Jules Ennis (right) and her friend, Ellie Brown (left), hanging out by the Hartpury Equine sign.
I got to know Jules Ennis very well a few years ago. I was riding with Kim Severson regulary, and Jules was one of her working students. Jules and her mom, Kris, are very friendly and kind people…kind enough to rescue me from the side of the road in Aiken when my brakes went out!! After our disappointing finish at the Olympics, I have heard many talking about our US riders needing to become immersed overseas to better compete with the big dogs. The question is, do we start the riders out over there when they are young, or do we wait until they are accomplished and doing big things? I’m not here to discuss that, but I AM here to tell you about a great young rider who is taking herself and her horse to England to expand her knowledge. All photos in this article were taken by Jay Ennis and used with his permission.
Jules Ennis is an 18 year old with some major plans. She just graduated from high school, and she wasn’t sure that she was quite ready to put riding onto the back burner to go to college. She had considered maybe taking a year off from school to pursue a riding career, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that either. Her mother, Kris Ennis, was doing some research on the internet and discovered the Equine Program at Hartpury College in England. After a visit to the college and learning about the program, Jules was sold on the idea.
Jules and Walstraed getting ready to jog
Jules lives in Queenstown, Maryland with her parents, Kris and Jay Ennis. They own Ennisbrook Farm, a boarding facility, on the Eastern Shore. The farm started as a place for beginners to take lessons and learn the ropes of horsemanship, but as the family got busier, the facility grew into a great place to board. While Jules gets to compete, her mother, Kris, enjoys small time breeding. She has bred three Oldenburg babies through the years: Sawyer’s Song, Royal Fergie, and Coconut Ice. Jules’ father, Jay, is the VP of a software company, but in his down time, he enjoys being Mr. Fix-It around the farm. He can also be seen at Jules’ events taking INCREDIBLE photos.
Jules and Walstraed doing dressage at Loch Moy
Jules has been riding since she was three years old and hasn’t looked back. When asked about her first horse, Jules had this to say:
I was very fortunate to have many horses to ride while growing up. My first event horse was Fancy Free Star. Star was a beautiful black breeding stock paint pony with a heart on her forehead. Unfortunately, she was not as sweet as her marking. I was seven when I started riding her and I think she was probably four. She was great until I decided to event her. Our first event was a pony club round robin at Rosaryville Park. Star jumped out of the dressage ring twice and fortunately this was at a point in time that pony club let you continue onto sj and xc after you are eliminated. In SJ she showed off her signature move- the rear-spin-buck-bolt- and took all of the tape fencing down around the arena, but I managed to finish the course. Surprisingly we completed the miniature XC course with few difficulties. When I tried to move her up to BN things got even more complicated when I couldn’t get her with in twenty feet of the water or ditches. Shortly after we decided that eventing probably was not her discipline and sold her as a hunter pony when I was eight. She gave me glue, which has been invaluable for the difficult horses I have ridden since then.
After Fancy Free Star, Jules moved on to O’Brien, a 15.1 hand KWPN gelding. Jules calls him the “Corgi of horses, ” as his body was the size of 16.2 hand warmblood, but his legs were the length of a 14.2 pony. He was a lovely mover and a good jumper, though. When she got him, he had only been a dressage horse. It was much to his suprise when she took him to his first event a week after purchasing him! OB (as he was lovingly called) didn’t like the ditch on XC that weekend…so they just skipped it! Jules and OB went on to compete through Prelim together. When she realized that he didn’t want to go any further, she sold him to a home where he is teaching his new rider the ropes. OB took great care of Jules through the years, and she wanted him to go where he could continue in that calling.
Jules’ mom, Kris, wrote a lovely piece on Findhorn, Jules’ next event horse, for EN. If you missed it, you can check it out here.
Jules and Jack showing their prowess at show jumping
This brings us to Jules’ current main man, Walstraed or Jack. They purchased Jack from Jan Bynny about 2 years ago. Jules and Jack have really formed a bond during their time together. So far, they have competed through the Intermediate level and the CIC** level. They finished up their 2011 year with a 5th place in the CIC** at Plantation. Unfortunately, Jack suffered a minor tendon injury after that, and he has been coming back into work this year.
Jules will take Jack with her to Hartpury where she will be majoring in Equine Sports Science. She has been asked to join their Riding Academy Squad, so she will receive weekly lessons from an experienced instructor. The instructors for Hartpury are Nick Burton, Corinne Bracken, and Carl Hester. She also hopes to use her summers off from college to ride with other greats in the area.
Jules and Jack leave on August 31st for this next step in their career together. I, for one, wish them lots of luck!
