Learn from Laura Tomlinson and Kyra Kyrklund at Olympia
Olympic dressage stars Kyra Kyrklund and Laura Tomlinson will be giving masterclasses at Olympia this year.
Kyra will be working with an up-and-coming grand prix rider — yet to be revealed — during her demonstration in front of the crowds on 15 December.
Kyra’s career has spanned four decades and she rode for Finland at five consecutive Olympic games from 1980 to 1996.
Among her victories was her famous win at the 1991 World Cup Finals in Paris on board Matador, which the combination attended on a wildcard.
The pair also took individual silver at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm.
Matador was recently nominated as one of the seven best horses that dressage has ever seen at the Global Dressage Forum in Holland (26-27 October).
Kyra has also claimed numerous titles at the Finnish National Championships as well as other major international competitions.
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She has trained riders from across the world.
The following day (16 December), London 2012 team gold medal-winning rider Laura Tomlinson will be hosting a training session.
She will give the audience an insight into her training techniques and will particularly focus on how to deal with a difficult competition environment.
Laura retired her Olympic ride — Mistral Højris — known as “Alf” at Olympia in 2013. He will not be joining her for the demonstration.
As well as taking team gold, the combination also collected individual bronze in the freestyle.
Speaking to H&H following “Alf’s” retirement, Laura spoke of a few of her fondest memories of him.
“The end of my freestyle at the Olympics when I felt he had put absolutely everything on the line and given me absolutely 110% — he could not have given me any more. That was extraordinarily emotional and an extremely satisfying feeling to get,” she said.
“For him to have really just tried his hardest for me on that day was pretty overwhelming and that’s a moment I will never forget and still chokes me a bit when I see it on film.”
Olympia, The London International Horse Show runs from 15-21 December and hosts a leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series on 15-16 December.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.