Horse welfare starts long before a vet visit or a rule book. It starts in the saddle, through the way riders are taught to feel, think and respond. That is why Pivo Equestrian focuses on rider education and on the trainers who shape every rider in the first place.
By supporting trainers, experts and the next generation with global remote lessons and connections by speciality and need, we help riders get the guidance their horses require to stay understood, confident and able to succeed.
Horse welfare improves when riders learn well, and riders learn well when trainers are supported.
Welfare is decided in the small riding moments
Feed, footing and stabling matter. You already know that. What often gets less airtime is the way a rider’s body, timing and mental state change a horse’s day, stride by stride.
The idea is blunt: welfare is created every time a horse and a human meet. For most sport and pleasure horses, that is in the arena or out on the track, with a saddle involved. The choices you make in those seconds are where comfort, confidence and longevity are either protected or chipped away.
Think about these moments you see in every barn:
- First step away from the mounting block: Do you give the horse a second to find balance, or kick on because you are in a rush.
- Picking up the contact: Do you breathe and grow tall, or shorten the reins and brace, then ride the tension you just created.
- When something goes wrong: Do you pull, chase and repeat, or step back, lower the pressure and change the question.
- Calling it a day: Do you quit while the horse understands and stays relaxed, or keep drilling because a show is coming up.
These are not abstract welfare debates. They are decisions riders make every ride. The quality of those decisions depends on the education the rider received and the standards their trainers held.
What kind of teacher does my horse actually need
Not every horse needs the same kind of education. Neither does every rider. A young warmblood in its first season under saddle, a sensitive older mare returning from injury, a junior rider preparing for their first dressage test, all need different eyes on the ground.
That is why the Pivo coach directory is organised by speciality and by need, with 233 coaches across seven disciplines. It is built for riders who want to choose a teacher based on philosophy and expertise, not only postcode.
Here are three real coaches whose profiles show what that can look like in practice:
- Sandra Trott, Australia: An equitation science based coach who works with horse behaviour, rider psychology and evidence based horsemanship, drawing on more than twenty years of professional horse training plus formal education in psychology and counselling, see her coach profile.
- Lorraine Martin, United States: A dressage trainer in Coopersville whose lessons centre on a positive learning environment, clear communication with the horse and correct biomechanics for both horse and rider, see her coach profile.
- Jacqui van Montfrans, Australia: A Murwillumbah based dressage coach and coach educator, former National Dressage Selector, with more than twenty years of coaching experience who also teaches other coaches, see her coach profile.
On every profile you can see whether a coach is accepting new students, and you are not charged until a coach accepts your request. That protects both rider and trainer, and it respects the horse by making sure the match is intentional.
When the right welfare teacher lives on the other side of the world
Most barns know this problem. The trainer your horse really needs is a clinic name on a poster, not someone who can stand in your arena twice a week. Travel, scheduling and cost mean that only a handful of riders ever get in front of that person.
Geography is not just an inconvenience. It decides whose horses get consistent, high quality input and whose horses do not. One visiting clinician can only see so many horses in a day. If you live far from a major centre or you juggle work, family and farm life, the gap between what you know your horse needs and what you can access widens fast.
That access gap is a welfare problem, not just a performance problem. A rider who cannot get feedback on their crookedness, their timing, their use of pressure and release, will keep teaching those patterns to the horse, even if their intentions are good.
This is where technology, used well and on the horse’s terms, can shift what is possible.
How online lessons actually work with Pivo Arena
Pivo Pod with the Pivo Arena app is designed for riders who often work alone. The Pod holds your phone and rotates to keep one selected subject in frame, so a coach can see your ride through the Arena app even when they are not physically at the arena. Pivo Lessons adds real time coaching and feedback, motion tracking and guest control on top of that video.
You set up your Pivo Pod with your phone running Pivo Arena, choose yourself as the subject, then ride. The Pod tracks you as you work, so your trainer can either coach live or review the recording later in the Arena app. Some riders call this virtual riding lessons. It does not replace the coach. It removes the distance between you.
- Choose a coach from the directory who offers remote sessions and agree on what you will work on.
- Set up your Pivo Pod with your phone running Pivo Arena where it can see the arena, and select yourself as the one subject the Pod will track.
- Start your session in Pivo Lessons so your coach can watch the live video with motion tracking as you ride.
- Ride your horse while your coach teaches from wherever they are, then use the recording and their feedback to plan the next steps for your horse.
