Entrepreneurs have exceptional foresight combined with the drive to stay motivated for the long haul. The Tech Equestrian had the chance to speak with entrepreneur and founder of Competitor Tent, Dikran Yapoujian who has developed a smartphone app designed to harness the data from the show ring to improve overall performance. Dikran provided his perspective on how technology will become an indispensible aid for the equestrian sport along with giving us a glimpse on how the new app is designed to inform and become a ‘go to’ community for competitive equestrians.

Blue Oceans Lead to Blue Ribbons
The term 'blue oceans' in the business world relates to untapped new market spaces ripe for growth, and that is what Dikran feels the equestrian sport world offers when it merges with the tech world. “We have looked at the well-known individual competitive sports such as running, cycling and tennis and see how data and analytics are transforming them and we feel this can be applied to horse sport,” he shared. 

Dikran has an extensive business background working for Thomson Reuters, a multinational mass media and information firm, to know the importance of leveraging data analytics to achieve business goals. “I’m excited to combine my data analytics background with my personal passion of horses, which I share with my wife,” Dikran said. 

“Data matched with trending analytics gives you a whole new level of insight.” Knowing what to improve upon with the aid of data analytics can make all the difference between a first and second in a competition. “As a competitor, you are always looking to do better – that’s part of the journey,” said Dikran. “The app is just another tool in your toolbox,” he added. Especially for trainers who might be skeptical of any type of technology trying to make them obsolete. “Oh no, this app is not trying to replace you,” he reinforced. 

“The goal of Competitor Tent is to provide information and intelligence to the equestrian sport.”

More Than Just Score Tracking
The recently launched app is now available on the App Store. The app asks for your rider information and horse details so it can accurately track which events you are competing at. “For example in dressage, you will receive all of your scores that document movement by movement, this is turn will give you a trend analysis to show where you excel and what you need to work on.” The app not only will track scores, but encourages sharing of information – from how the judge scores, to footing conditions, weather, course designer insights and more. This tool also prompts you to log activities with journal entries, share comments and data with your trainer or with your fellow equestrians.

What Fuels the Scoring?
“We are partnering with organizations and show organizers to be able to aggregate the scores and immediately feed them into the app,” he said. Competitor Tent is working with Fox Village Dressage – they score 85-90% of dressage tests – in addition to negotiating with the USEA (United States Eventing Association) and will soon partner with the hunter/jumper organizations before they launch integrating western/barrel racing metrics.

The Virtual Tack Trunk
Another highlight of the app is to showcase the products that riders use and love. “This could be a great opportunity for equine retailers looking to evangelize their brands,” said Dikran. “It is seamless for a pro rider to post the products they use with no need to post with hash tags,” he pointed out. There will also be the option to click on an item in the trunk and find out more details along with the ability to purchase.

“I hope equestrians embrace this new app to help them improve their ride and attain their goals in the show ring,” said Dikran. As riders ditch their whiteboards, notepads and voice memos, they can rely on Competitor Tent to manage, shape and drive their performance through data-driven insights with the added bonus of connecting to an equestrian community.

Technology Adoption in 5 Years
“At a high-level, I see more and more riders adopting tech solutions to gain insights into performance – whether its equine heart rate training; girth sensors that monitor gaits, time, elevation changes; even hair follicle/DNA-based science impacting custom feed and supplements; smart halters; smart barns – the list goes on,” said Dikran. He said that show organizers will need to incorporate technology to improve their offerings to competitors to become "go-to" shows on everyone's must attend lists. “You’ll also see how data can be utilized by merchandisers looking for insights to make better decisions about products and services to offer the market; and non-profits that run our sport will leverage data to improve membership satisfaction, drive growth, keep members and horses safe, and improve their value proposition to riders. It's all very exciting.”

The app is free and available to download on iTunes.

Competitor Tent Website
Facebook: @competitortent
Instagram: @competitortent

Blog photo: Andrew Ryback Photography