Installing the arena camera system has taken a long time. There was electricity cables to lay, video cables, computer upgrades and various signal switches. In all it has taken us about 6 months and there are still a couple of things to finalise but the hard work is done.
If you have ever been to the Stone Circle Livery website you may have noticed a log-in area. That is for the exclusive use of our livery customers. Behind the log-in sits a sophisticated system that logs all the data regarding your horse and lets you monitor the webcams around the yard and facilities. Every client has a dedicated stable camera as well as being able to view the yard cameras.
This system has now been upgrade to include the arena cameras. There is one camera on the 60X20 Metre rubber surfaced arena and one on the 20 Metre round pen. The round pen has recently been rubber surfaced too as we found the silica sand surface clogs in wet weather and was difficult to manage. The rubber surface is pretty much maintenance free and provides a better working surface.
The arena camera system is fairly straightforward. Clients can book the arena to have lesson with their instructor or do their own work and the cameras automatically record that session. As things can slip in terms of time it will record either side of the booking to make sure it has recorded everything. It is also possible to log-on when at the yard and set it to record there and then so the system is very flexible. Finished recordings automatically up load to the clients log-in area so they have a complete record of all lessons/sessions in the arena. It is also possible to print to DVD there and then if people want to take away a recording. This is especially handy for people who are not clients but hire our arena just for lessons. Many visiting instructors take advantage of the facilities at Stone Circle Livery and we often see horses arriving by box for a lesson. Regular users that hire the arena for lessons can be assigned a web page for upload as part of the service but we do need to see block-bookings for this. A personal upload area costs £45. We charge £18.99 for a DVD of your lesson on an ad-hoc basis. Stone Circle Livery clients get the web service free and can purchase DVD's of their lesson for £3.99.
The instructor and rider are fitted with a radio mike so the sound and interaction can be recorded at the same time. Over time, a series of lessons builds up and you can review the lessons at anytime at the comfort of your pc or on DVD. Stone Circle Livery has day rooms where you can also review the lesson with your instructor at anytime which is handy after a lesson when you can both watch the session and discuss any elements of it off the horse. Things can often be clearer this way and it helps the learning process. The cameras also run live to the widescreen TV in the day room so if you have friends and family that don't want to brave the cold they can still watch the lesson from the comfort of heated day rooms and relax with a hot drink.
Stone Circle Livery embraces innovation and we are constantly improving the services and facilities for our clients. The arena cameras make horse riding and training a much more involved and enjoyable experience. If the idea of being filmed on your horse frightens you, don't worry - they can be switched off! Picture is the sunrise over the frosty arena early in the morning.
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