Elli Yeager

Have you ever run straight up to a solid wall so high you could not see the other side, and trusted that you would fly over the top?  

Hi, my name is Elli Yeager and I spend a majority of my free time jumping thousand pound animals over very large obstacles. I have been riding horses since my father took me to my first pony ride at the state fair, and now I start for the SMU Equestrian Team. 

One of the best things about being a competitive equestrian is the opportunity to visit different cities and countries all over the world. My absolute favorite city is Paris, you cannot beat the food and you can walk everywhere. The coolest venue that I have competed at was the Capital One Arena in the middle of Washington D.C. Yes, they actually close down the streets to put temporary stabling up for the horses and we walk the horses down the middle of the busy city to enter the arena. 

Growing up it has been just me and my dad and my dog, Coco. My dad is a single parent, so he has had to be both a father and a mother to me.  In the teenage years there were some bumps, but now he is my best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My dad and I love to try new foods and we have a favorite sushi restaurant in Florida, New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and of course Dallas. 

One of my most embarrassing moments since I came to Dallas happened on one of the last days of school freshman year. I was supposed to wake up at 7:00 am to drive to Kentucky, but I overslept. I may have completely slept through my alarm which was still ringing when I woke up to loud banging on the door. Apparently my dad called multiple times, but having been out rather late the night before, I was dead asleep. The loud banging that finally managed to wake me from my slumber turned out to be two police officers, sent by my father, doing a wellness check. Oops. 

When I went home for Winter Break, my current dog, Coco, developed a large lump on her side which is not surprising since she is 14 years old. We took her to the vet and the vet said that with all of the new lumps she would most likely have 6 months to a year. Coco has given me so much joy for almost as long as I can remember and I wanted to give her and myself a gift. On Christmas I bought a new puppy and her name is Cora and I will pick her up in Mississippi when this semester is over! I think that Coco will enjoy having new energy around and something little to boss around until she needs to leave me.