Where equine experience meets legal-grade precision

Tanja Schnuderl brings a rare combination to equine valuation: a lifetime with horses, a legal professional's eye for documentation, and the credentials that courts, insurers, and institutions rely on.

Her equestrian journey began at age seven, and she has since accumulated more than twenty years of experience across the full spectrum of equine operations — from FEI-level trainer barns and full-service boarding facilities to large-scale breeding operations and multi-discipline competition venues. She holds the German "Horseshoe" certification and has served as a barn manager, giving her a practical, ground-level understanding of equine value that purely academic appraisers simply cannot match.

Before founding Sigma Equine, Tanja built a career as a legal secretary and paralegal — first in Germany, then at an international law firm in Atlanta. She holds an LL.B. and is bilingual in German and English. This legal background informs every appraisal she produces: meticulously documented, defensible, and structured to withstand scrutiny in courtrooms, boardrooms, and IRS proceedings.

Her path into full-time equine appraisal grew from a clear recognition — the industry needed valuations grounded not just in methodology, but in genuine, hands-on equine knowledge. Today, as an ASEA-accredited Senior Equine Appraiser and court-qualified expert witness, Tanja serves horse owners, mounted police units, universities, therapeutic riding programs, foundations, estate and trust professionals, insurers, and equine rescues across the country.

She is also a published equine industry writer and podcast guest, sharing her expertise on sport horse valuation, donation appraisals, and the nuances of equine market value with a growing audience of owners, advisors, and equestrian professionals.