Meet Amateur Renee Ellis…Renee resides in Hillsborough with her loving and supportive husband Keith and their jack russell terrier, Charlie. She is the office manager for 3 factions (evening, weekend and a global division that meets in Washington D.C.) of the MBA for Executives degree program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Renee may work for UNC but she’s an avid Duke fan while her husband pulls for the Tar Heels. When she’s not showing horses she enjoys reading, gardening, cooking, and she would rather watch NFL football and college basketball than regular TV.  

She got her love for horses honestly. Her Dad, a horseman, had a Pinto and Saddlebred cross mare named “Lady”. She was gentle as a lamb on the ground but would fly when you got on her back. Needless to say, Renee learned balance at an early age. When she was 9 years old her Dad sold lady breaking Renee’s heart but it soon mended when he came home with a pony named “Patches.  

She became involved in 4-H and open shows during her teens. She cherishes the memories of time spent with her Dad. They were great years and she wouldn’t trade them for anything. When she started college the "real world" kicked in and she needed a car plus she had to work. She had to sell her horse to get a car. With that sale, she decided since the horse was gone she should sell all of her tack and horse stuff and get out of the horse business completely. Needless to say, that lasted about six months and she hasn’t been horseless since.  

She has been an active member of NCQHA for 20 plus years and has enjoyed showing and meeting so many different and interesting people. One of her best moments, and one that she will never forget, includes earning her first AQHA points on a horse named Native RePete aka "Sport". Currently Renee shows Henrys Desertventure aka "Howie" who she has owned since he was a yearling. Prior to purchasing Howie, she told her husband that the next horse she owned would be handsome and named after Fox NFL sports commentator, Howie Long. She found him via the internet in Ohio and went to look at him on a busy Thanksgiving weekend. It turns out his barn name was “Howie” and as they say, “The rest is history”. Renee and Howie have been a team ever since.

They compete in all around events with Equitation being Renee’s favorite. She added Trail to Howie’s resume in 2011 and they finished the year as the NCQHA Reserve Champions in Novice Amateur Trail. She is so proud of this accomplishment and is really excited about showing more in 2012.

·         Photo credit to Don Trout