Introducing the Affinity Equitation Team

TAMARA COAKLEY

Principal Coach 

Tamara has had the pleasure of being involved with horses since childhood. Her passion and love for horses has never faded and has developed into a career as an educator of horses and humans. She is personally dedicated to improving her own horsemanship, always trying to stay open-minded and humble to learning and personal growth.

Privileged to have the opportunity to spend time and study with many well respected horsemen and women, both in Australia and Overseas means that she has a real depth of knowledge to draw from.  

Tamara believes the best education a person can receive if they are open to it is from the horses themselves, they are our greatest teachers and keep us true to ourselves and honest about our abilities.

in recent years Tamara has immersed herself in historical horsemanship and the “Vertikal” path, focusing on the development of true balance, self-carriage and collection.

Her approach to education creates change through inspiration not confrontation. When working with both horses and humans her goal is to really connect with them, reaching the mind and heart, establishing trust. Physical and mental balance creates long lasting results.

This work is about building a horse from the inside out, through self awareness we can transform our horses and ourselves!

BADEN COAKLEY

Business Development and Property Manager

Baden has extensive experience in the IT Industry and runs his own IT Support Business in the Central Vic area.

His qualifications also include setting up and managing large projects and coordinating teams of people to successfully achieve common goals. He has a passion for the land and for creating an environment that promotes a positive peaceful experience. 

Baden is also about to publish his first book, an indepth history of the Australian Goldfields and mining enterprises, which is a result of extensive research and a passion for history and geology.

Baden has played an integral role in the infrastructure development, building and maintaining of the beautiful facilities at Affinity Equitation's previous base in Carlsruhe and Kyneton Victoria and our current property in the stunning Bega Valley NSW.

Assistant Coaches

Our horses are our greatest teachers, so we would like to recognize them for their role in our education process. 

Our current team in training includes; 

Bronte- Our striking Baroque blue roan Friesian Warmblood mare. Bronte has the softest eyes and is an intelligent willing young horse that is developing into a strong, balanced, confident riding partner.

Adira - Our Ibeauty queen with her rare colour and presence she is quite the package! Being by a PRE Sire and QH Dam she is an example of a true Azteca horse and is showing good ability in her work so far.

Pedro- This truly stunning pure Lusitano gelding is bringing all his heritage and flair to the table! His story is unique coming to us as a completly unhandled 5 year old it has been amazing to see how confidently and authentically he has offered connectio, a result of trust based consistent training.

The arrangement we have in place with our work and training often leads to connections between our students and our horses. Sometimes students wish to continue this journey on a more permanent basis, therefore the option to purchase one of these amazing horses is a possibility.

We find this supportive co-education arrangement really beneficial to lay the foundation for a successful long term partnership. 

International Coaches

At Affinity Equitation we are committed to QUALITY HORSEMANSHIP and to creating access to the best of the best.

Creating an environment that facilitates growth for ourselves and others. Access to those who inspire us, challenge us and coach us to see what is possible beyond our own expectations is what we all need to achieve greatness! 

We only promote and host horsemen and horsewomen who have integrity to the horse and its well-being. 

Some personal mentors are listed below: 

Manuel Jorje de Oliveira- Oliveira Stables

Buck Brannaman- Buck Brannaman Horsemanship

Bill Dorrance - True Horsemanship Through Feel 

Anja Beran - Classical Equestranism