EQUIMO BLOG

Tereza Vysoudilová is a year from being twenty. She jumps classes for Young Riders, schools youngsters, has been accepted to medical school, and for an unknowing eye, her life might seem close to perfect. But it is safe to say that she knows her way around misfortune – for example when her top horse injured himself last year and has not fully recovered since then. In our interview, Tereza talks about his recovery and about herself, her career, and all the ways she uses her EQUIMO analysis.

Tereza, can you introduce yourself and tell us something about your riding career so far?

I am 19, and I have been riding since I was 3 or 4 years old. It was my mom who introduced my two sisters and me to this sport.  My first pony ever was named Bertík, and through my childhood, we tried several stables. The one borrowed pony that stands out in my memories was Livča, a little mare hated by everyone because she was extremely lazy. Only little Tereza with a long whip could make her move forward.:) We moved stable again when we bought my first own pony, but the fun fact is that we were living right next to a sport stable all my life. When I accomplished my license for riding big horses, we finally moved there because the owners finally accepted a pony in their stable. After 4 or 5 years of having horses next door, we moved where we are now, mainly because of the fantastic premises – and people. We have been here ever since. 

What can you say about horses you currently ride?

First of all, I have Ivo, whom I call young even though he is seven already. Then there is Radox, who is now enjoying well-deserved rest in the pasture to get better after a lengthy injury. Those two are horses owned by my family, and I also ride several horses of my trainer – Picard, with whom I jump U25 classes, and two youngsters.

How do you manage to make time for everything? Studying, riding so many horses and everyday commuting must take a lot of time…

It is very demanding, indeed. Before the summer holiday and the corona crisis, I usually finished school at about 2 or 3 pm. I took my younger sister and drove to the stable. In the evening, I went home, slept, and repeated this routine over and over. I am with my horses every day, and I also ride at my trainer's once or twice a week.

What is the ultimate goal in this sport for you?

When I was young, I used to say I wanted to win the Olympics.:) Naturally, my goals are not as exciting as they used to be when I was little because as you grow older, you begin to see different sides of the sport. I want to do it for the good feeling, want to know the horses love what they do, and want us to grow together.

What are your plans for this year? 

We had big plans during the winter, but due to the corona crisis, the only big thing right now is my horse's belly.:) I want to go to the Czech Championship with Picard, and hopefully take Ivo to the team competition. Apart from that, I only wish for the horses to be healthy and jump steady rounds.

You had an injured horse for a considerable amount of time. Did you use the EQUIMO tracker during the recovery period?

Oh yes, Radox spent a lot of time only standing in his stable, and then he was only being led in the walk. When he was finally able to start getting back to shape, we had to carefully add the workload. First, we spent only ten minutes in walk and could not do any circles. At this stage, I used EQUIMO analysis mostly to control the time and see if our movement was equally divided. It was great to come back to the session in the evening and see what we did together. When the time came, and we could do circles, I saw my circles on the satellite view. I liked this possibility very much.

You ride horses from youngsters to mature adults. Is there any difference in what you expect from the analysis?

I use EQUIMO with every horse I ride. My trainer's horses are all different, so when I go there, I ride three completely different horses – even physically. The difference between their heights is approximately 50 cm, and it is naturally hard for me to get used to them quickly. It is useful for me to see their strides in the distances, how the number of strides changes, and whether I can ride them equally in the end. 

Do you use your EQUIMO at shows?

Unfortunately, I have not ridden many shows so far this season. But I always carry it with me, and it is especially helpful if I have two horses in one class. I study my analysis afterward and see not only the distances but also my turns (if there is a tight turn, I can see the stride count) and how they vary with different horses.

What about hacks? Do you take your tracker to nature with you too?

Yes, of course. I try to watch my tempo there. When I go cantering into the hills, I want to keep track of my tempo and hopefully see progress over time.

As you mention progress over time, can you also see long-term overall progress?

I was surprised to find out that I rode quite equally to left and right from the beginning, so I only control myself with this function from time to time. But as both of my horses, Ivo and Radox, have a cardiac murmur, I control the intensity for them. I have to admit that I am still not thoroughly familiar with the app; sometimes, there is too much information for me. But I try not to overtrain them, and when it comes to the intensity, I try to keep it as steady as possible.