Horse Industry Trends -Lessons from STRIDER & EQUITANA USA
If you were involved in equestrian sports at all last year, you probably noticed how COVID incentivized the industry to make a few changes in day-to-day business operations.
The United States Eventing Association (USEA) caught up with the STRIDER leadership team to learn more about recent industry trends after their trip earlier this month to EQUITANA USA at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Known as âthe worldâs largest meeting place for equestrian sports,â EQUITANA USA is designed to promote the exchange of ideas, information, and experiences to enhance the horse and the equine industry.
USEA Member & STRIDER CEO Tara Swersie spoke at EQUITANA USA on the Traditions & Change in the Equestrian World panel along with Bravo TV Star Carson Kressley, Kentucky Horse Council Director Sarah Coleman, and renowned equine journalist Diana DeRosa.
Swersie noted three major trends have emerged in the horse industry. The first, she explained, is a growing movement to online booking & payment, regardless of the equestrian discipline. The second is broader attention to legal issues, such as collecting signed waivers from participants. Lastly, she cited the emphasis on accessible and diverse experiences in equestrian sport.
âWhat we saw at EQUITANA was just how entrenched the shift to digital solutions has become in order to achieve business and social goals throughout the sport,â Swersie stated.
âLast year COVID caused demand for digital entries and online payment to be absolutely insane. And it wasnât only Eventing barnsâŚit was everywhere in the industry. Our team worked night and day to expand the Strider platform to support show entries across all 29 USEF breeds and disciplines, just to meet the need.
âHonestly, I thought once we were a certified USEF entry provider things would slow down. I should have known better,â laughed Swersie.
âWithin days, my phone started ringing off the hook with more requests:
âMy students donât have a printer at home. Can you help them e-sign my release?â
âPeople want to trailer-in to use our indoor while weâre in Aiken. How do they book online?â
âRiders are schooling XC here without paying or signing the release. Can you help?â
The STRIDER team got to work and developed Strider eWaivers. Advertised as an upgrade to STRIDERâs basic free organizer membership, itâs a cost-effective solution that enables your liability release to be signed from any mobile device.
âVenues could always collect entries, docs, and payment online with STRIDER. But they still needed a way for riders to e-sign and send them their release, especially during COVID.â
Striderâs eWaivers service solves that problem. With one simple QR code posted on social media or some signage along your farmâs fenceline, it lets riders click-book-ride for all your events straight from their cell phone.
âYou get the signed release, and riders get a gold star on paperwork completion,â Swersie explained.
For those of you who attended EQUITANA USA this year, you probably used Striderâs eWaivers first hand.
Nicole Forbes, Reed Expositionâs Content Manager for EQUITANA USA, explained to the USEA, âWhen youâre hosting an industry-wide equestrian event, you need options that can work with horse enthusiasts from all disciplines. Collecting signed liability releases from participants is part of that. We need something that could work in real-time, as people walked through the door. Strider was the ideal solution. Participants could pay and sign the waiver in the same transaction. It saved our team a lot of time and hassle.â
Swersie believes COVID also inspired horse farm owners to reevaluate their business risk exposure. She cited an increased attention to legal and data compliance issues as the second major industry trend.
âIt was amazing how quickly venues achieved complete show entries during COVID. Because if the waiver wasnât signed in advance, the rider simply wasnât allowed on the show grounds! In Area II, venues told us they went from a pre-COVID average of 65% complete entries on closing day to literally 99% complete on closing day.â
âIt makes sense after COVID show organizers are embracing things like digital waivers,â Swersie explained.
Have you been to a jumper show at Beverly Equestrian, XC schooled at Morven Park International Equestrian Center, or sent a kid to a clinic or program with Dressage4Kids?
Youâve probably used Striderâs eWaivers solution. Basically, you click a link or scan a QR code, then sign and submit the fillable release that pops up on your phone.
Swersie told the USEA a story where a top event rider was off at an international competition. While he was out of town, his working students watched three gooseneck trailers pull in, offload and school his cross-country course. At the end of the day, they figured out eight(!) riders departed without leaving a check for the schooling fee. And five left without signing the farm ownerâs paper liability release form.
âNobody needs that kind of stress! Imagine if just one rider fell off and got hurt? He lost hundreds of dollars in revenue and countless more hours in family time trying to track everyone down. Today thereâs a STRIDER Waiver QR code posted at the gate that trailer-ins have to scan before they can offload. Click, book, ride. Nobody mounts without paying and signing the farmâs e-waiver.â
Natasha Sprengers-Levine, COO at STRIDER, applauded the third major shift in the industry, which she noted is the increased emphasis on diversity and cross-discipline exploration. âWeâve been hearing a ton of dialogue on inclusion as of late. Itâs created wonderful pressure on venues to truly commit to making their events accessible. Giving newcomers to the sport a path to easy paperwork submission is part of that commitment. Itâs the same reason public libraries in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods offer computers and printers for community use.â
Photo courtesy of STRIDER.
The team at STRIDER noted they saw over over 120,000 motivated equestrian users hit the Strider digital platform in the last year looking for experiences, and many were cross-discipline.
To explore the STRIDER platform, visit www.striderpro.com.
Photo courtesy of STRIDER.
About STRIDER
From enabling riders to discover and book the perfect opportunity to helping equestrians across the industry grow and run their businesses, STRIDER fosters connection to top-tier experiences. STRIDER partners with top retailers and associations throughout the industry to enable community access. A basic organizer membership on STRIDER is free and allows you to accept digital show entries, attached docs, and payment. Please visit www.striderpro.com to explore the Strider Platform for equestrians and learn more about STRIDERâs suite of available services for the equestrian community. Connect with STRIDER at ww.striderpro.com or on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.