In July 2020, Irish show jumping Olympic medalist and coach Cian O’Connor opened Karlswood—an ultra-modern, high-performance equestrian and show jumping training facility in Meath, Ireland. Cian’s state-of-the-art horse breeding and coaching facility brought in a revenues of €20.77 million over a 12-month period. Despite the success, the facility did not have the security infrastructure needed to protect the premises. Convergint worked with partner Avigilon to help upgrade security and improve facility safety.
Mission: Protect the High-Value Facility with Enhanced Security
Cian O’Connor wanted the latest in high-performance security for his new state-of-the-art facility. Karlswood was looking for a reliable, future-proof solution that would enable staff to monitor the site effectively from any location at all times, and provide full traceability for remedial action and, potentially, insurance purposes in the event of any issues or accidents. Long-term Avigilon partner and global security systems integrator, Convergint, was recommended to him. Convergint, partnered with Avigilon, stepped in to provide security solutions needed to keep Karlswood safe. With offices in Dublin and Cork, Convergint has a strong presence in the Irish equestrian sector, as well as across numerous verticals including healthcare and utilities. Working in close collaboration, Convergint and Avigilon provided a bespoke demonstration and proposal based on Karlswood’s need for video surveillance to ensure the safety and security of the high-value horses, staff, and visitors at its premises.
Solution: Intelligent Avigilon Installation
Convergint and Avigilon provided Karlswood with an intelligent installation of a wide range of high-resolutions cameras for internal and external locations, including the Octogen building, stables, courtyards, hay sheds, arenas, and entrance gates. This deployment ensures seamless surveillance and coverage across the entire site. All external cameras have adaptive infrared (IR) technology to provide broad coverage and exceptional image quality, even in low-light settings and after dark. Two Avigilon video intercoms and numerous audio speakers are also connected into the system, which is accessible to the core Karlswood team via the Avigilon ACC Mobile 3 App on their smartphones. This way, they can view live and recorded streams from any camera, and answer intercom calls to identify and talk with visitors before remotely granting access to the site.
Result: A Flexible and Reliable Security System
Karlswood is now secure in the knowledge that it has an optimal, flexible security system which can easily scale in line with future site expansion. ACC Mobile 3, meanwhile, allows easy remote mobile access and control for a team that is rarely sat at a computer.
Karlswood is delighted with the image quality, reliability, and positioning of the cameras, which deliver seamless site-wide coverage. The cameras in the stables allow for frequent easy checks on nervous horses without disturbing them. Ultimately, for Karlswood, it is all about the horses.
