Five Minutes With... Chantal Wigan

Chantal Wigan has been closely associated with every discipline within the Equine industry. She has been competing, winning, studying and following her passion of horses for most of her adult life and has proven that an unknown can also rise to the top. Chantal believes that the most important qualities of a rider are dedication, a positive attitude, and a true love of horses.

In an effort to better herself Chantal relocated to Britain where she studied and obtained the British Horse Society (BHS) A.I exams in 1994. This was closely followed with an “Intermedial Instructor” qualification issued by the Society.  Following these achievements Chantal moved to Europe, where she focused on learning from the best in the dressage business - German riders and trainers.

By 2003 Chantal had returned to Australia and re-established herself at her family’s property in Brisbane and took over management of the Equestrian Centre, ‘Pine Lodge’. During these years she ran a fledgling riding school program. Chantal believes that giving her riders a solid foundation was the key to her early success as a teacher. She taught them the basics, and when they were ready, they would compete at shows.

As much as Chantal enjoyed teaching and competing in Australia, by 2006 she had once again set her sights abroad and decided to close the riding school and move back to Germany.  Now after training and competing in Europe for over 3 years, Chantal has returned to Australia, where she had a great entry back onto the Australian circuit with her lovely horse Ferero, who she has owned for three years, with a Grand Prix and World Cup Qualifier win at Equitana 2010.

Horsezone caught up with Chantal while she was still in southern climes, busy preparing for the Saddleworld Dressage Festival, which incorporates the Victorian State Dressage Championships, being held 9 – 12 December.

Have you always been a dressage rider? Or have you dabbled in other horse sports, and if so what made you decide to focus on dressage?

I felt the need for speed in my younger life and had a go at many other horse sports such as Eventing, Show Jumping, and even Polo. As a child growing up with horses, I loved anything to do with horses as long as it had something to do with speed.  While training in England for my instructor’s exams, an old friend suggested I travel to Germany to a stable where they had horses in training.  I had ridden horses for them in Australia and it seemed like a great idea as I am always up for a challenge.  It was at this point in my career that I made the change to dressage.  Mainly when I saw the dressage horse “Galonie” in Germany who reminded me of a carousel horse.   It was at this time, I believed I could train dressage horses myself.  On a lighter side 2 kms of eventing fences and the early calls for interval training, are not so appealing as dressing in elegant clothes for a day of riding.  I love the challenge to make a horse present itself as such a graceful picture.

To date, what has been your proudest achievement with horses?

It would have to be winning a Grand Prix event on international soil and being recognised amongst my European piers. The thrill of being at the front of the procession and hearing the Australian national anthem being played was memorable.

What’s the main difference between competing in Europe and Australia?

Where would you like me to start?  Of course it is fair to say that Australia is a developing nation in dressage as there are not so many arena surfaces available to compete Grand Prix horses on.  There are fewer shows, greater distances to travel for a one-time appearance in Australia, for example if you were to travel 2000 Kms for a show, then you would expect to have a selection of shows to choose from for the consecutive weeks.   Where as the European show circuit has so many shows you can map out a road trip that can start in Holland, travel south through France and all the way to Spain and travel back north through Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and even now into Russia, who are becoming a force with their young riders.  The European industry has managed to push dressage to the forefront with an active breeding program and a much larger network of professional trainers.  With this all summed up it has our smaller industry at a disadvantage when it comes to the number of shows which can be offered in a year.

You have your BHS Instructor’s Certificate and have run a riding school here in Australia – what do you enjoy most about teaching?

Yes I have the BHS intermediate instructors’ certificate which I attained in 1997.  I have worked for many years and have been fortunate to have had very experienced and renowned instructors teaching me.  I have travelled to the best stables across Europe and believe it is only fair that I share this wealth of knowledge I have gathered over my life.  I think it would be a great opportunity for the Australian dressage community to use my knowledge and train future riders the correct way.   I also believe that our future hopes lie with our young riders and I am very keen to inject myself into that arena.  I enjoy the reward of seeing a student succeed and for them to form a harmonious bond with their horse.

Who is your role model and/or inspiration?

It is hard to model oneself on a current champion but it would be fair to say that any sporting personality who has climbed to the top of their game is worthy of admiration. I would certainly like all the endorsements that Tiger Woods has attached to his name so he could be a role model?

Plans and goals for the future?

I am currently refurbishing my training facility in Brisbane and will be developing scholarships for young riders as part of a new innovative program to help Australian dressage develop.  I am also looking to take in more horses for training when the facility is completed.  In conjunction with my stable, I will compete on the Australian circuit with the intention to win the World Cup position for Australia in 2012. I will also be working on gaining my position on the Olympic Dressage Team for the London 2012 games.