Groundlytics Ltd was founded to bring science-backed equine surface testing into practical ground, going and venue assessment.
The work behind Groundlytics has developed through several years of equine surface research across both eventing and racing. Earlier work with the Vienna Surface Tester was largely focused on eventing cross-country ground, where the wider research team helped develop a standardised protocol for measuring ground conditions using objective surface measurements.
This work then developed into racing, including research into the relationship between racecourse going measurements, VST cushioning and race performance using normalised race times. A wider Ground and Going study was also completed in Great Britain, exploring how objective surface measurements could provide additional context for race-day going assessment, course preparation and welfare-focused decision-making.
More recently, the team has continued to be involved in international surface research across racing and eventing, including work looking at turf going measurements across racing jurisdictions and FEI-supported eventing projects comparing objective measurements with rider feedback.
Alongside this research background, Groundlytics was established to provide VST surface measurements, racecourse monitoring and practical reporting as a service. Our aim is to make surface data clearer and more useful, helping inform discussions around ground management, surface consistency, performance context and welfare-focused development across racing and equestrian sport.
Thank you!
Selected research and reports linked to this work include:
The Development of a Standardized Protocol for Quantifying Equestrian Eventing Cross-Country Ground
Published in Biomechanics, 2023.
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7078/3/3/29
Supplementary material / protocol for the eventing study
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7078/3/3/29/s1?version=1691392642
Unravelling the speed-going relationship: A proof of concept study from British turf flat and jump race meetings
Published in Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2024.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105211
Ground and Going Study Report – September 2024
Technical report linked to the British racecourse ground and going project.
Link: https://knowledge.lancashire.ac.uk/id/eprint/53458/
Ground and Going Study Report – PDF
Link: https://knowledge.lancashire.ac.uk/id/eprint/53458/1/Ground%20and%20Going%20Study%20Report%20Sept%202024.pdf
Acknowledgements
Groundlytics has developed from the work of a wider equine surface research network, including university researchers, veterinarians, racecourses, venues and industry partners who have contributed to the practical use of objective surface testing in the field.
We would like to acknowledge Professor Christian Peham and Dr Johannes Peter Schramel at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, whose research and development led to the Vienna Surface Tester. Their work provided the foundation for VST-based surface-response measurement, which has since been applied in research across bedding, turf, eventing and racing surfaces.
We are also grateful to the wider research teams at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Central Lancashire, whose work has helped develop the application of the VST in equine surface research, including eventing cross-country ground protocols, racecourse going studies and wider applied surface assessment.
Special thanks to the researchers, collaborators, racecourses, venues and industry partners who continue to support the development of practical, science-backed surface testing.
Research and development contributors
Vienna Surface Tester development
Professor Christian Peham — University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Dr Johannes Peter Schramel — University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Equine surface research and applied field projects
Alison J. Northrop, MSc — Nottingham Trent University
Sarah Jane Hobbs, PhD — University of Central Lancashire
Robert W. Graydon, PhD — University of Central Lancashire
Amy Johnson, MRes
Mark Lucey, MRCVS — Owl House, Oxford
Jaime H. Martin, PhD — Nottingham Trent University
Altuğ Tatlısulu, BSc — Groundlytics Ltd / University of Central Lancashire
groundlytics.com 