Amélie Vautrin has been a rider for about fifteen years. Now 21 years old, she fell in love with horses as a child, when her parents used to take her for rides on Shetland ponies. She is a student in engineering school, and she has been working with different owners' horses for the last few years, before starting a half-lease in October 2020 with Ursan du Vallon, a very fearful little grey horse.
The horses Amélie rode before Ursan were often young and untrained. Amélie is therefore used to hectic sessions and complicated horses. As with Ursan, she puts them back to work before starting to ride in small competition levels.
When she started thinking about getting new stirrups, the question did not arise: “I immediately thought of safety stirrups, as they are very important to me. I have a lot of safety equipment, so it made sense to me that my stirrups would be too.” In addition, a friend of Amélie's had recently been in a serious accident, which confirmed her approach. “I followed her entire recovery in the hospital, which led me all the more to turn to safety stirrups.”
With her old classic stirrups, when jumping, Amélie often found herself with her foot completely shod. It was therefore difficult for her to have a good position, which made her unsteady. “It was impossible to lower my heel, I spent my time losing my stirrups, or with a bad support because my foot was too much shod.” That's when the Ophena stirrups appeared to be the perfect solution to both problems, whether it was the safety aspect or the position of the foot:
“I figured if I'm going to get safety stirrups, I might as well get magnetic stirrups!”
So Amélie received her new jewelry during the summer of 2020. As soon as she received them, she was won over by the Ophena S magnetic safety stirrups: “The packaging is sublime, it's very sleek and really well presented.” And this impression was confirmed at the very first session. She was riding a young mare that moved a lot under the saddle: the perfect horse to test the effectiveness of Ophena's patented technologies.
“I adopted them from the very first session.”
Amélie knew that if it wasn't successful, she could always take advantage of the 60-day risk free money-back guarantee after the trial. Yet, as soon as she put them on, she decided that her new stirrups would never leave her feet. “When I started riding in the Ophena's, I thought, “That's it, I'm not letting go of them, they're never leaving my house.” I adopted them from the first session. It's very simple, you put your foot on it and it magnetizes immediately. I didn't even need time to adapt. To remove them, I quickly got the hang of it with the little sideways movement.”
What Amélie likes best about her Ophena S safety stirrups?
- Their magnetism
- The lowering of the leg that they provide
- Their stability
The magnetic connection between the floor of the stirrup and the insole is designed to be enough to prevent you from slipping out of the stirrup after gaps or big jumps, but to release you easily in case of a fall. Amélie has seen this firsthand. “I recently almost slipped on my side, but I held on. The Ophena clearly saved me from falling. On the other hand, I've seen people in my stables fall while wearing them, and the stirrups released them on their own.”
“I don't even question it — I know I'll come off easily if I fall.”
The weight distribution of the magnetic stirrups is also designed to promote an optimal position, and Amélie is conquered: “Everything is perfect, their weight allows me to lower my leg better, which is more steady and doesn't go backwards anymore, especially when jumping. It has changed my riding, both in jumping and in dressage. Not having trouble positioning my foot is really nice.”
Some riders like her have seen their knee pain disappear, thanks to the better position they have achieved with the Ophena safety stirrups. “I had a doubt about the cushioning, but in the end, there was no pain, whereas with other stirrups my knees hurt.”
Amélie has nothing but praise for them, and does not hesitate to lend her magnetic insoles and stirrups to other riders, so that they can also try out this new feeling: “I talked about them around me, I had my friends try them out at the stables, and now there are several of us who are equipped with Ophena stirrups!”
“It's one of the best purchases I've ever made.”
Since October, Amélie has been getting back into the basics of dressage with Ursan. A month ago, they started competing together in show jumping. Her objective is to enjoy herself by evolving little by little towards Amateur events, with the Ophena S magnetic safety stirrups on her feet.
