# Leon Rutten

> Leon Rutten is the founder and CEO of Equestic, the equestrian technology brand of Smart Horse Technologies B.V. An experienced rider with a family background in equestrian coaching and more than 30 years of software and hardware product leadership, he developed the SaddleClip motion sensor and leads the company’s work on AI-assisted lesson records through EQ Coach-Copilot. His public work centres on helping coaches and riders connect instruction, personal reflection and movement data.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Equestic
- **Organizations:** Equestic, Smart Horse Technologies B.V.
- **Known for:** Developed the Equestic SaddleClip motion sensor., Equestic reports SaddleClip use in 65 countries and more than 400,000 recorded rides., Led Equestic’s development of EQ Coach-Copilot, recognised with two Silver awards in the 2026 TITAN Innovation Awards.

## Career timeline

- **2017** — SaddleClip publicly covered and tested by equestrian publications; early development involved about 75 test riders.
- **2018** — Signed the KNHS partnership agreement on March 15.
- **2019** — The current company history dates the Smart Horse Technologies/Equestic business to 2019; the product and founder’s work predate this.
- **2021** — Presented a globally broadcast SaddleClip webinar on November 18.
- **2024** — Announced Coach-Copilot on November 6 and joined the DCTerra educational partnership kickoff on December 16.
- **2026** — Participated in The Dutch Masters coaching forum; Equestic became British Dressage’s Official Training and Coach Development Partner in October.

## Achievements

- Developed the Equestic SaddleClip motion sensor.
- Equestic reports SaddleClip use in 65 countries and more than 400,000 recorded rides.
- Led Equestic’s development of EQ Coach-Copilot, recognised with two Silver awards in the 2026 TITAN Innovation Awards.
- Equestic’s own product history reports that Rutten was named Best Entrepreneur in 2017; the award organiser is not specified there.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — British Dressage announced Equestic as its first Official Training and Coach Development Partner on October 15.
- **2026-09** — Equestic announced international dressage trainer Nicky Barrett as a brand ambassador on September 23.
- **2026-08** — Equestic announced the Rider Reflections feature on August 18.
- **2026-03** — Rutten participated in the Future of Coaching Forum at The Dutch Masters on March 12.

## Links

- Website: https://site.equestic.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-rutten-107446/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/leon-rutten
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21