With more than 20 years of experience training and developing horses and over 15 years as a professional instructor, Elisabeth brings a thoughtful and well-rounded approach to both horse and rider development. Her experience includes hunters, jumpers, dressage, and foundational horsemanship, as well as starting young horses, retraining and refining experienced horses, working through behavioral and training challenges, and preparing horse-and-rider partnerships for the show ring.

Throughout her career, Elisabeth has worked as both an Assistant Trainer and Head Trainer, developing not only individual horses and riders but also successful lesson and training programs. She is passionate about helping riders become confident, educated horsemen who understand the “why” behind their riding, while developing horses through clear, consistent, and fair communication.

As a Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist, Elisabeth incorporates her knowledge of equine movement and physical well-being into her training approach. She believes that every horse is an individual and that good training should build confidence, understanding, and correct fundamentals while always prioritizing the horse’s welfare and long-term success.

With 15 years of teaching experience, Avera Ellurst helps riders of all ages and levels build a safe, confident, and biomechanically sound foundation in the saddle. Certified in Natural Lifemanship and trained in the TRT (Tristan Tucker) Method, Avera brings extensive show experience from training and competing in Florida and California — and is equipped to take riders to shows and develop them up through the levels.

Avera also brings 10 years of barn management experience across lesson, boarding, show, and breeding barns, offering a full-picture understanding of horse care beyond the saddle. Lessons cover riding fundamentals alongside ground manners, grooming, tacking up, and dedicated show preparation and ring skills.

Avera is proud of her students’ achievements, including several who’ve earned their C ratings in Pony Club. Whether the goal is showing, trail riding, or simply enjoying time with horses, her philosophy centers on safety, correct biomechanics, and effective horsemanship — building capable, confident equestrians every step of the way.

Phoebe has been engrained in the horse world her entire life. Four years ago she fell in love with the hunter-equitation world and has chased her passion to show venues across NC and beyond where she competed successfully in derbies and qualifying for NCHJA finals.
Taking a step back from the life in the show world she’s settled into working at Blue Sun for over a year where she has a deep understanding of the workings of the farm and caring for its horses. She is dedicated to healthy happy horses and takes the time to make sure that all the animals are treated like she would her own.
Phoebe owns and boards Shelby, a 7 year old APHA mare. The two have been exploring all there is to horsemanship and creating a well-rounded horse with long reining, jumping, bareback bridle-less riding and everything in between.

Victoria keeps everything running smoothly from the front office to the barns. Originally from small town Iowa, she moved to North Carolina and quickly fell in love with the equestrian world, especially the western side of the horse world. With a background in farming and 2 years at the farm, Victoria balances administrative work with hands-on time caring for the animals and property. She’s especially proud to ride and work with Rio, a AQHA gelding, who she’s built a close partnership with! She is passionate about team development and creating a collaborative, supportive work environment. Seeing the farm continue to grow and improve is one of her favorite parts of the job.

John wears many hats at the farm—as the landowner, program director, regenerative farmer, beekeeper, equestrian enthusiast, professional photographer, and fine art collector. He’s at the center of it all. Contact: John@bluesuninternational.com