Mr Williams is a Horse Simulator and is our newest addition to Happy Hooves and  Eamont competition Horses. He is 100% bomb-proof and is life sized, standing around 15.2hh and like a real horse takes every different type of saddle; GP, Dressage, etc. He has six paces and it is sensitive to leg, hand and seat pressure. He is ideal for riders wanting a gentle return to riding, to improve position and muscle tone and for generally keeping fit. This makes him ideal for nervous / novice riders as well as those who are returning to riding after injury or long break. He is capable of replicating complicated dressage movements, such as Piaffe, Passage, Half Pass & Flying Changes.

Perfect Your Riding

Mr Williams is used with an interactive computer screen that enables the rider to actually ride a dressage test. Alternatively, you can practise riding school figures, transitions and dressage movements. Much can be learnt from recording the performance and replaying it immediately on screen. The interactive computer also relays your body position and how your body moves with Mr Williams. If you are one sided or too heavy in the saddle the computer will highlight this on the screen. This then helps as an aid to yourself and your instructor on correcting any imbalances.

How can it Help?

While a real horse may become tired and unstimulated, this horse performs to order. ‘Unlearning’ a ‘wrong’ posture can be difficult. The mechanical horse gives the rider a chance to practise a different balance taking this feel to the real horse. Mr Williams is excellent for assessing/improving technique in experienced riders, both for jumping and flatwork. It also helps build confidence in nervous or ‘returning’ riders, as it removes the unpredictability of riding a living animal.
It can help anyone but specifically it helps:

• Beginner and nervous riders
• Experienced riders
• Dressage riders any level
• Adults and Children learning to trot and to progress onto canter
• Rehabilitation helping build up muscles after injury/surgery
• Disabled riders with the adapted RDA programme
• Allow riders to develop a more balanced way of riding

Mr Williams RDA Programme

The Mr Williams RDA programme (Riding for Disabled) simulator allows people with disabilities to reap the benefits of physical activity by enjoying horse riding in a safe environment and allows people with physical and mental disabilities to enjoy horse riding in a controlled setting and reap the physical and mental benefits of a valuable form of exercise. In addition to being a challenging physical activity in itself, horse riding develops riders’ confidence, concentration, stamina, coordination, posture, stability and strength, and provides them with a sense of achievement.

The riding simulator offers a highly realistic simulation of riding on a real horse and several other useful features, including therapeutic lateral action in all gaits, which helps develop the rider’s strength and muscle tone, and a lower neck angle, which makes it easier for the rider to mount and dismount.

The RDA simulator also has special buttons that allow riding instructors to adjust the speed, and sensors to help with rein and leg control. The horse can serve as a fully interactive simulator, allowing riders to select the path to ride on, to ride to a screen, and take tests. The screen brings an entirely new dimension to the riding experience as it lets riders really immerse themselves in the arena and have fun while engaging in a vigorous physical activity that challenges their skills on multiple levels. The simulator can also be used to determine whether riding is a realistic option for people affected by complex physical problems before they are introduced to a real horse.

The RDA simulator is suitable for users aged from 4 + years and can be used by people affected by cerebral palsy, autism, and a wide range of other conditions.