My halt aid brought us to a standstill in one stride.

This has certainly had an impact on the straightness of my horse. Other areas of concern: rigid hands and an inflexible contact, too much leg and a tendency to pitch forward I don’t truly know the aids to canter, or make a downward transition. My left stirrup was a hole longer than my right and the padding in my saddle was about a centimetre flatter on the right-hand side.

Riding in my own saddle to best replicate my work at home, it quickly became apparent that I have a misaligned pelvis. Once complete you ride through a supervised instructional session. During the session rider information can be viewed onscreen with graphs providing real-time feedback from the sensors. Travis can be ridden in various modalities, the first of which provides an initial analysis to identify your trouble spots. Each sensor is also programmed to respond to weight and pressure as a Grand Prix horse would respond to correctly applied aids. The unit mimics the shape and movement of a real horse, with sensors in seat, rein and leg positions to provide data on rider aids. Instruction on the Racewood Dressage Simulator is offered by Charmaine Gardner of CHG Equestrian, based at Equestria in Kyalami. Charmaine Gardner astride Travis Accurate simulation When HQ learned about the ‘robot horse’ that can teach you to ride, we had to try it for ourselves. Fans of dressage who follow social media may recently have heard word circulating about Travis the dressage simulator.

Dressage horse simulator