The Best Apps For Eventing Riders To Plan Training And Travel
Eventing asks a great deal from a rider’s calendar. A single competition can involve dressage schooling, show jumping practice, cross-country fitness work, horse care, transport planning, packing, and a long journey to an unfamiliar venue. When Archie and I are preparing for a show, the riding is only one part of the preparation.
I have found that the right apps can make the busy weeks feel far more manageable. They help me see whether training is balanced, record how Archie responds to work, estimate travel time, and keep competition details in one place. They do not replace a coach, a good notebook, or common sense around horse care, but they can reduce the mental load.
The most useful setup is rarely one magical eventing app. It is usually a small collection of tools, each with a clear purpose. A fitness tracker may be best for hacking data, a calendar may protect rest days, and a mapping app may prevent a stressful arrival at the venue.
What Riders Need From A Training App
An eventing training plan needs context. A fast canter is meaningful when I can compare it with the horse’s recovery, the ground conditions, the distance, and the work completed earlier in the week. An app that records every statistic but gives no useful overview can become another chore rather than a planning aid.
I look for simple recording, reliable access in areas with poor signal, and the ability to add notes. A short comment such as “stiff at the start,” “excellent rhythm,” or “needed a longer warm-up” can be more valuable than a string of impressive numbers. Photos and videos are useful too, especially when reviewing jumping position or dressage marks later.
Privacy and battery use matter around horses. Some tracking apps use GPS continuously, which can drain a phone during a long ride. I also prefer tools that allow manual entries, because there are times when the phone stays in the lorry, in a pocket, or safely away from a muddy arena.
Apps For Recording Schooling And Fitness
Equilab is one of the most recognisable options for riders who want to track hacking and schooling sessions. It can record route information, gait distribution, distance, and duration, giving a useful picture of how much work a horse is actually doing. For eventing, the gait breakdown can help distinguish a gentle walk hack from a conditioning session with substantial canter work.
The numbers should be treated as a guide rather than a verdict. A 30-minute ride in deep going may be harder than a longer session on a good surface. I use the record alongside notes about the footing, weather, Archie’s way of going, and how he feels the following day. This makes the data more useful when planning the next schooling session.
HorseDay is another option for organising horse care and training information. Its appeal is the broader view: riders can keep records relating to exercise, health, treatments, and routine tasks. That can be helpful before a competition, when vaccinations, farrier appointments, fitness work, and recovery all need to be considered together.
For riders who already use a general fitness platform, Strava can work well for hacking and rider fitness. It is particularly useful when a rider wants to monitor personal cycling, running, or walking alongside horse exercise. Komoot is also helpful for planning off-road routes, although routes should always be checked for permissions, gates, traffic, and safe footing before setting out with a horse.
Calendar And Planning Tools For A Full Season
Google Calendar is less glamorous than a specialist equestrian platform, but it is one of the tools I rely on most. I can mark competitions, lessons, farrier visits, vaccinations, transport bookings, rest days, and deadlines for entries. Colour coding makes it easier to see whether a week is realistic before it becomes crowded.
I find it useful to create separate calendar categories for schooling, fitness, horse care, travel, and personal commitments. A competition weekend then becomes more than a single date. The calendar can include the closing date for entries, the time needed to wash and plait, the planned departure, and a reminder to check the weather and ground conditions.
Notion, Trello, and similar planning apps are valuable when a rider prefers a visual task board. I can create columns for “to pack,” “to book,” “to check,” and “completed.” This is especially useful before a multi-day event, when it is easy to remember the saddle but forget spare reins, paperwork, feed, or a phone charger.
A shared calendar can also help when several people are involved. A coach, groom, driver, or family member may need access to arrival times and competition information. Sharing the relevant details avoids sending a long series of messages when plans change.
Mapping And Travel Apps For Competition Journeys
Google Maps is still one of the most practical travel apps for horse shows. I use it to compare routes, check likely arrival times, locate fuel stops, and identify alternative roads. The estimated journey time needs a generous margin because towing, traffic, weather, and horse-related stops can all alter the schedule.
For unfamiliar venues, I save the entrance location rather than relying only on the venue’s postcode. Large showgrounds can have several gates, and the postal address may lead to an office, a public entrance, or the wrong side of the site. I also download an offline map where possible, since mobile reception can be unreliable near rural competition venues.
What3words can be useful when a venue has several access points or when someone needs to find a specific parking area. It should support, rather than replace, the organiser’s directions. Venue instructions remain the authority, particularly where horsebox access, one-way systems, or temporary entrances are involved.
