Lia Koudouni

Our head rider Lia Koudouni has a very successful career in international sport.She first started riding as a child, at 5 years of age, out of true love and passion for horses.

She has been committed to horses ever since. Her sports career starts a few years later at age 10, when she chooses dressage as her primary discipline. With her first ride, Donus she won 4 consecutive years gold medal in the National Championships in the children’s class setting a strong milestone for the journey to follow.

She then makes a big step in the international sport for the next years as part of the Greek National Team. Having dozens of gold medals in the Balkan Championships for the Individual and Team competition at the Children, Juniors and Young Riders classes on her curriculum she is considered one of the most decorated Greek riders in Dressage. With her ride Donnergroll she qualified for multiple European Championships and international competitions, making a series of high scores and impressive appearances.

The years to follow she got highly involved in young horse training. As she mentioned in Eurodressage, “building up your horse for the higher classes is one of the biggest challenges for a rider but also the biggest reward for all the hard work. It is important to believe in your horse during every step of this long procedure and keep practicing until you make it”. She succeeded in bringing two stallions Filius Bedo and Collier to international S class level. Collier has been her ride for the World Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo after a very hard battle for qualification progress. Scoring almost 80% in international competitions and placed in all his entries, he was even ranked number 10 in the world for his studbook. Today she is focusing on her next big step to the Grand Prix and participating in the European Championships and World Equestrian Games with her talented and most promising stallion Morricone II. Her placings in international competitions already show the bright future to come.

Some words…

“For me it’s not about the result, it’s about spending every day with the horses, seeing them grow, getting better, developing and making progress. The result is the outcome of hard work and devotion; it’s never the reason to get back up in the saddle. What makes our sport so special is the connection you build with the horse. When I ride, I feel is it a good day for my horse or not, how can I make the best of them, but in a way that they are willing to do it not that they are forced. This is what I believe makes my riding system so different and all my horses feel so supple, easygoing and motivated. We are really a team; I give them the best and they give it back to me. And I would rather have a happy horse and a true bond than any gold medal in the world, this is what our sport is often missing, and this is what true horsemanship means.”