<b>- Ever since I've</b> <b>been riding Bojangles,</b> <b>my riding has</b> <b>gotten a lot better.</b> <b>- We're gonna wake</b> <b>up Mr.

Bojangles.</b> <b>My name is Brittney</b> <b>Caflisch and I'm the owner,</b> <b>with my parents, of the River</b> <b>Falls Equestrian Center.</b> <b>And I teach horse</b> <b>riding lessons.</b> <b>(instrumental music)</b> <b>Currently I use him for</b> <b>my students and myself</b> <b>and anyone that may</b> <b>call that wants to</b> <b>kinda get an evaluation.</b> <b>A student that you'll</b> <b>see in a minute,</b> <b>she's like my favorite because</b> <b>she comes and rides him</b> <b>quite often and we've seen a</b> <b>lot of improvement from her.</b> <b>- I've been riding with</b> <b>Brittney for three years.</b> <b>First time I went out</b> <b>it just felt like,</b> <b>it felt like it was</b> <b>what I was looking for</b> <b>and I really wanted to</b> <b>do it because it was the</b> <b>adrenaline rush that I wanted.</b> <b>- [Interviewer] What have</b> <b>you learned from Bojangles?</b> <b>- I've learned how to</b> <b>keep my left leg still</b> <b>and how to keep my rein contact</b> <b>and from riding him I</b> <b>can make her happier.</b> <b>- My mom and a friend</b> <b>of mine went to</b> <b>the World Equestrian Games.</b> <b>It was held in North Carolina</b> <b>and we were walking around</b> <b>and saw him.</b> <b>My mom's been struggling</b> <b>learning how to canter.</b> <b>I was, like, mom you</b> <b>should ride this thing.</b> <b>They'll put him into a</b> <b>canter and you can kinda feel</b> <b>'cause what happens, you get</b> <b>on a horse and you kinda panic</b> <b>and if you don't have,</b> <b>like, the best horse,</b> <b>if you panic and squeeze</b> <b>your legs, then off they go.</b> <b>So she'd been real</b> <b>nervous about that.</b> <b>So she hopped on and she</b> <b>was, like, in love with him</b> <b>because at one</b> <b>point she clamped on</b> <b>and he starting going faster.</b> <b>Well, the instructor was</b> <b>able just to turn him down.</b> <b>Where on a horse you're eh,</b> <b>pull your reins, hold on.</b> <b>So she got off and she was,</b> <b>like, okay you've gotta ride him</b> <b>- And they come home real</b> <b>excited because they told me</b> <b>they had ridden this</b> <b>horse simulator.</b> <b>And I am a pilot by trade</b> <b>and so every nine months</b> <b>I go fly in a simulator, so</b> <b>I understood the importance</b> <b>of a simulator, the</b> <b>ability to test your skills</b> <b>in a controlled environment.</b> <b>So I was all on board.</b> <b>And they said they</b> <b>wanted to get one</b> <b>and bring that high-tech</b> <b>invention to Amarillo, Texas.</b> <b>And I thought that was really</b> <b>cool so we got it done.</b> <b>There's only four of them</b> <b>in the United States,</b> <b>the simulator that we have.</b> <b>Ours was the fourth.</b> <b>They are very popular in</b> <b>Europe because they are made</b> <b>in Manchester, England.</b> <b>But I think more and more you'll</b> <b>see the equestrian centers</b> <b>in the United States get these.</b> <b>- So what I'm looking for is</b> <b>that the saddle is sitting</b> <b>evenly on his back.</b> <b>Over time, your saddle</b> <b>sitting on a horse,</b> <b>even sitting on a saddle</b> <b>rack, like, crooked.</b> <b>They sit on this metal rack.</b> <b>If they don't sit evenly the</b> <b>saddle will start to fall</b> <b>and so we need to get them</b> <b>what's called reflocked.</b> <b>When we put a saddle on his</b> <b>back that we thought was fine</b> <b>but it was really crooked.