Start Here

we are all individuals

and effective coaching starts with understanding the rider infront of you

Coaching Principle

Every rider arrives with a unique combination of body shape, proportions, mobility, strength, coordination, experience and confidence.

The goal is not to make every rider look the same. The goal is to help each rider become more effective, more balanced and more secure in the saddle.

This resource is designed to help coaches use the simulator as a tool for assessment, skill development and rider improvement.

Why Simulator First

Visible symptoms are often only part of the story. The same riding problem may come from different movement strategies, coordination patterns, or ways of organising the body.

The simulator lets you slow things down, remove variables, build awareness and test alternatives safely.

Within Each Pathway

Common rider symptoms.
Assessment ideas using the simulator.
Relevant simulator exercises.
Off-horse exercises to improve awareness, control, or capacity.
Suggestions for transferring improvements back onto the horse.
Progressions and coaching considerations.

Outcome Focus

Has the rider become more stable?
Has their coordination improved?
Can they influence the horse more effectively?
Can they reproduce improvement when they return to riding?

Where to Start

Choose your entry point

Find Your Problem

Start with what the rider experiences under movement and pressure.

Exercise Library

Select interventions that match the rider's current organisation, not a generic sequence.

Session Tools

Use observation, decision and reassessment to guide session flow.

How to Work

Observe the rider under movement and pressure, then identify the primary functional problem.
Assess on the simulator, select a focused intervention, and monitor what changes in real time.
Reassess and transfer: confirm the improvement returns when the rider goes back onto the horse.

The simulator provides information. Exercises provide opportunity for change. The horse provides the final test.

Coaching Standard

Use this as a coaching guide, not a rulebook.

Observe, experiment, reassess and adapt. Effective coaching is not about creating identical riders. It is about helping every rider find the organisation, awareness and skills that allow them to perform at their best on the simulator, on the ground, and ultimately on the horse.

Common Problems

Go straight into diagnosis

Pathway