Weather apps deserve a place in the travel plan. A forecast can influence departure time, horse cooling arrangements, rug choices, and whether a route is sensible for a larger vehicle. I check more than one source when the conditions are changeable, then make a practical decision based on the road and ground rather than the forecast icon alone.
| App or tool | Best use | Eventing benefit | Limitation to remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equilab | Recording rides and gait work | Shows distance, duration, route, and intensity patterns | GPS and battery use can be high |
| HorseDay | Horse care and training records | Brings exercise, health, and routine notes together | Features and availability may vary |
| Google Calendar | Season and weekly scheduling | Protects lessons, rest days, entries, and appointments | Requires consistent manual updates |
| Google Maps | Competition travel | Helps with routes, timing, fuel, and access points | Towing times may be underestimated |
| Komoot | Route planning for hacking | Supports quieter off-road fitness routes | Permissions and terrain must be checked |
| Strava | Rider and outdoor fitness | Tracks cycling, running, and personal conditioning | It is not designed specifically for horses |
| Notion or Trello | Packing and task management | Makes show preparation visible and shareable | Can become overcomplicated without a simple system |
Competition Management And Results
Competition-specific tools vary by country, governing body, and organiser, so it is worth checking which official app or online portal is used in the area where you compete. These platforms may provide schedules, start lists, times, results, venue updates, and sometimes live scoring. Official information should always take priority over a third-party event calendar.
A results app or website is helpful for reviewing progress across a season. I like being able to compare dressage scores, jumping faults, time penalties, and placings without searching through several paper sheets. The numbers can reveal patterns, such as a consistent time issue on cross-country or a dressage mark that improves when preparation is more settled.
I still keep screenshots or downloaded copies of key information. Mobile signal may disappear at exactly the moment a rider needs to check a start time. A paper backup in the lorry is sensible too, especially for venue maps, emergency contacts, and the day’s running order.
Apps should make competition day calmer rather than encourage constant phone checking. Once Archie is unloaded and settled, I would rather focus on walking the course, listening to my coach, and keeping our routine steady than repeatedly refreshing a results page.
Building A Training Record That Helps
The best training record is one I will actually maintain. After a ride, I record the date, discipline, duration, surface, main exercises, and a brief assessment of how Archie felt. If the session included jumping, I note the height and type of questions rather than describing every fence. For cross-country schooling, I include the terrain, water, banks, ditches, and any issues with confidence or rhythm.
I also record the next-day response. A horse may feel excellent during a session but show stiffness, tiredness, or unusual behaviour later. That information affects the next training decision far more than a single average speed. Over time, these notes create a useful picture for conversations with a trainer, veterinarian, or physiotherapist.
Video can add another layer to the record. Short clips of flatwork, jumping, and cross-country can show changes that are difficult to feel from the saddle. I label them with the date and purpose, so a later review focuses on a specific skill such as straightness, balance, or the rider’s position on landing.
The record should support welfare and sensible progression. No app can decide whether a horse is ready for a harder workload, whether the ground is safe, or whether a competition should be withdrawn. Those decisions need experience and professional input where appropriate.
A Simple App Routine For Busy Weeks
I prefer assigning each app one job instead of entering the same information in several places. Equilab or another ride tracker records the session, Google Calendar shows the overall schedule, and a notes app holds observations that do not fit neatly into numbers. Google Maps and a weather app take over when travel planning begins.
A weekly review takes only a few minutes. I check the work completed, compare it with the planned balance of flatwork, jumping, hacking, and recovery, then adjust the next few days. If Archie has had a demanding session or the ground has deteriorated, the calendar needs to reflect that rather than pretending the original plan is unchanged.
These are the habits I find most useful:
- Record the purpose and outcome of each ride, not just the distance and duration.
- Add rest, stretching, farrier visits, lessons, and competition deadlines to the same calendar.
- Save venue directions, gate details, and offline maps before leaving home.
- Keep a short digital packing list alongside a printed emergency and contact sheet.
- Review training data with a coach instead of chasing impressive statistics in isolation.
The aim is a clear picture, not perfect administration. A few accurate notes made consistently will help more than an elaborate system abandoned after two weeks.
Make The Apps Work For Your Next Event
A useful digital setup should leave more attention for the horse. Start with one training tracker, one calendar, and one reliable navigation app. Add a care-record or task-management tool only when there is a clear need for it. This keeps preparation practical and prevents phone notifications from taking over the riding week.
Before the next competition, set up the venue route, save the organiser’s details, enter the important deadlines, and create a packing list. After the event, record what went well, what needs work, and how Archie recovered. Those small actions turn each outing into information that can shape the next training block.
Choose the apps that suit your horse, your coaching arrangements, and the way you travel, then build them into your normal routine. A well-organised phone will not jump a fence or improve a dressage mark, but it can help make the preparation calmer, the journey smoother, and the work between competitions more purposeful.