Ellie Wellford Grant

Ellie grew up with many horsey cousins next to the Pennsylvania hunt country in Wilmington, Delaware and the Virginia hunt country near Fredericksburg, Virginia. She soon became obsessed with horses and read every book and magazine she could get her hands on. She was the youngest subscriber ever to "Classic" - the Thoroughbred magazine. Every fair Merry-Go-Round and pony ride would find her proudly astride a patient steed. From the age of 8, she rode weekly with the Vicmead Hunt Club, at Mary Warner's, and at Madame Jacabowska's. At age 12, Ellie won the Daily Double at Keeneland and was nicknamed "Ellie the Greek" until her father caught her betting under age at the $10.00 window and sent her back to the farm.

In Sapphire, North Carolina at Camp Merrie-Woode, Ellie became an "A" rider from 1974-1977 and rode daily for their drill team. Competitive team sports took over and she played Championship Varsity Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Basketball. She was also the 1982 Individual Women's Squash Champion at the University of Virginia, where she received her degrees as an Echols Scholar in English, French, and the Law. Twenty years passed without more than an occasional farm ride or tourist ride at a National Park. Ellie frequently attended the Maryland Gold Cup and first met her husband at the Foxfield Races, though they did not fall in love until their first Grateful Dead show. Her cousin Mike Wellford founded the Thoroughbred Racing Calendar and Catalogue and took the red-eye from her rehearsal dinner to photograph the race and place a wedding bet for her at the Kentucky Derby. Her husband Michael, works for Il Sole restaurant, is the Day of Game producer for the FC Dallas soccer club of Major League Soccer, and rode for the first time on their honeymoon in Mexico. Ellie's daughter, Emma, born in 2005, is growing up at Equest and plans to volunteer in 2018. The Junior League of Dallas brought her back to horses and to Equest as a volunteer in the Spring of 1988. She has been a Volunteer Captain, a Tack and Groom Trainer, and the Junior League Project Chair. She became a member of NARHA and attended the Instructor Training Short Course in 2001. She was on the Equest Board of Directors from 2001-2004. She helped found the Horspitality Committee and chaired it's first and fourth years. She has been acknowledged with the Extra Mile Award, a Dallas County Volunteer of the Year nomination, the Equest Volunteer of the Year Award, and a NARHA Volunteer of the Year nomination. She set aside a successful career as a trial lawyer to come to Equest full time as it's Director of Volunteer Services, and is thrilled to be a part of it's amazing mission.