Laurentia Tan

Laurentia Tan Yen Yi BBM PBM (, pronounced ; born 24 April 1979), is a Singaporean para-equestrian competitor.

Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three.

She took up horse riding aged five years as a form of physiotherapy.

She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.

Laurentia Tan was born on 24 April 1979 in Singapore.

She moved with her family to London at the age of three years due to her father's work.

Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and doctors informed her parents that she would probably not be able to walk.

Her family decided to settle in the United Kingdom as they felt she would be better able to reach her full potential with the medical facilities and specialist educational support available there.

When she was in school, she fell so often and sustained so many minor injuries that her teachers and the school nurse affectionately nicknamed her "Trouble".

At five years she was unable to sit and walk properly, and took up horse riding at the Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders in London as a form of physiotherapy.

This activity also helped her confidence and self-esteem.

Tan completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, where she was a prefect.

She also won an Elizabeth Dyson Prize for progress and achievement and a prize for business studies.

From the age of 18, she stopped horse riding for eight years to pursue an honours degree in hospitality management and tourism at Oxford Brookes University, and for a job as a mental health worker.

However, she missed the sport and took it up again in 2005.

Tan said, "For me, riding a horse gives me the freedom, movement and energy that my own legs cannot do."

Tan took up riding in October 2005 at the Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders, where she met her coach Heather "Penny" Pegrum.

Encouraged to participate in dressage competitions in March 2006, she quickly progressed to the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Nationals that year.

In March 2007, the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore (RDA) invited Tan to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships at Hartpury College in Hartpury, Gloucester, in England in July that year.

In March 2007, RDA Singapore contacted Tan and invited her to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships 2007, which was a qualifier for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

The event, Tan's first international competition, was held at Hartpury College, Gloucester, in England in July 2007.

In October 2007, Tan went to Singapore for a visit and trained daily at Singapore's RDA with volunteer coach Sally Drummond.

At this event, her first international competition, she did well enough to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games.

In September 2008, at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre at Sha Tin, she achieved bronze medals in the Individual Championship and Individual Freestyle Tests (class Ia).

These were Singapore's first Paralympic medals and Asia's first equestrian medals at the Paralympic Games.

Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore at a ceremony at the Istana Singapore on 20 September 2008.

She achieved 63% or higher in both her Team and Individual Tests, qualifying her to be selected for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

In the Freestyle to Music Test, despite her profound deafness, she was placed fourth in a field of 18 riders with a best score of 67.94%.

Tan resigned her job in June 2008 to train full-time with her coach Penny Pegrum and physiotherapist Anthea Pell.

Tan's first Paralympic event was the para-dressage Individual Championship Test (class Ia).

Riders in this event are categorized into classes I to IV, those in class I having the most severe disabilities.

On 9 September, riding a 20-year-old chestnut gelding loaned to her named Nothing to Lose (also known as Harvey) at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre in Sha Tin, Tan scored 68.80% to claim the bronze medal behind the United Kingdom's Anne Dunham (73.10%) and Sophie Christiansen (72.80%).

She thus became the first Singaporean to win a Paralympic medal, and the holder of Asia's first Paralympic equestrian medal.

Two days after achieving the first medal, Tan collected her second bronze with a score of 70.167% for the Individual Freestyle Event, in which she performed to music with Nothing To Lose.

The president of the Equestrian Federation of Singapore, Melanie Chew, described her performance as "beyond our expectations", and that the wins would aid in promoting local awareness of the sport.

On 2 September 2012, Tan won Singapore's first medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, a bronze in the dressage Individual Championship Test (class Ia).

She followed this up with a silver medal in the Individual Freestyle Test (class Ia) on 4 September.

For her achievements, Tan was conferred a Bintang (Public Service Star) by the President in November 2012.

Tan would also participate in the World Equestrian Games, and would receive a bronze medal in 2014 and a silver medal in 2018.

She also participated in the 2020 Summer Paralympics, but would only achieve 5th place.