Elliot Patterson – Elliot Patterson, an Australian dressage rider, died on May 25, 2024, from injuries he received in a horse fall that occurred about three weeks prior. His age was thirty-two. At a young age, Patterson took to riding and enjoyed spending time with horses at pony clubs and agricultural fairs. At the Royal Shows in Sydney and Brisbane, he won the boy rider events. In interschool contests, he began as a versatile rider competing in cross-disciplinary events. Show jumper Waga was his first primary show horse. When Elliot was a teenager on a family vacation in Germany, he fell in love with the horse Leandro and made the jump to dressage.
Elliot and Leandro, who have been under Tor van den Berge’s tutelage since 2008, began competing at the young riders’ level in 2009. In 2011, they received a nomination to represent Australia in the Trans-Tasman Young Riders Derby in Feilding, New Zealand. The team competition was won by Australia. He trained with Wolfram Wittig for three months in Germany in 2011. They advanced to the Under 25 Grand Prix level in 2013 after being at the Young Riders level through 2012. 2014 CDI Sydney was their final CDI together. Patterson got to know peer Alexis Hellyer while he was a Young Rider, and the two got married in 2010.
In 2016, Patterson made a one-season return to the international arena riding Boronia HG (by Breitling W x Donnerhall), Bob and Ela Weight’s tiny tour mare. He returned at the Grand Prix level six years later, in 2022, with Emma Weel’s black glding Santiago (by Sandro Hit x Florestan). He was given the chance to visit Europe in May 2022 and compete in the CDIO Aachen and CDI Aachen Drssage Days in Hagen in 2022. In early September, he also competed in the 2022 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf, riding Dopo Domani (by Domani x Boston).
