ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the major contribution that can be offered by combining the framework of Social Coordination Dynamics (SCD) and sophisticated portable motion recording technology. It explains that Horse-rider (H-R) coordination patterns emerging in an endurance race can be consistently characterized by analysing the vertical displacements of the rider and the horse. H-R synchronization is presented here as a special case of inter-personal coordination. Overall, H-R coordination patterns appear to obey general principles of self-organization in dynamical systems. The chapter presents the methodology for extracting coordination patterns resulting from the functional combination of horse gaits and riding techniques. It discusses the outcome of the methodology and review the main findings, before concluding with a discussion of more general applications and future perspectives. The chapter provides the application of the framework of SCD to a quite challenging natural equestrian context, namely an endurance race.
