Chatting with Luis Tillman

Tell us about you

My name is Luis Tillman, I’m eighteen years old and I’m from Hesse in Germany. At the age of just eighteen, I have already achieved a lot in equestrian sports and can look back on a wealth of experience at my young age. I am a passionate dressage rider myself and ride in dressage up to class M and in jumping up to class L.

How did your horses come into your life?

My parents encouraged me very intensively in equestrian sports from an early age and so I was able to train with many trainers such as Uta Gräf, Stefan Schneider, Hartwig Knapp and Klaus Sponagel to name just a few.

I built up a large network early on, which opened up many great and new doors for me. At the beginning of 2019, together with the eventing rider Petra Kronwitter, I expanded her horse sales stable with sport and leisure horses and then at the end of 2020, thanks to successful horse marketing, I received the offer to set up a new company and run the sales stable there. I managed a sales stable with many constantly changing, attractive and qualitative sport horses at an equestrian centre with international standards.

How long have you been riding?

Since I was three years old

When and where do you ride?

At the moment I’m based at Gestüt Tannenhof close to Wiesbaden in Hessen (Germany). I train here with the Grand Prix rider Anja Plönzke. Every morning I start riding my horses here.

How did you start riding?

My mother brought me as a child to the stables

What you and your horses currently working on?

We are always working on the basics and improving the suppleness in the dressage lessons.

What do you love about riding?

I love to watch the development of young horses and how they become more beautiful and trained. I am fascinated by optimising the movements of the horse.

What you would you like to be doing in the future and do you have any goals?

Currently I am an apprentice at the Germany company “Clip my Horse”, which gives me the opportunity to interview some of the most successful riders all over the world.

Have you ever had to deal with nerves in riding? 

Yes, two years ago my horses were pretty young and not so easy to handle.

How do you deal with them?

I stayed calm and listened to experienced trainers.  

 

Down the Centre Line

 

Who would be your dream horse to ride?

Superb

Who is your equestrian hero?

Dorothee Schneider

If you could have 5 people to dinner who would they be?

Anja Plönzke Franziska Stiegelmaier Andy Steininger Anika Naumann Yara Reichert

Favourite colour horse?

Black

Favourite horse event?

CHIO Aachen

Favourite food?

Currywurst

Favourite way to relax?

With a good friend and a cold drink

Want More?

If you enjoyed meeting Luis you might like to view more dressage rider “chatting with” interviews here    You can keep up with Luis’s progress and check out his instagram page here