</b> <b>And saddle sensors were</b> <b>able to tell us that.</b> <b>Now we're good.</b> <b>Jaeli.</b> <b>(soft music)</b> <b>She actually rides very center.</b> <b>So on him we have</b> <b>a front sensor.</b> <b>So you can see that green box.</b> <b>And then a middle sensor.</b> <b>And then the back sensor.</b> <b>Do you kind of see those?</b> <b>So those are on both legs.</b> <b>Where that's beneficial</b> <b>is a lot of times</b> <b>we'll have a leg on</b> <b>him and not realize</b> <b>we're squeezing our</b> <b>horse on one side.</b> <b>So when she first got on --</b> <b>yeah, pull that left rein</b> <b>a little bit --</b> <b>When she first got on,</b> <b>she was about right here.</b> <b>Can you see that she</b> <b>has more rein contact</b> <b>in the left rein</b> <b>than her right rein?</b> <b>And that is very</b> <b>common with us riders,</b> <b>is we're stronger in one hand.</b> <b>Go ahead and put</b> <b>him into a walk.</b> <b>Yep.</b> <b>So what we've been</b> <b>working on with Jaeli is,</b> <b>and basically all of us,</b> <b>are our arms, we get stiff.</b> <b>So we have a couple</b> <b>common things that happen.</b> <b>One, we either like</b> <b>this, we don't move</b> <b>because we're trying</b> <b>to be too perfect.</b> <b>Or we have no rein contact.</b> <b>This way I can actually</b> <b>grab her arms and show her</b> <b>the amount of contact</b> <b>we want with his face.</b> <b>So I want you to</b> <b>take him into a trot.</b> <b>Yep, that's all right.</b> <b>Yep, there you go.</b> <b>So I want you to keep</b> <b>those shoulders tall.</b> <b>Good.</b> <b>So what she's kinda</b> <b>keeping an eye on --</b> <b>I'm gonna jump down</b> <b>here for a second</b> <b>and you can see my hand.</b> <b>So these are her reins.</b> <b>We call this, with</b> <b>these little bubbles,</b> <b>kind of like a</b> <b>racercise, a happy rein.</b> <b>Right here.</b> <b>You see how we kind of have</b> <b>a little bit of a mess.</b> <b>So what I want her to do,</b> <b>is she's working on keeping</b> <b>this happy rein, okay?</b> <b>Down here is our balance</b> <b>saddle pressures.</b> <b>So now, right there,</b> <b>she's leaning forward.</b> <b>So I want you to sit back.</b> <b>There you go.</b> <b>Over in this little</b> <b>line over here</b> <b>is her balance line.</b> <b>So Jaeli is sitting</b> <b>a little to the left.</b> <b>Yeah, she's smiling at me.</b> <b>Good, okay.</b> <b>My background is kind</b> <b>of all over the place.</b> <b>I started here in Amarillo</b> <b>with a hunter/jumper,</b> <b>learning English.</b> <b>Had a really naughty horse,</b> <b>and so went on to a trainer</b> <b>that kind of helped me learn</b> <b>how to teach young horses.</b> <b>From there, went to Texas A&M.</b> <b>Rode for them for four years</b> <b>and then student coached</b> <b>there for a year.</b> <b>And then was wanting to do</b> <b>something more and exciting</b> <b>and I went for grad</b> <b>school and from there</b> <b>went on to Kentucky</b> <b>and learned to event.</b> <b>So with eventing, we</b> <b>start with dressage.</b> <b>And that is kind of what</b> <b>we call our classical.</b> <b>It's beautiful to watch.</b> <b>We try to make it</b> <b>look effortless.</b> <b>And we ride a test of</b> <b>depending on our level.</b> <b>From there we'll get a score</b> <b>and we go into show jumping.</b> <b>Show jumping will be either an</b> <b>outdoor arena, indoor arena.</b> <b>From there is my favorite</b> <b>part, is the cross country.</b> <b>And it's out in a field.</b> <b>Well, probably multiple</b> <b>fields with solid objects.