working in a gym, but soon realized that I wanted my own business. Before I knew it Lopin' Down The Rail Fitness was born!
I noticed in the horse industry that so much time and energy is spent preparing and perfecting the horse, that the rider is often left on the back burner. I wanted to change that. I knew from my own personal experiences that being strong, balanced, and flexible greatly improved my riding, so I developed a program that focused on those three pillars.
My goal is to help fellow equestrians level up their game in the saddle, whether you show at the world show level or trail ride for fun. I work with riders of all disciplines, skill sets, riding levels. If your goal is to improve your stability in the saddle, gain strength, increase your mobility, and improve your quality of life, you have come to the right place!
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