The Economist has spotlighted the growing role of health technology and AI in equestrian sport, featuring Sleip co‑founder and 2025 Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation scholarship co‑recipient Elin Hernlund.
The Economist has spotlighted the growing role of health technology and AI in equestrian sport, featuring Sleip co‑founder and 2025 Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation scholarship co‑recipient Elin Hernlund.
Published on July 30, 2026, the article examines how gait‑analysis tools, heart‑rate tracking, and biomechanical sensors are reshaping how riders and trainers monitor equine wellbeing — from grassroots amateurs to elite competition yards at events like the Royal International Horse Show in Hickstead. Sweden is highlighted as one of the countries leading this shift, with Hernlund’s company Sleip cited as a widely used tool among show jumpers tracking gait and movement patterns.
Coverage in a publication read far beyond the equestrian world is meaningful in itself; it signals that the conversation around equine welfare technology is reaching a broader, mainstream audience rather than remaining within industry circles.
Hernlund told The Economist she expects the trend to accelerate, suggesting horses may soon become among the most closely monitored athletes in any sport.
She received the Fredricson Foundation’s 2025 scholarship alongside fellow biomechanics researchers Lars Roepstorff and Marie Rhodin.
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Two days. One shared goal: advancing horse welfare through science, education and practice. Join leading international experts at the Horse Welfare Summit 2026, where Dr Andrew McLean will deliver two keynote lectures and receive the Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation Scholarship.
A new review examines how smartphones are becoming genuine tools for monitoring a horse's soundness, heart rate and recovery, and even for meeting international competition requirements. Among the systems it highlights is Sleip, co-founded by Dr. Elin Hernlund, one of the Foundation's own scholarship recipients, whose work builds on decades of Swedish equine biomechanics research going back to Professor Ingvar Fredricson himself.
On November 2, visitors gathered in Hall B at the Jönköping Horse Show for the Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation’s 2025 scholarship ceremony, celebrating groundbreaking Swedish research in equine biomechanics. From the pioneering efforts of the 1970s—when high‑speed cameras and manual measurements were the researcher’s tools—to today’s AI‑powered motion analysis and robotic hoof simulators, the audience was taken on a journey through decades of innovation. Professors Lars Roepstorff and Marie Rhodin, together with Associate Professor Elin Hernlund, shared their latest breakthroughs, followed by live demonstrations showing how AI and high‑precision sensors are transforming the understanding of horse–rider interaction. Moderator Jens Fredricson guided the dialogue and inspired exchange between researchers, while post‑event discussions with attendees helped build valuable bridges between research and practice.
The FEI's guardian framework resonates with the work we champion at the Professor Fredricson Foundation. Advancing equestrian sport means placing the horse's welfare and wellbeing at the center — not as an afterthought, but as the foundation upon which all excellence is built.