Become One with your Horse

Our Mission

Our ELU-Rider Pad is here to support you on your path to a deep connection to your horse.

When I was on this path I came to the point where I knew that in spite of getting to this connection I had to feel myself on the horse way more and I took off the saddle to learn to ride bareback.
We have a lot of Tools for horses which were desigend to control and dominate the horse through pain and fear. And I now see more and more riders, especially women, in need of new tools, designed to support a deeper connection out of understaning the horses nature and it’s language.

I myself created this Pad out of this desire. The Pad is there to support a specific postiure which brings us women back into our dignity. And by us going back into our dignity we bring back our horses into theirs.
The Pad will never be a replacement for each individual process of reconnecting to our routs in which there is the knowledge of serving life and this planet and not, as it had been for many decades now, exploit.
I want the ELU Rider Pad be a symbol for this way of living and being with horses. A symbol for taking responsibility for getting back the dignity of our horses. The Pad shall be a message to the world about being fair to your horse. This means that if things do not work out the way we want we are looking for answers within ourselves.
This is basically what I am doing since more then 20 years. With myself and my horses and with many who come to my courses.
The Pad shall also be our reward for keeping up this path. It is a beautiful piece of work. The design is as elegant and the material we use as soft as a woman in her dignity is herself.

The Elu Rider Pad

The Elu Rider Pad is a uniquely designed riding pad, handmade with cruelty-free sustainable materials that contribute to the attitude of a conscious equestrian.
Our original design, created by Larissa Simon in cooperation with the Spanish master saddler Ramón Bolaños Merino, applies all the advantages of a great saddle into a soft treeless saddle-pad providing effortless balance and absolute connection.
We have given great attention to creating a saddle pad that fits like a second skin on the horse, allowing the feeling of riding bareback while feeling supported, secure and precise on one’s balance point.

Philosophy

connection

Nature

Balance

symbiosis

Conscious Rider

elegance

sustainability

in service for the horse

GROWTH

lived spirituallity

The Vision

More than twenty years ago Larissa Simon, founder of the Horse-Inspiration Academy had a vision while riding her young Andalusien Stallion bareback. It was during this particular ride she asked what it takes to be at full strength with a horse. At this moment she had envisioned a woman on a white horse. Through the woman’s example, her body slowly aligned itself into a new position bringing Larissa into her power and dignity instantly.
Larissa came to realize the key was learning to sit in balance on the horse to encourage balance and a sense of a deeper self. Few years later Larissa created the very first prototype of what she believed could support this new positioning of her body on the horse.

Throughout the years Larissa has learned through being with the horses and by her wonderful deep connection to horses, she would like to encourage others to find their path within and thereby find a deeper connection to the horse.

In 2019 after many years since the vision and first prototype Larissa teamed with a master of his craft, Spanish master saddler Ramon, to bring her vision to the world. Her distinctive design along with his know-how to craftsmanship have created a special kind of Pad which we are very proud to present to you as the ELU RIDER PAD.

The origin of Elu is the Native American language and it´ coming from the Zulu tribe. The name’s meaning is ‘One who is full of grace’.

Elu Rider – Graceful Rider

Sustainability

Why Cactus Leather?

Sustainability and the preservation of ethical principles have the highest priority for us. We want to contribute to a sustainable and fair world and animal welfare is our top priority. We have therefore opted for a sustainable, stable, vegan leather alternative that takes a holistic approach to the environment and animal welfare. During our research for the right material, we found what we were looking for at the company Desserto®, which is based in Mexico.

The two co-founders of Desserto® have managed to produce a stable, tear-resistant, vegan cactus leather, which is already being used internationally by well-known and leading companies in the automotive, furniture, fashion, shoe and clothing industries. Among them, BMW, Mercedes, Addidas, Lagerfeld, H&M and Fossil.

Find out more about the vegan cactus leather alternative from Desserto® in their official company video.

Manufacturing

Many years after Larissa created her very first prototype by hand, which was made of sheep fur and was affectionately called “Fellchen” (can be translated as “Little Fur” or “Furly”), she teamed with a master of his craft, Spanish master saddler Ramón Bolaños Merino, to bring her vision to the world. Her distinctive design along with his know-how to craftsmanship have created a special kind of Pad which we are very proud to present to you as the ELU RIDER PAD.

After several prototype variants for optimization, extensive testing by experienced and demanding riders and the final completion of the product, the finished Elu Rider Pad will be manufactured by Ramón and his team in Rota, Andalusia.
Ramón has been working as a saddler since he was 20 years old. Not only is he a respected and well-known master of his craft, he also developed the Spanish-Portuguese Vaquero saddle.
We are very fortunate to have such an experienced traditional master saddler for our development and manufacturing process.
Enjoy our little video about Ramón and his work.

Development

2002

The Vision and the first creation – “Fellchen”

Larissa received the vision and the idea about the pad came into life.

She created the very first variation of this special pad by hand, made of sheep fur. “Fellchen” was born.

2005 & 2018

First two pre-prototypes have been created

The first professional prototype was created by a saddler in Austra and a second prototype was made by an Spanish saddler.

Both variants did not yet meet Larissa’s ideas completely and could not yet serve as a basis for the Elu Rider Pad prototype.

2019

Team building and creation of an business plan

Larissa started teamed up with the master saddler Ramón Bolaños Merino and started to create a team of creative heads from different areas.

Together with Ramón the first official Elu Rider Pad prototype was designed and the business plan was defined with the team.

2020

First Elu Rider prototype & first test phase

Ramón created the first official Elu Rider Pad prototype with his kmnowledge after Larissas´s specific design.

After that the first test phase was carried out by customers and students of Larissa.

Parallel the foundation of the Elu Rider company and the company structure was laid.

2021

Second Elu Rider prototype and second test phase

The second Elu Rider Pad prototype was created by Ramón, made of leatherette and according to the required adjustments, which became relevant after the first test phase.

The secoond test phase was again carried out by Larissas clients and studens and different experienced and well-known rider from the equestrian scene.

The Elu Rider brand was founded and the first marketing ideas and strategies were created.

2022

Third prototype and third test phase

To further specialize and improve the Elu Rider Pad, a third official prototype was made by Ramón. This now for the first time made of cactus leather. This prototype will be tested again in summer 2022.

Parallel the Elu Rider brand layout was created and with this the logo and the website came to life.

After the third test phase, further variations of this prototype are planned for autumn, which will then be handed over to well-known authorities in the horse scene for an extensive and final fourth test, as well as to specialists such as horse physiotherapists, veterinarians and experts from the area of medical technology and biomechanics for a technical analysis, pressure point measurement, safety check and quality control.