It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. A publisher, a customer service rep and an assistant editor walk into a barn. The publisher says, “So where do you keep your electronic horse?” As it turns out, the joke was on us.
Last month, I went with Cheryl Erpelding and Alicia Anthony to visit Shellie Bean at Rancho El Camino Equestrian in Del Mar to try their new Riding Simulator. I had done my research online, so I knew the Riding Simulator was going to be more than a vibrating barrel with a saddle on it. But I was still blown away when I first met LuLu.
One of only two Ridemaster Pro Riding Simulators in California, Rancho El Camino’s is affectionately known as LuLu, and has her own little corner in BITS Equestrian Outlet on the ranch. Being much neater than the average horse, keeping LuLu inside is no problem. LuLu is surrounded by mirrors, but they are not for her vanity. The mirrors to her front and side allow riders, and their trainers, to review their position from almost every angle.
Shellie wasted no time getting Cheryl in the saddle. Not that it took much cajoling. Electronic or real, it’s hard to keep Cheryl away from a horse – and jet black, with a mane and tail so long and silky that I was a little jealous – Lula is a fine looking electronic horse.
Alicia and I watched with only barely concealed mirth as Cheryl worked to figure out LuLu. We soon discovered that not only did LuLu have three rhythmic gaits – walk, trot and canter – she also has an extended or posting trot, and an extended/fast canter. The gaits are controlled by two different methods. An assistant or instructor can change the speed by pressing buttons on the riding simulator’s shoulder, and a more experienced rider can use LuLu’s sensors to control her speed through their leg aids.
Naturally it wasn’t long before Cheryl switched from LuLu’s manual mode to using the leg and rein sensors to control her gaits.
“She moves like a Warmblood,” stated Cheryl. “You can even feel the diagonals on her extended trot.” Cheryl transitioned several times between the trot and canter. Commenting on her half halts, Cheryl said, “She sensitive, too – typical mare.”
“You can also post to her working trot,” explained Shellie. “But she doesn’t have that natural impulsion to push you out of the saddle. You can really find out how much you use your own muscles and how much you depend on the horse’s motion.”
“Oh that’s ok, I don’t need to post. We’ll save that for Rebecca,” replied Cheryl. Oh, joy!
It wasn’t long before the tack store was brimming with people. LuLu already had a swarm of admirers. Many of the onlookers had ridden her the weekend before, and almost everyone has something positive, if not glowing, to say about their experience.
Barbara Edwards said, “LuLu is a terrific teaching tool. My mare will forgive my little mistakes and miscues, but LuLu does not and that was really helpful. Using LuLu, my instructor was able to make me aware of all the little things I was doing and didn’t even know.”
Alicia was next to ride LuLu. Alicia had tried to sneak out of coming with us, saying she was needed to answer phone calls at the office. But Cheryl and I coaxed her, and I think in the end she was happy she had joined us.
Having ridden when she was a child and teenager, Alicia had been on a 10-year hiatus from horseback riding. We figured she was a perfect candidate for LuLu – an adult amateur thinking about getting back in the saddle. Alicia slipped right into the saddle and with LuLu’s smooth gaits there was no awkward tottering at the trot and canter. In fact, Alicia’s ponytail and LuLu’s tail both swung in the same motion at the canter.
Shellie tried to convince Alicia to try posting at the trot. “Post!?,” Alicia asked somewhat skeptically. Well, she tried. As it turns out, while Alicia had ridden both english and western, it was mostly on trails, and naturally LuLu was not dressed appropriately for her. She was decked out in her dressage saddle today.
Alicia grappled with using the rein and legs aids. It took her a few minutes to get LuLu to walk and trot on her own. We told her struggle built character. If Alicia was the type of woman to give dirty looks, we would have been drowning in them. As it was, we were all enjoying LuLu too much to get discouraged.
How Short Do Those Stirrups Go?
Shellie assured us that while the Riding Simulator was a great way to calm a nervous beginner, or ease a rider coming back from an injury, Lula was also a wonderful teaching aid for more advanced riders. But, I am a natural skeptic. I had ridden three horses that morning. What could I possibly get from a ride on LuLu that I’d missed on my morning rides?