This is still the same craft of coaching you know from the rail. The tools simply let a trusted expert watch you ride in your own environment, on your own horse, without asking the horse to travel every time.
If you want to see more about the hardware itself and how it works with Pivo Arena, you can explore it on the Arena hub. For lesson specific information, head to Pivo Lessons.
Finding coaches by speciality, not just by postcode
The Pivo coach directory is organised so you can search by the kind of help your horse needs. Here is how the current specialities break down.
| Speciality | Coaches listed | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Dressage | 183 | Dressage coaches |
| General riding and horsemanship | 23 | General riding and horsemanship coaches |
| Western | 11 | Western coaches |
| Eventing | 5 | Eventing coaches |
| Show jumping | 5 | Show jumping coaches |
| Hunter and equitation | 4 | Hunter and equitation coaches |
| Working equitation | 2 | Working equitation coaches |
These are experienced dressage trainers, show jumping coaches and riding instructors who offer both in person and online lessons, with profiles that show clearly how they teach and what they prioritise.
Supporting trainers, experts and the next generation
Teachers at equine and agricultural high schools, not only current professionals, influence how the next generation of riders, grooms and farm managers think about horse human interactions and welfare in daily work.
The Pivo coach directory works on the same principle. It connects riders with trainers by speciality and need, inside the arena work they already record and review through Pivo Arena. The directory brings riders, coaches, trainers and judges into one place and lets judges and other experts share insight more widely than travel alone would allow.
- Free listing: A profile in the Coach Directory is free for coaches and trainers.
- Built into training: The directory sits inside Pivo Arena, where riders already record and review their rides, so you meet new students inside the training moment, not after it.
- Reach without travel: Remote sessions let you coach riders in other barns, regions or countries without adding more hours on the road.
- Protected time: Riders are not charged until you accept a request, so you decide which lessons to take and when.
- Remote lesson tools: Host and teach Pivo Lessons remotely, control the rider’s Pivo Pod to change the angle and share the recording afterwards for review.
If you are a coach or trainer and want riders to be able to find you through this system, you can get listed at our coach directory.
PIVO Equestrian’s Signature Trainer Series shares a master trainer every month. The current Trainer of the Month is Greg Eliel, a natural horsemanship clinician, fourth generation Montanan with more than thirty years of experience, a degree in Animal Science from Montana State University and long study with horsemen like Ray Hunt, Tom and Bill Dorrance and Buck Brannaman.
Putting those trainers on record through Pivo Lessons and the Signature Trainer Series means their approach outlives any single clinic and stays reachable for students in equine and agricultural programs and for young professionals who will become the next riders, grooms and coaches responsible for daily horse welfare.
Put the horse first by choosing education that fits
You do not need another abstract welfare slogan. You need help making better choices in the small interactions you have with your horse.
Start by finding a trainer whose skills match your horse’s real needs, then use every tool available, including remote coaching, to keep learning from them consistently.
The easiest place to begin is the Pivo coach directory. Filter by discipline, read coach profiles, check who is taking new students and send a request knowing you will not be charged until your coach accepts.
When distance is the only thing in the way, set up your Pivo Pod with Pivo Arena and connect through Pivo Lessons so your chosen coach can see you ride, wherever they are in the world. That is how welfare starts with rider education, and education starts with the trainers who teach you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I really take a riding lesson online?
A: Yes. With a Pivo Pod running Pivo Arena and Pivo Lessons, a coach can watch your ride through live video and give real time coaching and feedback while the Pod tracks you as the one selected subject.
Q: Does my trainer need to be at the arena with me?
A: No. A Pivo Pod with the Pivo Arena app is designed for riding alone. Your trainer can be anywhere with a connection, watch the live feed through Pivo Lessons and guide you without standing in your arena.
Q: How do I find a coach for my discipline?
A: Go to the Pivo coach directory at coaches.pivo.app, then choose the speciality page that matches your discipline and browse individual coach profiles.
Q: What does Pivo actually do during the lesson?
A: The Pivo Pod holds your phone and rotates to follow one selected subject, keeping your ride in view, while the Pivo Arena and Pivo Lessons apps provide the video, real time connection, motion tracking and guest control so your coach can see and coach you.
Q: What if there is no suitable coach near me?
A: The directory lists 233 coaches across seven specialities, and remote coaching means you can work with a trainer in another region or country, even if no one local offers what your horse needs.
