96 SIDELINES JUNE 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
ByAnnGlavan
Any number of obstacles in equestrian sports can stop a
top horse and rider from ever setting foot in a show ring. Lack
of funding, injuries, and just plain bad luck are all among them.
So when Krista Towns discovered that her young Trakhener
stallion prospect had contracted EPM, she had two options. She
could accept that the horse had lost too much back muscle to
comfortably carry a rider and give up on ever seeing him under
saddle, or she could get creative.
Krista chose to get creative. She founded Eponaire, LLC, and
developed Astride, a weight introduction aide that has spread
all over the globe and is used at top veterinary institutes to both
diagnose injuries and conduct research.
Krista designed it herself as a surcingle-like training aide that
would sit on the strongest part of thehorse’sback, directlybehind
the withers. Through a series of weight bags added to leather
pouches, the Astride would allow her to gradually reintroduce
weight to her stallion’s back in a way that was safe for both the
horse and handler.
But her great ideawas only half of the equation: Krista needed
to find someone to transform her designs into a tangible product.
“It wasn’t easy to find someone who could help me make a
prototype, let alone manufacture it,” Krista admitted. “It’s such
a difficult piece of equipment to produce. We have surprisingly
few leather workers here in theUnitedStates, and I went to great
lengths to find someone who could help me convert my design
into a completed piece of equipment. Thankfully, I found Steve
Derricott of Gfellers Casemakers,” Krista said. “We worked
together in his shop in Utah, and manufactured the first one
together.”
The rest, as they say, is history.What started out as an idea to
get oneyoungstallionback in ridingshape led toanewcompany,
and the development of a system that would find its way into
almost every top university and research institution in theworld.
The horse racing industry has embraced it to help young
Thoroughbreds learn to carry weight. In fact, two of the last four
winners of
theKentuckyDerbywereAstride clients.
While Krista is thrilled with howwell received the product was
in all markets, she’s most proud of how Astride has been used
for research and rehabilitation. Astride is used at theNewBolton
Center, Cornell University, Cal-Poly, Guelph, the University of
Thailand,Kesmarcand theVeterinaryCollegeofLondon.Perhaps
most notably, Astride is used and recommended by the official
veterinarian of theUnitedStatesEquestrianTeam, Kent Allen.
“Kent gives presentations with the Astride, and shows how he
uses it to help diagnose back injuries, and he also refers clients
tous for rehabilitation,” Krista said. “The toppeople in the country
and the world are using the Astride for that reason, and that’s
where thewhole idea came from. The ideawas to rehab a horse,
and I feel great that that’s where it found its home. I think that’s
where it’s best suited, and it givesmea lot of satisfaction.”
Since successfully developing and marketing Astride, Krista
has certainly not been resting on her laurels. She’s branched out
into other facets of the equine product industry, most notably into
communication systems for riders and trainers.
“There were communication systems on the market, but they
wereexpensive, and theyweren’t designedspecifically for riders,”
Krista explained. “There seemed to be a void for a system that
was pricedwell, andwas specifically for equestrians.”
Enter the Eponaire OneWay and the Eponaire OneWay Pro,
two communication systems designed by Krista specifically to
serve the equine community. “With these systems, you can
discreetly talk toyour students,”Kristaexplained. “And thestudent
doesn’t get off balance, because theydon’t have to turn their head
tohear the trainer.”
Krista’s communication systems have helped some pretty
prominent dressage riders and trainers communicate their
words of wisdomwith students, including Steffen Peters, Conrad
Schumacher, Robert Dover, Ashley Holzer and the Canadian
Olympic dressage team. It’s not just dressage riders who are
seeing the benefits of theseheadsets, however.
“The systems are really starting to spread into other markets
and disciplines,” Krista said. “We have drill teams that buy our
systems, and we sell a surprising number of systems to people
who have hearing issues. We also donate a certain number of
systems to handicapped trainers who have unfortunately had
accidents and can’t rideanymore, but can still teach.”
From rehabbingher personal horse toprovidingcommunication
systems to Olympians, Krista has done it all. Only time will tell
what exciting newproduct Kristawill designnext!
Photos courtesy of KristaTowns
e
Entrepreneur
KristaTownsGetsCreative andChanges theWorld
Astride is
aweight
introduction
aide used
at top
veterinary
institutes
to both
diagnose
injuries and
conduct
research.
Kristadesigned two communication systems, theEponaireOne
Way and theEponaireOneWayPro, specifically to serve the
equine community.
To learnmore visit
.
