About Tania
The Full Story
Grand Prix dressage rider Tania Grantham is a pole work specialist, rider and trainer, based in South East England. Tania’s incredibly innovative and fun pole work layouts have earned her a large social media following, with some of her videos enjoying over a million views!
As well as frequently posting videos of her pole layouts, Tania candidly shares her own highs and lows as a trainer, rider and competitor, forming solidarity with her followers by sharing her own triumphs, challenges, mistakes and solutions with genuine warmth and humour.
Tania trained and competed her own horse, Samarino (Sam), from just backed to Grand Prix. She rides, trains and competes Seni Ilustrisimo III (Igloo), Seni Usio V (Norman, whom Tania co-owns) and Roquito (Rocky) for owner Michelle Van Meurs. With Igloo, a Spanish stallion by Seni Indio, Tania represented Great Britain at the MCI Europeans in Belgium where they achieved team silver and individual silver in the Lisboa. In 2023, the combination won the Prix St George PRE class at the British Dressage Associated Championships.
Tania still trains and competes for Michelle along with having regular clients who she trains, and competes for. Tania holds reglaur polework clinics in Surrey and West Sussex, as well as for private yards and Riding Clubs.
The last couple of years Tania has been focussing more on her “off horse” career. Her first book “Polework Journal” was published in Nov 2023. It is a unique book, guiding riders through various exercises and polework layouts all the while encouraging them to reflect and self monitor their training.
She regularly writes for magazines both here in the UK as well as abroad. With a monthly polework feature in Horse Deals AUS, she brings her polework literally to the other side of the world. Although polework is her passion, she’s also writes non polework training pieces.
Through out 2024, she worked with jump and pole manufacturer Jump 4 Joy, to develop a new type of pole raiser that will seamlessly fit into her shape based layouts, allowing users even more variation within their training. The raisers were launched autumn 2025.
Tania has a small range of fun, practical clothing. Featuring the slogan “Poledancing” along with her logo.
Tania has a training series available on Ridely pro. ‘Have fun and build strength with poles’ This series uses layouts of only 3 poles to enhance your schooling session.
In 2024 Tania filmed a series for H&C TV ‘Back to basics: Polework’. This is a twelve part series showcasing layouts using 6 poles and demonstrated by a range of horses and riders from different disciplines.
Tania presents live polework demos.
Tania is cohost of the popular equestrian podcast Poles, Piaffe and Prosecco. The podcast is now in it’s third series. Poles, Piaffe and Prosecco can be found on all major podcast platforms. Episodes are free to listen to and land every Friday. The producers welcome training and lifestyle questions for future episodes via email to polesandprosecco@yahoo.com or via Q&A or voice note on Spotify.
How Tania started riding:
Although Tania’s mother had ridden when she was younger, Tania grew up on the outskirts of London without having her own horses or ponies. Occasionally, she had the chance to ride ponies owned by a family friend, but these opportunities were infrequent. When she was about ten years old, her mother began managing a livery yard on the outskirts of Richmond Park, which had a small riding school attached. From around the age of eleven, Tania spent nearly every weekend and most of her spare time at the riding school, helping out and working in exchange for one ride per week. Eager for any opportunity to ride, she wasn’t selective and often found herself riding the mischievous ponies that no one else wanted.
At sixteen, she attended college to complete her A-levels while working part-time at a local yard, a commute that involved two bus journeys and a walk. During this time, she completed her Stage 1 and Stage 2 qualifications with the British Horse Society.
After college, Tania took a gap year and secured a job as a working pupil at a dressage yard. While there, she completed her Stage 3 and PTT qualifications, gaining her teaching insurance. By the end of the year, she had decided to pursue a full-time career with horses and chose not to attend university, despite having a place to study Sports Science.
She then spent six months in Vienna working at the private stable of the chief rider of the Spanish Riding School. After returning to the UK, she became yard manager at a busy dressage training and livery yard.
In 2005, Tania became freelance and began teaching and riding for clients full time. Over the years, her business has evolved, but training remains at its core.
