Tell me a bit about yourself and your business, the history and the services you offer.

I’ve owned ponies and horses for a very long time, 50 years now, and competed as a hobby rider in all disciplines along the way. I was in Pony club until I was 16 and gained my B badge when only 13.  I have had mostly ex-racers and before they were fashionable!

The business is into its 5^th year, it hasn’t been an easy ride with the pandemic and breaking new ground in Ireland with our services.  First and foremost we are wholly independent and also totally self-funded with no external assistance (grants or financial help simply wasn’t available).

We have an ECB water treadmill and that was our only and main piece of kit when we opened but it became apparent we needed to offer more.  There were several shareholders involved in the beginning but by the start of year 3 I had bought the others out and also invested in an ECB cold saltwater spa, enabling the rehab process to begin with us from box rest.  By the end of the year, we also had put in a salt therapy suite for skin and respiratory conditions. By the end of year 4, we had invested in a covered 50ft lunge pen with fibre surface and also into cryogenic therapy encompassing thermal imaging to compliment the spa and facilitate rehabilitation with cold treatments for more than just legs.  Cryo can be used anywhere on the body to bring relief and dramatically reduce inflammation and at -78C it has a slightly different effect on cells than the spa also.

We work with any of the vets and hospitals in Ireland, as well as physios, chiropractors and farriers and receive referrals from all. 

Our facilities are used by anything from top competition or racehorses to a child’s pony and are used not only for rehab but importantly for fitness and preventative purposes.

How did you get involved in this line of business?

I suppose it was something that when I had injured horses and was working away I struggled to find anywhere that offered rehab services and a good environment for them and saw a need to provide the services we do.  I would happily put my head on the line and say we are the premier provider of rehabilitation services on this island and our results speak for themselves.

Do you have any notable events or success stories to date?

We have had great results in pretty much all disciplines both on the fitness side and in rehabilitation too. The unfortunate thing is that we are not permitted to discuss individual cases because of client confidentiality.  We have developed protocols alongside equinetendon.com which have seen showjumpers and eventers return to competition at top levels and also have seen racehorses return to training with eg, a tendon injury in 12-16 weeks and which have been rolled out on the world stage.

We also had a visit from HRH Princess Anne, the Princess Royal in July of this year, which as a wholly private establishment is an incredibly big accolade.  The visit was a private one, meaning that she chose to come to see us and that I think says we have set a high standard.  The visit lasted 70 minutes, demonstrations were given on the various treatments offered and also some of our sponsored riders and clients were able to meet and chat with HRH Princess Anne. I hosted her for the entire visit providing commentary and explanations, no pressure then, she is an incredibly knowledgeable horsewoman and you certainly wouldn’t be able to bluff your way with her! The visit was a huge success and we received a wonderful letter of thanks from Buckingham Palace (now framed).  It was also an immense amount of hard work for everyone concerned and my staff worked very hard to ensure everything was perfect.

What are some of the challenges you face in business?

The biggest challenge is that we appear to be the best-kept secret in Ireland and it is only when someone needs our services do they find us!! Despite having an active media presence!  The capital expenditure has been large and there is always a need to have a steady flow of clients through our doors for both livery and for drive-in appointments.

Your centre has fantastic facilities on offer. Do you feel there is enough education around Equine Rehabilitation & Fitness in Ireland? How could this be improved?

I think there could be more education certainly and while we ran a few courses, pitched at all levels, I would like to organise more and offer a bit of CPD right across the board!  We often have riding clubs and pony clubs visit us for demonstration evenings which I think is enlightening for those that attend.  We had several visits this summer from veterinary universities in the US and even they were wholly impressed with the facilities and the attention to detail that goes into each client.

What are your future plans for the business and where do you see it in the next 5 years?

We will hopefully stay ahead of the curve and remain the best place in Ireland to send horses to whether that is to kick start fitness before the season or if you are unfortunate enough to have an injured equine for specifically tailored rehabilitation treatment.

I have been looking at some additional services which will very much complement what we already have, I have a couple in mind and have also been researching what the centres in Kentucky are currently offering but I need a lottery win for those!

In the meantime, we do have a little duo on order which should be delivered before the end of September and which will allow us to offer a pick-up and delivery service (at a charge obviously) from the likes of the equine hospitals for our clients coming to stay for rehab treatments for example.