PRINCESS Anne has visited a North Yorkshire company at the centre of equestrian innovation.

The Neue Schule Group of companies is based in Stokesley and chief executive Sarfraz Mian said they were honoured to host the visit by the Princes Royal who unveiled a commemorative plaque.

He said: "With her love of equestrian sport and keen involvement in equine welfare charities, the team was able to undertake interesting and detailed discussions about advances in delivering improved performance for riders.

"We were extremely pleased and incredibly honoured to host the Princess and her visit allowed us to demonstrate the results of our extensive research and development – and, as a keen horsewoman, the Princess appeared genuinely enthusiastic and keen to find out more about our work."

The bit and bitting specialist welcomed the Princess to its new Momentum headquarters where it showcased the cutting-edge work of its four member companies – Neue Schule, The Academy, Avansce and Momentum Development Company, which provides offices for companies wishing to locate to hi-tech, eco-friendly premises.

The Princess Royal chatted to members of the Neue Schule team, including founder Heather Hyde, Dr Graham Cross, technical director of Avansce – the group's new equestrian sports performance monitoring company – and Dr Caroline Benoist, The Academy's manager of research and education.

Representatives from the British Equestrian Trade Association, Department for International Trade and Neue Schule's US distributor also took part to focus on both UK and International equestrian activities and business growth.

n The Group only recently launched Avansce – an equestrian sports performance monitoring company which develops intelligent sports training tools for equestrians.

Dr Cross said: "Fitness trackers for most major sports are now commonplace, but we needed to find a new technique that can describe the quality of interaction between both a horse and a rider.

"Unlike devices for activities such as running, cycling or swimming, equestrian sports must account for two independent athletes who train together as a team."

While conducting research for The Academy, Dr Cross noted that a reliable measure of rhythm, consistency and balance in the rein contact could be delivered using hardware and software products that were simple for trainers and riders to use.

"Nobody wants to become a computer scientist to analyse their training, so we do all the maths for them," said Dr Cross. "We then present a meaningful set of data to the rider or their trainer via smartphone and web applications, and leave them to concentrate on the good stuff."