Equestrian Competition Videos: What to Watch Out For

Recording yourself is one of the best methods of improving your performance. Doing so in equestrian sports is no exception, no matter the discipline. Watching yourself back as you ride provides valuable information for you, your coach, and instructor. Without getting hung up on your mistakes, videos are also a great way to see your improvements over time, and especially useful are Equestrian competition videos.

The simplest way to record yourself is with Pivo – an AI-powered auto-tracking smart mount. It eliminates the need to ask someone to record for you, and is seamless and easy to set up and operate.

In this article, we’ll share some tips and personal experience of using Equestrian competition videos.

Getting the right camera angles for perfect video analysis

Sometimes, finding a good camera angle is a question of preference and/or opportunity. Cell phones allow for shooting quite decent videos. Still, capturing your competition videos with a cell phone has some drawbacks. For example, when in a show, the last thing you want to do is worry about finding a good spot for shooting. Also, even when you have a great team, you don’t want to disturb them by asking them to record for you. You might be able to get away with propping your cell phone up in an arena, but open fields such as cross-country tracks and show jumping arenas include huge jumps and open spaces. That’s where Pivo comes in handy – with a built-in auto-zoom feature, it can capture you up to 60m away.

Camera angles have a deep impact on the analysis, which is fundamental for a proper and fair review of the round. For Dressage, a side view at floor level or a little higher is excellent. It provides a clear picture of the rider’s position, alignment, and the horse’s movement. It’s ideal for a precise posture analysis and checking if the rider is in tune with the horse’s motion. It’s also excellent for watching the use of the aids. Front and rear views provide valuable insights into your horse’s symmetry and balance. They also help assess your horse’s impulsion. When shooting dressage videos from oblique angles, you lose some detail. Still, you can have a more comprehensive picture of your and your horse’s performance. Closeups in dressage help capture details about your horse’s movements and your use of the aids.

For show jumping, we prefer videos shot from a higher vantage point and an open angle. Some fans and pros use close angles that provide a close view of the horse and the rider. While this way of shooting offers many details about the rider and the horse, it doesn’t show the full picture. For example, some of these shootings follow the horse so close that you don’t see the obstacle until the last two or three strides. This doesn’t provide a good picture of the approach, or how the rider worked the turn to find the distance. Besides, these videos don’t show you the full picture – for example, what’s next?

It’s not the same to watch an isolated jump as a combination or a related distance. Watching how the pair jumps a fence at a time doesn’t show enough context to make a proper analysis. The more you can see what’s coming next, the better you can judge the horse’s trajectory over each obstacle. Some jumps will be unavoidable, taken from the rear or the front. It’s difficult to see the approach and some essential details from the front. Especially when watching big jumps with solid fillers, like planks.

What to watch for in your competition videos

Many people watch their Equestrian competition videos with a more critical than clinical eye. What’s done is done. It doesn’t make sense to beat yourself up if a round wasn’t as good as you expected. Or even worse, if you only focus on your flaws instead of enjoying a victory or an outstanding performance. There are always new things to learn, so watch your videos with a positive vision. Willingness to improve is essential, but don’t over-question yourself. Instead, consider the below.

Dressage Videos: Watch your posture and alignment. Were you centered and had you established a proper grounding? It’s important to watch yourself calm and not interfering with the horse’s movements. Have you applied the aids promptly and prepared your moves with enough anticipation?

Were your movements fluid, and your horse showed expressive gaits? How smooth were your transitions? Does it look forced, graceful, or in between? Depending on the lesson’s level, look for stretching and engagement. If you experienced difficulty in a specific exercise, you can play the video in slow motion to check what you could have improved. Check whether the circles were perfect or if you should work more on them. Look for precision and take notes to work at home on what you need to improve before the next test.

Show Jumping: Focus on your body and hands’ position during approach, takeoff, flight, and landing. Did you ride the course, keeping an even rhythm without losing momentum in the turns? How was your balance; do you feel you helped your horse? If you notice that your horse helped you, it’s also positive, and it’s good to know that he trusts you.

Analyze your approach and check your horse’s reaction to spooky fences. Also, check your response to those particular fences. Sometimes, spooky obstacles make riders overreact, leading to chips or short distances. Note any signs of hesitation or resistance on your horse; this will help you understand what you should train at home or give you more confidence about him.

Did you stick to your course plan, or did you have to change it on the fly? If so, why did you do it? Do you think your “plan B” worked or worsen the issue? It’s also important to detect any trajectory issues to work on them at home.

Assess how well you performed as a pair and ask yourself what you learned after each round and what you would have changed.

If you observe all these and ask yourself all these questions when watching your Equestrian competition videos, you will for sure improve your performance. Always take a positive approach and start enjoying watching your competition videos!

READ MORE: Lateral Work: Tips Suitable For All Horses