Olympic Audio’s roots run deep in the motion picture business, where it is known as Colossal Sound. It’s an industry where colossal, multimillion-dollar budgets make communications a top priority, and it’s where Adrienne Ryan supplies motion picture sound mixers with high-tech wireless communications equipment. Now that this California-based company has branched out to the equestrian world, its expertise with wireless communications systems is transforming life at training barns and horse show warm up arenas everywhere.
“My family has been in this business for 20 years, and I became involved eight years ago,” Adrienne Ryan says. “About six years ago, dressage trainer Carol Plough came to us, looking for a system that would allow her to teach lessons and coach students in the warm-up ring without losing her voice to overuse, the wind, or competing noise from tractors or airplanes.”
The rest, as they say, is history. With every passing year, more trainers are wearing tiny transmitters and mini microphones, and more riders are wearing tiny receivers and headphones. They are using Olympic Audio’s Equestrian Wireless Systems in lessons at home and at shows, in warm-up arenas at shows, and (thanks to optional speaker systems) at clinics and symposiums, as well.
“We meet a lot of trainers at shows,” Adrienne continues, “where we can demonstrate how the systems work. We’re also on the web, where anyone who is interested can find out a lot of information, and place orders. We’re also available by phone. We want our customers to know that we are here to help them, and we stand behind our products 100 percent.”

Equestrian Wireless System

Olympic Audio’s Equestrian Wireless System is easy to use: The transmitter and receiver units are powered by a 9-volt battery. Replacement batteries – regular or rechargeable – are as close as the nearest store, because they’re the same size used in many household appliances.
“The transmitter has a lapel mic that makes it hands-free for the trainer,” Adrienne says. “The trainer can teach from the saddle, the ground, or a booth outside the arena, and the system works equally well.”
For the rider, the small receiver – about the size of a pack of cards – can clip onto belt or clothing, and the headset is compatible with a helmet or visored cap. Even better, for riders who prefer a specific style of earphones, the receiver’s universal connection means that just about any headset can be used instead.
Sound quality is clear, and volume control can be adjusted from both the transmitter and receiver to customize communications even more. The 100-watt system is designed to transmit over an area larger than a football field, and with 250 channels, it can be used by many trainers in the same warm-up arena without interference. With its own travel case, included with the system, it can travel to shows safely and conveniently.
Other options are available, such as multiple receivers for teachers with a group-lesson clientele, and wireless speakers for clinics or symposium audiences. The wireless speakers are also battery-operated, and are complete with a CD player for musical freestyles or background music, a popular feature with dressage trainers whose students are competitive musical freestyle riders.
Olympic Audio can customize Equestrian Wireless Systems for virtually any need, and customize pricing accordingly.

Merry Christmas

“Every year,” Adrienne recalls, “we get orders from customers for their trainers’ Christmas gifts. Sometimes everyone in a trainer’s barn will chip in together, and sometimes it’s a gift from just one client. It’s always someone who recognizes the difference an Equestrian Wireless System can make in their trainer’s day-in, day-out working life … and in the quality of their own lessons and warm-ups at shows.”
In fact, Adrienne grins, “We don’t get repeat business; we get referrals. One trainer tells another one about it, or one trainer’s student tells another trainer’s student, or someone sees someone else using it at a show. Word of mouth is great, and now we just want people to know where to find us. We’re here to make their training experience easier.”
Music to Adrienne’s ears is when trainers tell her, “Now I can’t train without it!”
Article provided by Olympic Audio.
For more information, visit www.olympicaudio.com or call 818-392-8416.