Whether you are just starting to teach and are starting at the basics, or you are active at the highest level -where it all revolves around the smallest details-… Posture and sit is and remains the basics for all succes!
It does not matter if you are young or old, practice the classical art of riding, are a fanatic dressage trainer, give show jumping- or eventing training, or guide riders on a recreation level as an instructor…
The rider’s posture and sitting is and remains the basics for all succes. If the rider is not completely in balance, you will encounter difficulties with your students, such as: raising heels, not being able to keep hands still, not being able to sit properly and so on. But you also encounter difficulties with the horse such as: difference in lateral flexion, extension in all 3 gates, a difficult approach and so on.
No matter how often you tell your student to keep their heels low, or their hands still, or relax in sitting trot… The progress is minimal, resulting in frustration and demotivation for your student, the horse, but also for you as an instructor!
You can therefore continue to do what you have been taught and perhaps always did, such as giving weekly training on the back of the horse. Maybe you even let your students train their own body, their core stability, next to the horse. But there is now even more that you can do for them!
There is a way now to let your student get rid of their frustrating stumbling blocks and without putting a strain on the horse: Joker!
Joker really makes the difference!
Its great value is that it brings the student back to the basics of consciousness and feeling, because that is what good horse riding is all about.
Made from a unique spring construction, this simulator allows the student to feel the walk, trot, and canter. At least … as long as the rider makes the right movements …
Joker does not compensate for uneven weight distribution or an uncentered position of the rider as a real horse does. As a result, your student must take responsibility for his or her own balance.
In addition, the rider makes the movements himself and that provides immediate feedback: If the movements do not feel like a real horse, your student does not move in a way that does not disturb the horse!
Joker can be quite confrontational and that’s why he works so directly!
This is of course a great sensation for your student, ultimately the horse, but just imagine what it would mean for you as an instructor … Joker tells your student more than you can explain in 1000 words!
The horse is an unprecedented compensator
The horse cannot resolve your student’s imbalance without the risk of possible injury and inevitable asymmetric muscle development. But because the horse is always looking for balance, it tries to compensate for the lack of balance and coördination of your student. As a result, the horse shows undesirable behavior, or it does not perform as well as expected or it quickly runs the risk of that – always unwanted – injury.
Your student may not even be aware that their own attitude and position can be the cause of all these problems. It is therefore not just about the stumbling blocks that the student seems unable to master, but also about the well-being of the horse!
This is of course not only very annoying for the horse in the first place, your student in the second place, but also for you as an instructor! After all, an injured horse means no lesson and therefore no income …
By watching a rider ride Joker, a riding instructor -with or without the knowledge of biomechanics- can see how the horse moves and identify the problems / difficulties they have.
Priority no. 1 for you as an instructor is therefore the horse fit and healthy! And for this the basic posture & sitting must be in order.
With Joker you can teach your students the correct movements by working on position, balance, muscle tone, independent sitting and aids, biomechanics, coördination, timing, breathing, leg position, rein contact, precise aids, or rising trot, all whatever it takes to achieve more harmony between your student and their horse.
Because you have the opportunity to be very close to your student in walk, trot, and canter, you will analyze things that you have never seen before. When you help your student to improve, you can (without running around) keep a close eye on them.
With Joker’s instant feedback, you will be giving your students incredible Eye-openers. These will make your student and their horse very happy and help them a lot further on their way to achieving their dreams!
Joker helps you to become the best instructor you can possibly be!
Many riders at all levels, even up to and including the Grand Prix, have already experienced the incredible benefits of Joker. He can therefore be employed at all levels and in all disciplines. He has all the skills to master the finer points. You can also adjust Joker in different ways so that he reacts more and more sensitively and the balance can therefore be improved again and again!
Joker can be used multifunctionally
While Joker was initially designed to improve riding skills, Joker has also shown how useful it is to riders and non-riders for physiotherapy purposes and disabled people. Joker is even used by various professionals for psychological related therapies!