Hi, I'm Laura

I'm a life long horsey girl. I have trained and competed in many disciplines in England, Finland and the US. I've learned from the American cowboys, classical masters in England and showjumping trainers in Finland. I have four horses here in Finland and I regularly commute between Finland and England.

Nowadays my equestrian passion is classical dressage and work in hand. I like to add a sprinkling of horsemanship to that. I'm especially interested in challenging horses, be it conformational or behavioural. I find that these horses especially benefit from my experience, style of training and varied toolkit. My real passion is to use my skills to improve the relationship of the horse and his rider in such way that training is enjoyable to both and that it aids the mental and physical wellbeing of the horse, so that he has a good chance of getting to ripe old age fit, well and happy. A well-trained horse will of feather light aid, which makes riding easy and comfortable for both horse and the rider.

I have large regular clientele in Finland and in England, of horses and riders of all shapes and sizes and variety of backgrounds.

My horsetraining philosophy

The horse is always right. This doesn't mean that the horse is allowed to do what he wants, but that the right solutions are only found by listening to the horse's feedback. My old cowboy mentor used to say "when you are with a horse, you are always either training or untraining". We have to decide, which we want to do.

Good training improves horse's physical and mental wellbeing. The horse happy, when it has clear rules, but those rules must be fair and consistent.

My equestrian education

I have had the honour of training with some excellent masters. As a teenager in Finland I competed my tricky pony Ringo Star extensively and trained with several well-known showjumping and dressage trainers and clinicians. Once I moved to England, I rode and competed for the university team, with the university sponsoring part of the training and competition fees. From the training stables I found my next horse, Dublin. The soon to be 28yo is still with me, doing well in daily work. 

Later, I added a two-year-old quarter horse gelding and an unstarted seven-year-old mare to my string. 

With those three, I have trained for some 20 or so years with a four star (old 3) eventer and BHS accredited trainer Joss Hubble and GP level classical dressage trainer Andrew Day (who himself has trained with Arthur Kottas and Charles de Kunffy among others). During my many trips to the US, I have spent much time under the tutelage of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame horse trainer Nate Brown and a well-known clinician Pat Wyse, who among other things co-authored Monte Foreman's Horse Training Science book.

 On top of that I have frequented many excellent clinics, as a participant and a spectator. Some highlights include Miguel Tavora, a long term student of the billiant Nuno Oliveira and the author of Dressage Principles and Techniques - A Blueprint for the Serious Rider, Bent Branderup, the founder of Academic Art of Riding, Monty Roberts, the original horse whispered and Tina Cook, the winner of countless Olympic, World and European championship medals.

To quote Nate Brown, one can learn something from each horse and each person.

On top of the practical training, I have spent much time studying on some of the best online courses (Ritter Dressage, Mestre Luis Valenca Dressage, Sonja Weber Dressage, Marijke de Jong Straightness Training, Mustang Maddy, Sue Dyson Pain Recognition, Patherflow Pain Management, and reading through piles of equestrian books, written by classical masters, veterinarians, bodyworkers, horse whisperers and cowboys.

However, the most important teachers are the horses. Good trainers can help us understand them better, then they will tell us how they want us to ride and train... if we just care to listen.

Current services in English

I regularly travel to South East of England, and offer live training during my visits. On top of that I will offer individualized online training packages, with lessons and theory. You can find me social media FB Laura Koskenmäki Instagram the_classical_cowgirl and message me. You can also drop me a line on [email protected]