Elloise Devlin is an Equestrian rider who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2017 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, and was paired with Kieren Perkins OAM as her Mentor.
Elloise was born in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of Queensland in 1998 and shares her mother’s passion for horses and horse riding. She progressed through pony club and inter-school events and began competing in open dressage competitions in 2010.
In 2014, Elloise was invited to join the Qld Dressage Youth Development Squad and at that time was riding her homebred Grand Prix warmblood Brimstone Anakiwa. The following year she was named Equestrian Queensland Young Athlete of the Year and won the national championship in the 16-21 category.
In 2016, Elloise was named Equestrian Queensland youth high performance Rising Star and would earn that title again in 2017, and was declared QLD State Young Riders Championships U25 Big Tour Champion, as well as Australian Young Riders Championships U25 Big Tour Reserve Champion.
Continued training with the state squad brought more strong results, and in 2019 Elloise won the Dressage Australia Gold Performance Medal with her horse Brimstone Florente due to her consistent results throughout that year. In 2020, Elloise formed part of the Queensland Dressage FEI performance squad with San Rhythmic, and continued striving for her goal of competing at an Olympic Games.
While training and competing in dressage, Elloise made time to study for a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Australian Catholic University.
Elloise on being selected as a 2017 Scholarship Holder – “I was genuinely shocked. I was so excited to hear that I had won this amazing opportunity. I had to keep asking them ‘are you serious’?
It’s going to be such a great chance to be able to get advice and the knowledge from someone that’s had the experience – even if it is in another discipline, it will help me understand so much more.”
In 2017, Elloise travelled throughout Europe to train and expand her knowledge of the training of dressage.
“My mentoring with Kieren was very beneficial in several cases, including when I was making decisions that influenced my possible opportunities, time frames, and mental state (for in training and dealing with things such as home sickness and the pressures of the work I was doing).
The vice that he gave me really benefited my decisions and outlook on many situations, and I am very lucky to have had the access to such knowledge and wisdom.
The past year has been the best year of my life, and the most influential. Along with the support and encouragement of my family and friends, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame has also made a great impact on my development as an athlete.
This Scholarship has given me the ability to meet and learn from some of our countries best sports people, as well as assisting me in my growth as an athlete. I would highly recommend all athletes, from all sports to apply for this fantastic scholarship; it is an opportunity of a lifetime for young athletes, and one not to be forgotten.”
Honours & Achievements
- 2017/2016-2014: Member of the National Dressage Youth squad with her homebred Grand Prix warmblood, Brimstone Anakiwa
- 2017: Scholarship & Mentoring Program Recipient
- 2017 & 2016: Equestrian Queensland youth high performance ‘Rising Star’ of the year award
- 2019-2014: Member of the QLD Dressage Youth Development squad with several of her performance horses
- 2019: Dressage Australia Gold Performance Medal with her horse Brimstone Florente
(National award received by riders who have achieved high performance scores throughout the year in their level of competition) - 2020: QLD Dressage FEI performance squad with her horse San Rhythmic
- 2020: QLD High Performance squad with her horse Brimstone Florente
