Raising the Bar:
How Rising Standards is Changing Jump Training
ARTICLE BY TIFFANY CHAPMAN
“Every time I hopped off to change a rail, my horse thought we were done. It was exhausting… physically and mentally.”
When Sarah Tyson first swung a leg back over a horse after time away, she never imagined that years later she’d be at the helm of an equestrian tech company. Like so many of us, her love of riding was rekindled slowly and managed between a busy career in a law firm, motherhood, and stolen hours at the barn. But it was one simple frustration that set her on a path to reinvent show jumping training: having to constantly dismount to adjust her own jumps.
“I just wanted to warm up gradually, build my confidence, and make the most of my precious time in the saddle,” Sarah laughs. “But every time I hopped off to change a rail, my horse thought we were done. It was exhausting… physically and mentally.”
That pain point sparked an idea that wouldn’t let go. With her husband Russell, whose background in architecture and construction brought a practical, design-savvy edge, they set out to find a better way. The pair spent years tinkering in their garage, 3D-printing prototypes late into the night, and iterating through countless “back-to-the-drawing-board” moments.
The result? Rising Standards: a wireless, app-controlled jump cup system that allows riders to raise and lower rails with the tap of a button. Built to integrate seamlessly with existing equipment, the cups are solar-powered, waterproof, and designed with breakaway safety in mind. Whether you’re training alone, coaching multiple riders, or running a busy agistment, it’s a game-changer for efficiency and confidence-building.
“For me, it’s about making the riding experience smoother and less stressful,” Sarah says. “Whether you’re jumping 60cm or 1.40m, the journey is the same: time, consistency, and building belief in yourself and your horse. Rising Standards takes away one of those little hurdles that slows riders down.”
The technology isn’t just smart, it’s practical. Through the app, riders can pair cups to individual jumps or entire courses, adjust heights mid-ride, and even share access with friends or coaches. Each cup contains GPS and bump detection, with big-picture plans to evolve the app into a community hub for course design, training logs, and even competition scoring.
While the product has drawn attention globally, particularly in the US and Europe, Sarah remains passionate about its value for everyday riders. “I wanted it to feel natural, like it belonged in any arena.”
Seeing Rising Standards debut under lights at a six-bar in Perth was a defining moment for Sarah. “After so many years of trial and error, watching the jumps move seamlessly while the crowd cheered, it was surreal. It finally felt real.”
From a barnside frustration to an innovation that’s quietly reshaping jump training, Rising Standards is proof that sometimes the best ideas come from riders who simply want to spend more time doing what they love and less time hopping off to adjust a rail.