Who are you? And What do you do?

My name is Emma McCauley and I own  Sparrow Equestrian, I am Qualified and Insured Coach with the BHS and HSI, I am a BHSII stable manager, BHSAI APC and HSI level 1, I also hold a diploma in Equine and Stud Management, Degree in Human Resources and also a degree in Business and leisure management and I am also a Therapeutic Coach. I have been working in the industry since 2007 and been around horses for 20-plus years. Within my Business I provide top class coaching and other services as well as education and change making to the industry. I have a keen interest in Show jumping and compete regularly myself but my passion is training horses and riders the right way. 

Who do you do it for?

I DO IT FOR EVERYONE. We are all-inclusive here at sparrow equestrian;I look at horses and riders as individuals and tailor make sessions to them rather than a 1 size fits all approach as each horse is very, very different and are not robots. Some have mentioned to me am I a horse whisperer as their horses are act very different around me no I am unfortunately am not but what I do is I read horses body language and that alone will scream the answers of what is bugging them and then all of a sudden the horse is calmer feels listened to and will achieve with the rider. I have often had random horses stop dead in their tracks and want to communicate with me, horses I don’t even know and the info they give if everyone could listen to their horses like I do there would be no mispractice, only best practice.

Describe your business in one sentence.

Building confidence, building skill, building success 

What makes your service / product unique or special?

I am the only human, equine encyclopaedia – there is very little I haven’t seen or dealt with.

It is not a 1 size fits all approach with Sparrow Equestrian. It is you and your horse and setting a goal approach. 

You are guaranteed success with Sparrow equestrian even if you have a problem horse or low confidence I can fix all and ability to get the correct results 

I have a unique way of training horses in a low pressure environment. I listen to what they have to say and then solve what’s bugging them!!

My enthusiasm and my love of horses and their welfare is what drives me for better for all horse and rider partnerships

Tailor-made packages to suit all levels:

3 areas I am passionate about :

1. Equine welfare
2. Rider confidence
3. Best practice, relaxing approaches to working in harmony with the horse 

Why do you do what you do?

I do what I do to strive for best practice in the industry to be returned and get rid quick fixes, bad coaching advice being given and clients having unrealistic goal sets that destroy confidence!!

What are the problems you solve?

🦄 Equine business assessment and management- leading equine business manager in Ireland give your business competitive edge and boost profits 

🦄 Coaching of all levels from happy hacker to Grand Prix including confidence coaching , BHS training etc

🦄 Sourcing of horses and ponies for clients

🦄 Remote coaching

🦄 Clipping and grooming

🦄 Riding and training

🦄 Breaking

🦄 Problem horses

🦄 Dynamic assessment of your horse ( feeding and fitness programmes including supplements )

What is the mission of your business?

To build confidence in my clients and horses, to build skills in my clients and horses and build success as a result. 

What values are important to your business?

Equine welfare, long-term solutions rather than quick fixes, education and building partnerships.

Where does the industry need to change/transform/improve?

Bad practice and its quick fix methods need to be got rid of, such as unrealistic goals being set with clients even at beginner level skipping the vital balance and basics elements such as foot balance and how to turn correctly the focus seems to be… get them up and get them going, get them jumping big and I see this weekly as I go in and out of yards and it’s frustrating as there is very little education being done and the basics not covered from a riding and care perspective ah but sure they can jump 1m 20 …. Another thing that needs to be gotten rid of is unnecessarily beating horses IT DOES NOT WORK!!!

I regularly tell the story of when I saw a horse being beaten at a show for refusing a fence in warm up and I went over grabbed the stick from the rider and broke it across my knee much to the shock of the rider and the warm up I then educated the rider that is not best practice and what he needed was lessons with a proper coach as that is no way to get a horse to work . The 3^rd thing is quick fixes. If I go into one more yard this week alone to a new client and find a set of draw reins or equivalent gadget, I will go mad. Gadgets have a time and place but after a while the rider will use it as a crutch and they Encourage lazy riding. I keep gadgets down to a minimum in coaching and also training horses and I teach both horses and riders how to build muscles from inside out.

Goals for the next 12-24Months?

 To develop a coaching platform and education space and to launch my anti bullying initiative for the industry as I am the single coach that has tackled this and found solution so stay tuned 

I will be travelling the country coaching and providing other equine services and hope to expand further into NI and UK as well as ROI  

Your key message to potential new customers?

Take the leap and contact me for a session to start your journey to build your confidence, build your skill and build your success! 

Your message to the equine community?

A special offer for the Grassroots Community from Emma at Sparrow Equestrian: For customers who book regular sessions in a block will receive a 10% discount when they say they heard about us from The Grassroots Gazette!

Contact Sparrow Equestrian

Email: SparrowEquestrian@gmail.com

Call Emma on 0862073263

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