</b> <b>And it just keeps</b> <b>getting more technical.</b> <b>So it's really hard because</b> <b>a lot of your horses</b> <b>are either good at one</b> <b>thing and not the other.</b> <b>So this test, they not</b> <b>only have to be beautiful</b> <b>in the dressage ring but</b> <b>they've got to be pretty gutsy</b> <b>for the cross country.</b> <b>So that's, like,</b> <b>my favorite part.</b> <b>So now I'm gonna take y'all</b> <b>into the dressage ring.</b> <b>Does that sound good?</b> <b>So let's go ahead and</b> <b>let's go to the big ring.</b> <b>So let's trot him on over there.</b> <b>Okay, nice, shoulders back.</b> <b>Good, now I don't want</b> <b>you to lose those hands.</b> <b>There you go.</b> <b>Here, I can kind of help her.</b> <b>Yep, keep that outside rein.</b> <b>That a girl.</b> <b>Good.</b> <b>- Using technology to train</b> <b>is new to this industry</b> <b>but I think from what</b> <b>you've seen with Brittney</b> <b>it can really help</b> <b>develop the rider in ways</b> <b>that you can't do when you're</b> <b>30 to 40 feet away from them.</b> <b>So bringing this high-tech</b> <b>machine or simulator</b> <b>to River Falls was</b> <b>gonna put us on the map.</b> <b>- Now we're heading</b> <b>into the ring</b> <b>and she'll follow, if you</b> <b>can see it, the blue line.</b> <b>And she's gonna</b> <b>ride this course.</b> <b>Good girl, yes ma'am.</b> <b>Hold that right rein.</b> <b>(horse neighs)</b> <b>Yep, so the rein slipped</b> <b>through your finger.</b> <b>Did you feel that?</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- Good, yep, shorten up.</b> <b>Keep those fingers closed.</b> <b>Left hand on this</b> <b>side of his neck.</b> <b>- Well, the first time I</b> <b>rode, which was last fall,</b> <b>we went back out there</b> <b>and as I walking it,</b> <b>and I'm not a horse rider,</b> <b>and the instructor said,</b> <b>do you want to go over a jump.</b> <b>And I said yeah,</b> <b>how hard can it be?</b> <b>And I'm sitting there,</b> <b>the next thing we go,</b> <b>we go over this jump and</b> <b>it about threw me off.</b> <b>And I had an awakening</b> <b>to say that I respect</b> <b>horse riders now</b> <b>a whole lot more,</b> <b>especially equestrian riders.</b> <b>They don't have a</b> <b>saddle horn to hold onto</b> <b>and the more they</b> <b>squeeze to hold on,</b> <b>the more the horse says,</b> <b>oh, you want to go faster.</b> <b>So it's kind of backwards.</b> <b>- You can tell he's got</b> <b>a lot more power in him.</b> <b>How's that feel?</b> <b>- Good.</b> <b>- Good?</b> <b>- It feels big.</b> <b>- It feels big?</b> <b>When you're on him you</b> <b>don't even realize,</b> <b>you don't even take a</b> <b>bull away and you're like</b> <b>what did I just do.</b> <b>Or you'll, we cluck to a</b> <b>horse like (clicking sound)</b> <b>to make them go.</b> <b>And a lot of times when</b> <b>they first start riding</b> <b>they'll cluck to him to</b> <b>ask him to move forward</b> <b>and then they're, like, I</b> <b>just told a plastic horse</b> <b>with a cluck.</b> <b>- Brittney is the Amarillo</b> <b>location for the HiPEC circuit,</b> <b>the High Plains</b> <b>Equestrian Circuit.</b> <b>There are other teams in</b> <b>Lubbock, Midland and Abilene,</b> <b>and they travel, and</b> <b>this is the arena</b> <b>that they come to in Amarillo.</b> <b>- They can feel what it feels</b> <b>like to ride a perfect horse.</b> <b>Then they can slowly</b> <b>transition that onto theirs.</b> <b>So hopefully it will</b> <b>be really beneficial.</b>