New Horse Show Category: AI A-Circuit

A new horse show category is sweeping the globe! This ground-breaking competition circuit offers an alternative for all the competitors out there who have found that, for one reason or another, their competitive riding days are over.

Finding alternative ways to compete in equestrian sport is nothing new. You’ve seen hobby horsing (and, to be fair, those folks are some athletes!), and COVID brought us virtual horse shows (which have since waned, but haven’t entirely disappeared). Now a new competition platform is available for those who find that they are unable to ride competitively — the AI A-Circuit!

As most of us know by now, AI stands for artificial intelligence. And whether or not we’re aware of it, AI has permeated our daily lives. From writing copy for us to creating images that, in many cases, most of us don’t even realize are AI-generated, we come into contact with it regularly. Heck, if you’re a horse person on social media (and since you’re reading this, we’re assuming you are), you’ve seen myriad images of equestrian-related content generated by AI. Many offer some — ahem — interesting takes on what a horse looks like. From horses with too many legs to outright ridiculous things, AI equestrian content is everywhere.

Here’s a personal favorite (like, I’m not here to kink shame, but why is there a mirror BELOW the toilet bowl?):

So, to the point. Our seeming obsession with AI has inspired the AI A-Circuit virtual horse show. In this groundbreaking competition, equestrians from all walks of life can compete on an even playing field. They can submit their best AI-generated round in the following equestrian events:

• Jumping
• Dressage
• Eventing
• Driving
• Endurance
• Vaulting
• Para-Equestrian

Each competition submission would highlight both an AI-generated still shot and video of a competition round. The still shots should not pose much of an issue. For instance, these Google Gemini-created images seem nearly competition ready:

Combined Driving

Dressage

Vaulting (that’s one heck of a team!)

Show Jumping

Endurance Riding

Even though the still shots are approaching competition readiness, one major consideration is generating the videos themselves. Most AI-generated videos exist behind a paywall. And, let’s get real, while equestrians are happy to pay ample amounts in entry fees, how much will they pay just to make the videos themselves? And the more cost effective videos leave… a bit to be desired.

This Canva-generated video of equestrian show jumping isn’t quite what most of us have in mind. To be fair, it DOES resemble some of our rounds…

This Canva-envisioned video of Dressage definitely wouldn’t pass muster, but maybe that’s the fun of competition… 

The governing body of the new show circuit, the International Federation for Artificial Equestrian Sports (FAEI) is using the framework of existing governing organizations to help them lay the groundwork for this one. Looking forward, the FAEI is considering adding Western disciplines to the circuit as well. To start, they would consider Western Pleasure, Cutting, and Reining.

In addition to video creation and submission, other details that still need to be nailed down include scoring and rankings. The FAEI would like to have all scoring completed via algorithmic analysis of rounds submitted by competitors. However, they are running into funding limitations to develop the appropriate software. Crowdsourcing has been considered to help finance the software development, but many are concerned that equestrians may not be the best source of such funds, given our propensity to spend the majority of our money on our own horses and tack, and very little on ourselves or, well, anything else.

We look forward to seeing where this new competition realm leads, and intend on offering full event coverage on Horse Nation.