University team maps 'visual strategies' of show-jump riders

The team has been able to compare the ’visual strategies’ of riders of varying experience, providing the first detailed insight into the gaze behaviour of elite equestrian athletes.

In sports involving hand-eye coordination, elite athletes are known to direct their gaze, make predictive eye movements and focus on important relevant features for longer than non-elite athletes. In show jumping, however, these visual strategies are particularly important during the approach to a jump, where the skill of both the rider and the horse will determine the appropriate take-off point.

Using a mobile eye-tracking device, the Nottingham Trent University team has been able to record exactly what a rider looks at — and how long for — when approaching a jump. A spectacle-mounted unit is able to monitor the minute movements of the rider’s eye and then overlay those movements onto a video of where the rider is facing. When played back, the footage shows a red circle to depict exactly what the rider was looking at, frame by frame, during the approach to a jump.