Shane Rose is one of the most thoughtful of Australia’s eventing riders, and it is always great to sit down with him and talk about training. Shane is legendary for his ability to ride tight lines and shave the time cross country. Here he talks about a trial using satellite monitors produced some interesting results. According to Shane:
“The NSW Institute of Sport Equine Program did a study at Werribee where they put satellite monitors on eight horses in the three-star. Unfortunately only half of them worked, but the results were still interesting. They tracked the distances covered, and the speeds the horses were traveling. It was really interesting to look at the difference between Emma Scott and Chris Burton – Chris was a second under the time, and Emma was three seconds over the time, Emma’s average speed and maximum speed were massively quicker than Chris Burton’s yet Chris was the one who was faster. If you looked at the actual distance traveled, Chris traveled 300 metres less than what Emma had done.”
Emma’s average speed and maximum speed were massively faster than Chris Burton’s, yet Chris had the faster time on course…
“If you are walking the course with a wheel and thinking about where you are going to ride it, if you are out by 100 metres, you start again – and yet the study found three times as much difference in distance covered between two riders who had fairly similar time. It’s another tool we can use to improve how we ride…”
“You’ve got to take that information and ask the questions: is Emma’s horse sufficiently schooled to turn up those tight distances? What’s the risk and reward related to shaving a few metres off the track if your horse can gallop really well? The speed and the distance aren’t the only factors in getting quick, but it is certainly a massive tool we can use to take us forward.”