Thomas HALLER

Thomas HALLER, Austrian Dressage, Para Dressage athlete.

Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?	He took up equestrian in 1997 at age 32.
Why this sport?	He was advised to take up the sport as a form of therapy, even though he had a fear of large animals. "The first horse I rode was a Haflinger, which is not that big. I wasn't afraid because I was strapped in with a belt and could hold on to two handles."
Club / Team	Union Riding & Driving Club St. Marienkirchen: Schärding, AUT
Name of coach	Theres Rantner-Payer [national]

General Interest
Hobbies	Swimming and chess. (oepc.at profile, 2024)
Most influential person in career	Coach Eva Bachinger-Scholda. (Athlete, 13 Dec 2011)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Nothing is impossible." (hallerpromotion.com, 2015)
Ambitions	"My most successful result was fourth place in Sydney – I want to be on the podium in Paris." (oepc.at profile, 2024)
Impairment	He has a congenital form of cerebral palsy which causes muscle stiffness. (hallerpromotion.com, 2015)
Other information	BUSINESSMAN In 2012 he founded Haller Promotion, which holds motivational seminars and supports companies that have employees with specific needs. He set up a transportation and car rental company in 1986 called Haller Mobil in Austria. "When I was a child I had to wait a long time for an ambulance to get me to hospital. I decided I could do better than that." (Facebook profile, 31 Aug 2016; hallerpromotion.com, 2015; haller-mobil.at, 2015; oepc.at, 01 Aug 2012) AUTHOR He wrote a book on his experiences called 'Geht Nicht, Gibt's Nicht' [Nothing is impossible]. (hallerpromotion.com, 2015)
General highlights	He was selected by Austria for the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2024 Paralympics. He won World Championship gold in Para Dressage Freestyle in 2003 in Moorsele (BEL).

Further Personal Information
Family	Wife Samantha
Residence	Austria
Occupation	Business Owner, Businessperson
Languages	German, English