In this interview I get to know Laura Kelland-May, a Canadian equestrian coach who is using OnForm to the fullest. She uses OnForm both for analysis and prescription and just happens to be the personal coach of my daughter, helping to improve her riding technique in the jumper ring. Though we met almost a year after the app launched, Laura's coaching philosophy and style matched perfectly with how I envisioned equestrian coaches using OnForm. Read on to learn how she uses it to communicate with clients and help riders around the world improve their skills. - Gear Fisher, Co-Founder, OnForm
Tell us about yourself?
I help people improve their horseback riding. That means they become better riders and their horses start to work better and progress faster. Imagine you could ride your horse in any situation with confidence. Knowing that you have covered all bases at home.
I Don’t know about you, but I got tired of hearing coaches and trainers say, “SIT UP” or “PUT YOUR HEELS DOWN”, and doing what I call “traffic control” rather than actually teaching people how to ride. I have studied riding, biomechanics, and actually have an engineering degree that I use to help me understand the mechanics of riding and how you can use it to help people ride.
I am an:
Equestrian Canada Senior Judge which gives me an inside track to what the judge is looking for, unlike your mother or friend down the street, I know because I AM a judge, a certified coach and a long time horse lover.
Equestrian Canada Senior Steward. This means that I have studied the rules and understand what they mean.
Competition Coach Specialist - High Performance Trained
Coach Developer and Mentor providing new and upcoming coaches with skills necessary to becoming coaches and trainers.
Producer of the weekly live broadcast Equestrian Skill Builders LIVE! Where I interview professionals in the equestrian community and provide a link between professionals and the horse community. I’ve interviewed Olympic riders, top trainers, International travelers, award winning photographers and equine documentary producers.
I travel the backroads. I see people who have been struggling for a long time to get their horses going better and even off their own properties to enjoy trail rides, field hunting and horse shows. They get the best from themselves and they bring it to their horses.
How did you hear about OnForm and how did you get started with it?
I offer online training and a new student enrolled in one of my online training programs. Rather than the process I was current using which involved several steps (sending in video to me, then me uploading, editing, marking up, downloading, then him uploading) he suggested using OnForm to streamline the process and make it easier for me. And he was right. I just watch the video directly on the OnForm platform and mark it up right there with a voiceover.
Have you used video in your coaching in the past?
Yes. Each week on Equestrian Skill Builders LIVE! I ask viewers to send in a video or photo to have their position review done. I mark it up and share it on YouTube and Facebook.
What features do you find most useful?
The OnForm™ app is easy to use. It allows me to package 3 steps into one. Rather than having to download a video then put it through my editing software I can use their video right off the app and provide corrections/improvements right through the app itself, with their editing and ‘mark-up’ features.
OnForm™ allows me to:
See what my athletes are doing in real time in their situation.
My athletes get to actually “see” their own riding. Video has been an excellent tool for developing horse and rider athletes. This way, through the OnForm app, the athletes can link the “feeling” of what they and their horses are doing with the “seeing” of what is happening.
They can witness the corrections that are required for improvement because I can mark up within the app the actual point of where the correction is needed.
What are the main things you use with the app?
I use the video editing “mark up tools” the most. Here I can pinpoint the correction and explain how to improve the situation while it is happening.The replay, slo-mo features are a massive plus. You can give detailed feedback for horse and rider with quality slow motion features to help accentuate the actions the rider (or horse) should take.
What do your students think about using it?
I have a handful of students who have really embraced the use of video for their training. Using video is so powerful for performance analysis. They are going from “I’m now pulling on my reins”, to “oh! I see what you mean”.
Is it opening up new ways of generating income for your coaching business?
Yes. This is particularly true for me because as an equestrian coach, I am able to offer detailed programs to equestrians in my neighborhood as well as throughout North America and Europe.
Do you have suggestions for others getting started with it?
Get an iPad. I tried it on a ‘mini’ pad and decided to get an iPad. So glad I did because the quality of the video and the ease of use is better on the iPad.
Has there been anything surprising you've found while using it?
Surprised how much fun it is to see horses moving backwards as well as forward. Seeing a horse cantering backwards is hilarious! That’s just a fun thing to play with! But really, surprised how people, athletes, parents and coaches love to watch themselves. They can REALLY see how one small feature if changed can influence the horse in a certain way or change their own riding. Also always surprising that people don’t know how they really look when they are riding. Now I hear a lot more, “I see what you mean” as opposed to, “I don’t do that”. When really, in fact, they do - “do that”.
Have you used it to prescribe workouts?
Yes. I use it to see and analyse performance, then, based on performance design exercises and plans to improve horse and rider athletes to hit key performance indicators.
Any other comments or suggestions?
Android or desktop would be great!
Thank you for your time Laura!
We are thrilled to have coaches across the world and from many different sports use OnForm. Baseball coaches, Golf Instructors, Olympic Lifting coaches and many so many more use OnForm to communicate with their athletes and provide video feddback. Download and try OnForm FREE today. Our coaching features are exclusive to Apple devices, but clients/students can use Apple or Android