The Future of Training

This article is from the October 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Imagine; a horse that doesn’t buck or spook, has a perfect attitude, incredible stamina, can perfectly execute Grand Prix movements and jump up to 1.20m. Have I caught your interest? Meet Stanley and Cedric, the shiny black riding simulators that are helping Australian equestrians hone their techniques from the safety and comfort of the great indoors.

It was back in the 90s that Racewood, a UK-based company, first started developing riding simulators aimed to improve the balance and strength of apprentice jockeys. More recently, this innovation has made its way to the performance space, with the eventing simulator. These simulators are tacked as needed and they can be ridden around the dressage arena, across country or showjumping. The horse moves according to the gait, movement or jump occurring and an animation of each environment appears on three screens in front. The simulator provides real-time feedback about your position and effectiveness of aids.

For Victorian Michelle Abela, the purchase of her eventing simulator, Stanley, was the reality of a two-decade dream. It was in 1998 that she first sat astride a Racewood simulator in what she describes as an unforgettable experience. She has been following the company ever since and purchased Stanley in 2018.

“Racewood has gone to great lengths to realistically replicate the feel and motion of riding a real horse,” explains Michelle. “The size and build of the simulator is approximately equivalent to that of a 15.2hh horse, and its body is fitted with multiple sensors which constantly analyse what the rider is doing. This information is then fed back to the participants via a large TV screen.

“There is honestly no limit to what the simulator can assist riders with. Probably the most common issue I encounter is people wanting to regain confidence. Other popular concerns are balance, feel, timing, returning from injury, fitness, physical strength building, learning to ride, learning to jump, muscle memory, coordination and contact.

“Stanley has helped so many riders from RDA participants who lacked the confidence to progress, to Grand Prix riders who just felt stuck, and eventers that needed the visual feedback from the simulator to move forward. My favourite story is of a lovely lady who did not own a horse of her own. Before seeing Stanley at Equitana, she had very limited riding experience from attending some trail riding venues. She committed to a half-hour session every other week and within six months went from a complete beginner to confidently performing Grand Prix movements on the simulator.

“For horse owners, I would never recommend sacrificing your regular lessons with your horse to ride a simulator,” Michelle says. “However, adding an occasional simulator session to your training will most certainly provide you with invaluable feedback about what your body is doing while you are in the saddle. Knowing exactly where and what your strengths and weaknesses are undoubtedly assists in accelerating your progress through your training goals.”

Emily Morgan-Brown’s interest in riding simulators stemmed from a want to improve her own riding without frustrating her horse. Funnily enough, in the beginning, the Queensland-based owner of Cedric didn’t realise the technology existed. “I’d been riding since I was five and breaking in horses from a young age,” recounts Emily. “However I had a break from horses for about six years whilst I got married and had kids. When I returned to the saddle, I wanted to find a way to focus on correcting my riding without bothering my horse. A friend mentioned that there were riding simulators. I’d never heard of them so my research started from there.

“Since my purchase of Cedric, I’ve worked on my technique every time I am on board. Big changes don’t happen immediately, but my knowledge and understanding have improved dramatically. I’ve had a huge learning curve about body awareness, biomechanics and how different we all are as riders.”

Like Michelle, Emily utilises the simulator as part of her business, to educate and improve other riders. “I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in family, friends and clients alike,” Emily continues. “We use the simulator to assist understanding as well as learning. They give us the foundation of correct aids and posture so that we can take that knowledge to our horses. The simulator allows us to focus on ourselves without a teasy, tired or uneducated horse, and gives us the knowledge and feel to better communicate what we are asking of them. It’s our job as riders to learn to ride in a way that can be kind, pleasant and fun for all involved.

“There are simulators for all sorts of sports now,” concludes Emily. “For example, simulators for pilots, formula one drivers, golf, skydiving, and there’s even a surfing simulator now open. These simulators are an opportunity for professionals to improve, be adventurous, try new things, and learn the feel. Simulators are an invaluable training tool, and I believe they could impact equestrian competition dramatically.”

The popularity of using riding simulators for performance-based training in Europe has soared, and although Australia is a few steps behind, it’s expected that we will follow suit. The exciting prospect of this innovation is the access to somewhat unlimited training hours, in comparison to working a horse daily for up to an hour. It’s hard to imagine that the simulators of the future will be exclusive to English performance disciplines — sometime soon we may be finessing our lope, campdrafting and cutting in front of a few screens.

Article: Rachel Clayfield

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