Innovations that impress the equestrian sport industry were featured at Spoga Horse in Cologne, GER, from Feb. 4-6. Three successful days of the enormous horse industry trade fair saw 6,200 visitors from 65 countries come together to discover the comprehensive range of products for horses and riders from 320 exhibitors.
For the third time, the focus of an independent and renowned jury was on just under 50 of the most innovative products from 12 countries in the Top Innovations 2023 category. This year’s winners bring relief, promote the health of the horse and rider, and make the sport safer. Furthermore, a special prize in the Equine Professionals Favourite section was presented for the first time.
The six interdisciplinary judges nominated the 30 most innovative products awarding them the title Proof Of Innovation. These entries included new approaches in the areas of safety, health, digitalisation and sustainability. From among these 30 nominees, five products were selected as winners:
Barnery, the magnetic bridle holder. Made by Barnery GbR, this bridle holder is not only safe for the horse, but also incredibly durable. It has two strong magnets that ensure the bridle remains firmly in place and can be attached to any metal surface.
Equestrian Harrow’Bot (pictured at top) is an electric equestrian harrow made by the company Equestrian Technology. It harrows horses’ training areas and thus does away with time-consuming work that would otherwise have to be carried out by a tractor and driver.
FreeFlex Hybrid Tendon Boots from Joh’s Stübben GmbH & Co KG enable protection against impact, the horse’s tendons and fetlock joints are anatomically protected due to the inner fleece lining.
but at the same time also allow free and natural movement without restriction. Furthermore,
R&AIR Care, the innovative system by Röwer & Rüb GmbH, creates an ideal room climate by binding dust, cooling, minimizing odour and regulating humidity. R&AIR Care also reduces the number of insects in the stable in a natural way.
Suedwind CURVY AM are riding boots by Suedwind Footwear – H+P Handels GmbH & Co. KG designed especially for riders with wide calves. The patented construction enables the riding boot to be adapted to suit many different calf widths using exchangeable inserts.
(L-r) Barnery magnetic bridle holder; FreeFlex Hybrid Tendon Boots; R&AIR Care; Suedwind Curvy AM boots.
A special prize in the Equine Professionals Favourite section was presented for the first time to Hoofbeat, a mobile gait mapping system that monitors the well-being of the horse via data recognition. The award was presented by Barn Net, a partner of Spoga Horse and a digital platform that creates networking opportunities to enable and sustainably strengthen the cooperation between companies and equine professionals.
Following the fantastic results of the third edition of the Spoga Horse Top Innovations, the planning for the 2024 event has already started. The next physical and digital Spoga Horse is scheduled to take place February 3-5, 2024 at the fair grounds in Cologne.
Here is the list of the top 30 cool things that were nominated.
~ with files from Spoga Horse Pressteam
