ONLINE LESSON SET UP

So, you would like to do some online sessions – this is awesome, it’s just as effective as lessons in real life!  These are the steps you need to follow to make this happen…

Permission – unless you own the yard, or have your horses at home, you’ll need the ok from the yard owner / manager.  These sessions are the equivalent to bringing in your own coach – most yards are happy, but some yards either have a fee to pay or refuse outside instructors.

Option B is something called a PIVO.  This is a little gadget – like a tripod / pivot.  You pop your phone into the tripod and your phone becomes the camera.  As soon as you buy your Pivo, you download the Pivo app on your phone.  In most countries this app is called either Pivo meet or Pivo chat.  As it is time to connect, you turn on the Pivo and get a link invitation.  You send me this link and I can sign in from my laptop.  With this, I can steer the camera, zoom in and out, and also record parts of the lesson.  It gives me control over what I want to see and frees you up from finding someone to hold the phone.  There are sometimes tech glitches, but generally this works well.   I do have a referral code – if you are happy using my code, please look here… 

https://uk.pivo.ai/products/pivo-pod-silver-equestrian-pack?ref=8LRq0RhHL3pil

The last thing you need are a pair of good Bluetooth earphones, that will connect to your phone, giving us clear communication.  We can hear each other and talk, just as we would if I was physically there in the arena with you.  Some people find these earphones slip or fall out.  The easiest is to wear a headband over the top of your ears, to hold the earphones in place.  Some people will even use a little strip of sticky tape.  Anything that will hold them in place.

We’re almost there!  Once you have the phone, helper / pivo, earphones, internet and permission, you need to talk to me…  Get in touch and we make a plan for a day and time.  I do travel a lot, and so we need to be a little flexible because of time zones.  We make a plan e.g., Monday at 8am your time.    

Internet.  The ideal is to have the lesson in real time, meaning that I need to be able to see and talk to you as you are riding….  If there is no way for internet to be available, we can do a feedback system – you send me video and I give feedback, but this is not ideal.    Some people use wifi, some use phone data.  Either works, and the phone data isn’t too expensive in most places.

We need a way for me to be able to see you.  Option A - The simplest one…  Find a friend who is willing to stand with you for an hour and film on a normal cell / mobile phone.  Using this method, I create a Zoom meeting from my laptop, and send you the meeting link.  Your phone (clutched in your friend’s hand) is connected to my laptop via the Zoom meeting.  This is quick and easy, but the main drawback is finding someone who is willing and able to film you for an hour.