London's elite is taking up a new exclusive fitness regime which involves a £50,000 mechanical horse
Equicise is situated in the affluent area of Wimbledon — famous for the tennis — which is full of boutiques, brasseries and bars.
Tucked behind the shops and the bars is the the Wimbledon Village Stables which is owned by Carol Andrews. Here she is with her horse Pod.
The riding school and livery stables in South West London is home to dozens of horses.
It's full of cute dogs too, including Andrews' Jack Russell called Crumpet.
Membership starts at £165 per month and £45 per hour for additional rides outside your membership allotment. There are already around 250 members.
As a professional riding instructor and equestrian enthusiast, Andrews told Business Insider how her quest for perfecting her abilities and fitness led her to create and trademark this new business venture.
She said that she has ploughed "everything" into Equicise and had the help of friends who invested in her venture. She said their money would buy them advance classes plus 20%.
She invested £50,000 into buying a high-tech mechanical horse for riders to perfect their position, improve their riding and increase their fitness. It is housed in a former stable.
Professional riders like Cathy pictured here, says it's ideal for improving her game as well as keeping fit.
The horse has several sensors on the leg pads, the head and neck and rides like a real horse.
You can also wear your full riding gear and a helmet to make it feel like you're riding a real horse. Andrews said the new horse simulator has already grown her client base because more children and wary beginners try out riding without going on a real animal.
For £50 for half an hour, there are several courses you can do. This may sound expensive but for riders and London's elite, this is cheaper and more efficient in gaining riding training, especially during the winter months.
Screen read outs in front of you show you how your position lines with the ideal posture during the horse walking, trotting or cantering. Exercises can be added to make this more difficult.
This video shows what it is like in motion with the corresponding read outs while the horse is walking.
http://instagram.com/p/BEJVHtkCst4/embed/
Width: 658px
And this video shows the horse simulator in a faster, canter motion.
http://instagram.com/p/BEJVXbBCsue/embed/
Width: 658px
Other exercises include a dressage — a highly skilled form of riding that demonstrates mastery of control and art of movement — test.
Like a computer game with censored read outs, the test lasts for 9 minutes and can be crucial to improving your performance in real life.
Meanwhile, Andrews created the second part of Equicise — unique tailor made fitness classes designed for riders that even those who don't ride could benefit from.
One of the biggest issues with riding is perfect posture, core and leg strength while in a saddle, so Andrews came up with the "pods": "One day at home I stacked some lounge poofs on top of themselves and sat on them pretending it was a saddle. I wished there was something like these pods to practice on, which is why I created them," said Andrews.
There are three stages of classes (beginner, intermediate and pro), they combine strength training, stretching and posture for better fitness. Stanfield said her years working as a personal trainer and a professional dancer inspired her new programme for Equicise.
Only the first two levels of Equicise are conducted on the pods as the advanced class concentrates on more hardcore cardio and strength because the pros have their posture nailed down.
Andrews is hoping to franchise out the business abroad. "We've already had enquiries for a franchise in the US but I don't want to do that until [Equicise] is perfect," she told us.
But in the meantime, it is one of the newest and most unique forms of fitness on the market, and it gives you a taste for the horse riding bug.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement