Tanya Larrigan 
Classical Trainer & Coach
          For Horse & Rider
TANYA LARRIGAN
  • Home page of Tanya Larrigan
  • Tanya's World
  • Profile interview from Harness Magazine
  • Tuition for All Levels, Ridden and Groundwork
  • What is the UKCC, why do it?
  • Para Equestrian Coach
  • Equestrian Displays, Demonstrations, PR,TV Photos
  • Contacting Tanya
  • Trainer to the MHC GB!

Over the years much has been written about leading dressage  trainer and former Olympic team member Tanya Larrigan yet such is her life and  career there is always room for more

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 A real all-round horsewoman who cannot be  slotted into one box: Tanya must be one of the more diverse characters in the  equestrian world.
 Her life started in the circus where her parents Marion and  Peter met and married. As animal trainers and presenters, the family's empathy  with all animals has given them an understanding of how to train with  co-operation. Tanya said that "many things that are promoted as new or natural  has been done in circus many years ago, such as riding with no tack". For her,  real liberty is when 20 stallions work together in a ring with no harness on!

Literally riding before she could walk, Tanya first performed when she  was three years old in the sawdust ring. She became one of Britian's leading international dressage riders and classical trainers, making her international  dressage debut on the first ever Young Riders European dressage team when she  was 18 years old, riding her mother's High School horse Rainbeau

Dressage

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With Salute, a medium level horse that came to her with 'baggage', she set her sights high and went on to the team for the Worlds, the Europeans and two Olympics. This is one part of the story: there is much more than dressage in this lady’s 'tool box', from starting horses for racing, to showjumping, eventing, stunt and TV work, becoming a best-selling author, a designer of children's toys that were short listed as Best Childrens  Products and a producer of equestrian displays - even racing camels at Olympia  with her dad. 

Registered Coach

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 As a trainer/coach Tanya is on the British Dressage (BD)  and the British Horse Society Register and she is also following the UKCC (coaching) system and is now a BD level 3 Coach Educator. Tanya said, "The UKCC  coaching is the way all the disciplines are going. For me, doing the course backs up what l do anyway, but it also provides an insight into other areas of coaching." She had just been appointed by BD as the Para Coach for the South East and London British Equestrian Federation  Foundation Squad.
Throughout her whole career animal welfare has always been at the front of what Tanya promotes as a trainer. She does not focus solely on the  competition world; her doors are open to all - any age person and any breed of  horse or pony, as long as they want to learn. She feels that, for the horse to have a good life, it is up to us to know how to make it better for him. Right from the beginning  you need respect both ways with clear boundaries. Tanya's horses are started through lungeing, long-reining and general tolerance training  including getting used to plastic bags, bridges and doing lateral work from the  ground. Her three year-old 16.2 hand horse Sonny (by Idolo) already lies down  when asked with no lunges used in his training, he works at liberty. So far he  goes sideways, backs-up and picks things up  when asked, he has now started long-reining as an important part of his education before he is ridden,  his  career will be as varied as his owner's. His ridden training will go as far up  the scales as he comfortably can, he will drive, do a liberty routine and take  part in her displays. 

Training Horses of all sizes

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Tanya says there  is no magical answer to training: it is all  about logic, time,  understanding and patience. Starting at the beginning the horse has to learn to learn before he can progress. Once that process is started  then you have the blank pages to build on and create the foundations for  training. When a horse is asked to do something be it ridden, driven, jumped,  ground work or liberty, the trainer must make sure they are allowing it to  happen and not blocking it, to get the right answer the question must be asked  correctly, as they influence  the horse by the contact, balance and their position.

The products of her methods are seen in many ways, through her  riders such as leading para rider Emma Kent and Gentle, who are on the World  Class Programme and for the last 15 years, her Mini Marvels miniature horse  long-reining team, who show they are more than mobile lawn-mowers. In the last  two years Tanya produced and directed her vision of an equestrian variety performance and real family entertainment with 40 horses called "The Magic of the Horse®", featuring stars,  folk such as Karen Bassett (whom Tanya's mother taught as a youngster!) 

For the good of the horse, training should not be kept a secret but shared

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 The Mini Marvels® and The Magic of the Horse®  are  registered trademarks of Tanya Larrigan and may not be used.  All text and photos copyright of Tanya Larrigan  and may not be reproduced  2007/2015