Galloping start to the new app for horse racing

Over five million ridtimmar is carried out each year on the country's riding schools. Despite the fact that many swedes rider, there have been a limited number of apps that caters to the equestrian. The speed, gait, or route, the rider takes can be decisive for the outcome.

– in the Past, many have brought hästdagböcker but it is hard to remember exactly what you did during the session, " says Adam torkelsson machine operator at.

the start-up company Equilab that caters to horse lovers. With the help of a new app, riders can measure the horse's movements. The tool covers everything from time and distance in the workout to allow users to describe the horse passport covers. For the app to be able to measure the workout, it is required that the rider wearing the phone on your body.

During his first investeringsrunda, the company took in 3.5 million. Photo: Peter Claesson

– Users have told us that they put the phone in everything from their shoes to the bra. As long as the phone is close to your body it doesn't matter where it is located, " says Adam torkelsson machine operator at.

By letting family and friends test the app, while they trained, managed the company catch up on the first physical data which later formed the basis for the AI system. Also contacted Adam torkelsson machine operator at approximately 30 riders in the country and asked undersökningsfrågor. When the first version of the app was released expected to more than 50 users would test the tool. Instead, between 3,000 to 4,000 people app.

the marketing coordinator at Equilab, there is a great demand for a tool that caters to the riders. Herself, she grew up on a horse farm and has ridden all his life. Despite the demand, the horse market has been overlooked to a great extent. 2015 had the equestrian highest proportion of women, 90 per cent, of all Swedish sports federations.

"I think, unfortunately, that it depends on to the world of horses is incredibly woman-dominated, but also that a large part of the industry is non-profit," she says.

Quickly adds Simon Bengtsson, technical supervisor at Equilab, it is also about what is visible in the media. As an example he mentions the football that often goes on tv.

– But actually, there are more horses than cows in the world, " he says in order to clarify how high the demand for new tools is within the historic boundaries.

From left: Simon Bengtsson, Linn Olsson and Adam torkelsson machine operator at. Photo: Peter Claesson

investeringsrunda, the company took in 3.5 million. Among the investors are Chalmers Ventures, and Ted Nelson, business manager at Truecaller. Since then, the app has been released in eleven languages. In addition, the app of the riders, in particular in Germany, England, Holland and France.

"We were forced to put us into different ridsportkulturer the world over, in Sweden, is the icelandic horse big but in Argentina had a breed of horse with a special gait we had to analyze, we contacted the user who had to tell us about his workout, step by step," says Adam torkelsson machine operator at.

Every year, there are 13.000 horse riding accidents in Sweden. In december, Equilab a function, which means that the selected contacts can follow your ride by phone. If an accident occurs parts the app your location, which means that your contacts can see where you are.

– A key target group is parents who want to see where their child is if the child falls off the horse, " says Linn Olsson.

After three years on the market, the app has managed to get 350.000 users. In February, Equilab the next step and launched in the united states – where the equestrian has a turnover of more money than the music industry. In the USA there is a concept for apps that are used in the equestrian, ”horsetech”. The app has been adapted to the us market, with disciplines such as Western riding.