It took us a few minutes to adjust the tack for me. I am somewhat more petite than Cheryl and Alicia, and the stirrups didn’t have enough holes so Shellie had to wrap them twice to make them short enough for me. After we got the tack adjusted Shellie took me through each gait and speed. Then she metaphorically handed me the reins and turned on the sensor mode. Within five steps of the collected trot it became painfully obvious what I was going to learn from LuLu.
“Your elbows are popping out!,” called Cheryl. I looked up into the mirror – ah! My elbows were sticking out. I looked like I was attempting a poor rendition of the chicken dance.
Hearing Cheryl correct my position was nothing new. We both ride with Nancy Reed at Hazy Meadows in Lakeside, and rarely a day goes by when I’m not being told, “Shorten your reins, look up and bring in your elbows! Let them be the heaviest part of your arm.” Or some variation of that speech. But I had never seen it before. No wonder they harped on it. I know sticking my elbows out wasn’t “really” an effective way to ride, but it also looked…horrible.
I tucked in my elbows, shortened LuLu’s reins and looked into the mirror. Certainly I could keep my position on a riding simulator. Wrong. Thirty second later Cheryl called out, “your elbows!” I looked up. Good grief, I had been looking down and my elbows had popped out again. So this pattern went for the rest of my ride. By the end of my session even Alicia was catching and correcting me when I stuck out my elbows.
Shellie was right. My mind didn’t know the difference between LuLu and a real horse. My muscle memory carried over and so did all my habits – good and bad. When I went to post, I had to remind myself not to stand on my toe and instead pivot off my knee. But it was my first reaction. Stepping into my heel was something I had worked on just that morning with Nancy.
The difference with LuLu is that I only had to concentrate on me – not on where I was going and whether she was on the bit or falling out of gear if I dropped my leg for a stride. Also, unlike a conventional lesson, my trainer could stand right next to me and correct my position.
We soon discovered what a valuable teaching tool Lula was in the hands of a first-rate instructor. Shortly after my time with LuLu concluded, dressage trainer and USDF gold medalist, Jody Ambrose, arrived with her student, Lindsay Cropper, to use LuLu for a lesson.
School Master LuLu
Lindsay’s horse is a green and somewhat impetuous, young gelding. Jody brought Lindsay in to take a lesson on LuLu because training her own gelding has given her little opportunity to work on her position. Lindsay’s ride on LuLu progressed somewhat like mine. She started off in the correct position, but as the ride went on she started to lose it. Her shoulders began to collapse a bit and her leg started to slip back.
Jody was easily able to move her leg back into position and explained why her leg was slipping. Then she walked up onto the mounting block and placed her hand in the center of Lindsay’s back. Jody had Lindsay press into her hand as she asked for the canter.
“I watched how much I collapsed in the middle and, because I could see it while riding LuLu, I was also able to fix it,” explained Lindsay. “But it wasn’t just about seeing my faults. Training on LuLu also helped me determine my strengths.”
We watched as Lindsay’s posture improved and before long, she was able to maintain a strong core without Jody’s assistance. Jody explained that, in the same way we carried our habits from live horses to LuLu, we could transfer back what we practiced on the horse simulator.
“The more I use LuLu, the more I like her,” said Jody. “The closest I’ve gotten to being able to focus so intensively on the rider was with my late FEI schoolmaster, Maestro. As reliable as he was, LuLu is even steadier and much less intimidating. And even though LuLu can’t do a flying change or a shoulder-in, with a little imagination I can still use her to teach the aids and timing for a lot of upper level movements.”
Lindsay was the second student Jody had brought in for a lesson on LuLu. But she already has several more clients interested in coming to Rancho El Camino to take a lesson on LuLu; an opportunity Shellie hopes more trainers and students will take advantage of in the future. Jody is also affiliated with Rancho El Camino and available three days a week to teach outside clients who don’t want to bring in their own trainer to LuLu.
Even after we left Rancho El Camino LuLu remained the hot topic in conversation for the rest of the week. When I arrived at Hazy Meadow the next day to train, everyone asked what I thought of the Riding Simulator. Obviously, I had quite a story to tell.
For more information on LuLu visit www.theridingsimulator.com online, call 858-792-8466 or e-mail info@theridingsimulator.com. LuLu is available for lessons during the day and evenings by appointment.
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