Tiana Coudray
Born: August 8,1988
Hometown: Ojai, CA
Tiana began riding lessons in third grade at Ojai Valley School, California – a school that offers a unique equestrian program that allows students to ride after school in lieu of more traditional extra-curricular activities. Her mother, Ellen, says this school is where her passion and determination to succeed in equestrian came from.
Why this sport? She got into eventing because she had done a bit of dressage and jumping and she enjoys the adrenaline rush she gets from the sport.
Her hero/idol is William Fox-Pitt and her sporting philosophy is “Quitting is the only time you lose for sure.”
Awards and honours: She was named the 2005, 2007 and 2009 USEA Young Rider of the Year. She also received the 2011 Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy. Each year this award is presented to a Young Rider in one of the Olympic disciplines who exemplifies both sportsmanship and horsemanship.
Irish Dancing
Up until the age of 15 she spent ten years as a serious Irish Dancer, training and competing around the world including five Irish Dancing World Championships, where she had a career high finish of eighth. She jokes however that her family is not Irish, and that she only got into it because she was bored with ballet. She says that her years of dancing helped her achieve the physical condition, balance and body awareness needed to succeed in equestrian sports.
Competitions
In 2010 she won several first places in Allentown on Ringwood Magister as well as firsts in Kalispell on Wise Equestrian and Master Hill.
In 2011 Coudray had a banner year, winning the Jersey Fresh CCI*** and the Galway Downs International Horse Trials CIC***, as well as leading the U.S. efforts at the Boekelo CCI*** in Holland. In 2011 she and Ringwood Magister were second in Blenheim and she had seconds in Allentown on Master Hill and Wise Equestrian.
In 2012 she and Ringwood Magister came in 11th at Saumur, France. The pair was put on the eventing short-list for the 2012 London Olympics. Then in July they were officially named to the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team.
Today, Coudray is successfully competing mainly with Ringwood Magister, a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse that she trained herself. Coundray noted, “I have had him his whole life and this year was the first time he really put all the pieces together and consistently had fantastic results.”
Coudray added, “Everyday is a new day and I think that it’s easy to get caught up in what’s gone well, but there are no guarantees for the future. Certainly I am honored to receive the award and the opportunities that I had in 2010, like going to Holland. Hopefully it will help open the door to even more opportunities but I still have to go out and earn good results year after year. “
