Back Gate: The App that Solves Real Pain at Horse Shows Across the Nation

Horse shows can be a place where dreams are fulfilled, goals are beat, and friendships are forged.  

Horse shows can also be a source of frustration, chaos, and confusion. What good is being fully prepared for a round, thanks to your hard work at home, when you have no idea when your class is, how many riders are before you, and you can’t find your trainer because he or she is running around between 3 different rings. You have no idea when you’re actually supposed to be at the ring with your horse but you hate rushing. Do you get to the ring too early and risk wasting valuable warm up time?

Maybe you’re a trainer, and though you use an online system to figure out a general idea of timing for what horses and riders go when, you’re still fighting to see an overall picture of all your horses and clients – so you keep running back and forth to your trusty whiteboard and erasing names as the day goes on. You’re getting your cardio in, but meanwhile, you’re late to one ring, and you can’t find your student who was supposed to meet you at Hunter 1 warm up at 2:00pm. Did you miss an announcement that your student overheard, she’s actually 12 out now instead of 4?

Maybe you’re working the back-gate of the ring and once again are utilizing all of your multi-tasking skills (and then some) to keep track of who’s on deck, who’s in the ring, and who’s done — all the while organizing ribbons and fielding questions from people sidling up to your booth asking how many out they are (while simultaneously not providing you with any information like a back number or name).

Enter Back Gate.  Back Gate solves these issues – and more. Built in the cloud, Back Gate is an app that solves real pain by providing real time show information in your phone. BackGate has recently inked a deal with horseshowtime.com to become the front end for horseshowtime powered shows. This means to that for the 2,000 shows per year which use horseshowtime, they can now offer a live show experience for their customers. This also helps the shows meet social distancing guidelines because now exhibitors can stay back in the barn until it is their turn to come up to the ring, and they can see their turn on their phone.

How does Back Gate solve these issues? Check out these screenshots and see for yourself.

Back-Gate/In-Gate view: Update horses on deck, on course, and done in real time — riders and trainers can instantly see where they stand in the order. (Note: Both light and dark modes are available).

Rider or trainer view: Instantly see who’s on deck, on course, or done in your class — all updated in real time.

Judging a show? Input rankings and places on your judge’s card — results are instantly sent to the show office.

Rider or trainer view: Did you leave the ring to head back to the barn? No more waiting until the evening for your online system to post results — check them out as soon as the judge pins.

Rider profiles can quickly be updated, as well — and for minors last names aren’t displayed in the system to protect privacy.

Show management can easily update the order of go for a class.

Trainer and Back Gate Advisory Board Member Archie Cox states:

Riders and parents can sign up for a show in literally two minutes or less.  Watch a demonstration here:

We all need this app in our lives. Tried and tested successfully at the Desert Horse Park, Back Gate is on the move to add efficiency and reduce the chaos at horse shows across the nation.  To learn more about Back Gate, ​click here​ or ​contact Dave Conlan directly​.