Tara Khan has travelled the world competing with her horse Lanardo – now she plans to get the jump on her competition at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
The 21-year-old equestrian jumper moved to the Gold Coast from Singapore to study at Bond University, and is salivating at the prospect of becoming an Olympic rider.
“I moved here mainly because of the elite athlete program at Bond. It was a standout and I knew I’d be able to balance my training, competing and University work,” Khan said.
“The bond with ‘Harry’ is really special to me.
“I’ve competed with him in four countries now and I want to spend the time with him every day.
“I want to compete at the highest level -- Olympics is the goal.
“The recent announcement of Brisbane 2032 is really exciting. It is close to home and we already have horses here.”
Khan has already been earmarked as a future Olympian.
She trains daily in Wongawallan with Lanardo – a partnership spanning six-years – while juggling a Bachelor of Business at Bond University.
But it is the business of representing Singapore at the biggest sporting stage on earth that drives Khan.
“By the age of 15 I was doing junior international shows, in middle school I was having to balance the horses and my own studies,” she said.
“I was awarded the Olympic pathway development award in 2016 by Singapore.
“They see me in the future hopefully riding for Singapore at the Olympics.
“That was a really exciting award. There are only a couple that have been handed out and I was only 16.
“It motivated me to work a lot harder to reach my goals.”