August 1, 2025 
SAUGERTIES, NY—Katheleen Connelly was just wrapping up her warm-up ahead of the 36-49 adult amateur 3’ hunter class when she was alerted by a series of loud, successive beeps.
Mid-circle on the way to her warm-up jump, Connelly noticed a flashing red warning message on the tiny monitor attached to the top of her horse, Illustrative’s, poll.
“Stay alert!” it flashed.
“The warning was spot-on,” said Connelly, who admits that, three-quarters of the way through her schooling, her mind had already started to wander.
“I was nervous about my round, and I was looking into the show ring at the long-run diagonal—which was really quite built up—and I wasn’t paying attention to my steering or the vertical I was trying to canter to, or any of the other riders in the schooling ring,” she admitted.
“I was already mentally sipping that glass of pinot grigio I’d planned for after my classic round. To be honest, some version of this happens at about this point at every horse show, and really, I need to get my head in the game.”
Fortunately, Connelly said, the new Equo-Ammie Rider Monitoring System was there for her.
The system—which uses an infrared LED and camera to scan and recognize a rider’s face, then track their reactions while offering supportive “reminders” throughout their ride—helped to ensure her attention was focused on the jump ahead, and not on happy hour.
“I’m part of a test group of amateur riders helping to vet and roll-out this new technology, but I definitely plan on adopting it myself!” Connelly says of the Equo-Ammie system, which is slated to launch on the broader market in early 2028.
“Adult amateurs, especially of my age group, have a lot going on. Many of us have demanding jobs, busy kids at home, and husbands who think that spending this much time and money on glorified farm animals is absurd.
“Who can blame us if we need a little extra help keeping our minds on track?”
In addition to “Stay alert!” messages, the system also issues a series of amateur-friendly reminders such as:
“Eyes between the ears!”
“Are you listening [to your trainer]?”
“Heels down—steer!”
“More leg!” and, when things get especially hairy…
“Time for a pro-ride!”
“It’s really amazing the level of detail the system is able to achieve, and the timing it’s been able to synchronize for issuing the alerts,” said Connelly, who agreed to speak to Horse Network between rounds of the horse show. “Your trainer, who knows you best, can also add-in customized messages—like mine is, “Let him stretch! Don’t alarm him!”
“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!”
“Oh, see?! I just got a ‘No talking and riding!’ message!
“Got to go—we’ll talk soon!”
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