How much of your day/week is related to horses?
I dedicate everyday of my week to horses.  Whether it’s from making halters from my Blue Poppy Equines product line or exercising/running clinics with my own and client horses.  This is to further the education of other horse lovers who want a better relationship with their equine partner.

What is it exactly that you do?
My business was originally started to provide correctly fitted halters for my horses as I have cross breeds which standard halters wouldn’t fit properly. After a few months I became aware that there were so many other horse enthusiasts in the world with the same problem, that’s when I made my business available to the wider community by advertising through Facebook @BluePoppyEquines and by travelling when doing clinics I’d promote my products which has helped immensely and kick started the future of my business’ success.

In this field of work, is it possible to be a full time professional and earning a liveable income?
At this very point in time as my business has only been operating for a year it isn’t possible to earn a liveable income.  But it is a future goal for myself, with word getting out more and more I believe it will become my full time professional job and will provide a liveable income.  Until then I do have my family’s support who have been helping me out where necessary.

What are the general steps taken to be employed in such a role?
There are no specific steps that need to be taken to become employed in such a role.  It truly only takes dedication and determination. I knew from get go that this was what I wanted to do and without the proper attitude I knew it wouldn’t be possible.

My advice to anyone wanting to begin their own business is to pick what exactly it is they want to do and stick to it because anything is possible as long as they are dedicated and determined.

Favourite horse memory?
My absolute favourite horse memory would be back in 2013 when I rescued my Appaloosa mare Poppy from the sale yards. She was just skin and bone at the time and had obviously been severely mistreated. I dedicated years to rehabilitating and teaching her that not all people are cruel, we very quickly became inseparable and only exceeded the expectations of everyone around us.

I’d never take back the experiences I’ve learnt from this amazing horse, I still own her to this day and am even able to ride her. I love her more and more everyday for giving me the opportunity to show her how she originally should’ve been treated and for being willing to let another person in her life. Poppy is also the inspiration for the name of my business.

Another favourite horse memory I have is back in 2018 when I competed in the Australian Brumby Challenge. This competition consisted of having 150 days to fully train a completely wild Brumby from the national parks across Victoria and NSW. I was given a Brumby from Kosciusko National Park named VBA Ariat.

The experience was very full on mentally and physically, there were times when I wanted to quit and times when I felt I was on top of the world. I loved every second of the competition in the end and was fortunate enough to be awarded with The Judges Choice Award at the finals held at Equitana in Melbourne. I am now the proud trainer and owner of VBA Ariat.

Future goals?
My future goals for Blue Poppy Equines is to have my products available in every state and territory of Australia, eventually expanding internationally to other countries.

My personal goals are to continue to further my education so I can continue to help other horse enthusiasts. I’d also like to finish building my equine facilities so people can come and experience the joy of learning new things with their horses.

Best thing about your sport/profession?
The best thing about my profession and sport is the simple fact that I get to spend my life with the animals and people I love.

In the first of the Jill books, young Jill is an only child living with her sole parent, her mother.  Money is tight and although Jill dreams of having and riding a pony of her own, she feels it is just that – a dream.  And the idea of taking part in a gymkhana is her ultimate dream – Jill’s gymkhana.  The young girl’s mother is a writer and when she receives some unexpected royalties, Jill is rapt to find that her mother gifts some of this money to her.

Coincidentally, there is a beautiful piebald pony up the road and the owner is keen to sell him.  Jill is disheartened at the idea of having twenty five pounds to purchase him.  That is, until her mother’s royalties are received.  Suddenly having a pony of her own isn’t so far out of reach.

But of course there is the cost of his health care and food.  And riding a pony requires a saddle and bridle.  Jill soon finds that although she acquires riding gear from the pony’s previous owner, it doesn’t make her a capable rider.  So Jill fumbles about on the pony Black Boy, finding it nowhere near as exciting as she imagined it.  In fact, it’s hard work and just plain confusing.

With the local gymkhana on, Jill attends, eager to glean any information she can that may help her.  A chance meeting with a gentleman in a wheelchair finds Jill with a new confidant.  Martin is a horseman through and through.  With his guidance and knowledge, Jill finds herself going on an incredible learning journey.

Jill’s Gymkhana looks at the things that first time horse owners must learn.  She is given no short cuts and has to work hard and consistently to learn things the correct way.  Martin is a no nonsense teacher and in a couple of years turns the pre teen into a quite capable young horsewoman.  The first in the Jill books, this one is bound to entertain young horse fans and teach them many things.

Author – Ruby Ferguson
Fiction – children’s
In my library – that it is!

A recent look at the Australian Jockey’s Association led to looking at the National Jockeys Trust website. We live in an imperfect world and tragedies happen. For jockeys, this can often come in the way of a fall from a horse that renders them incapable of continuing their riding career.

Suddenly they are unable to earn a living and it may even impact on a spouse and children. The income earner is now not bringing in funds and the family struggles to meet their daily needs. The National Jockeys Trust has been set up to help families that are in need because of an accident a jockey had whilst race riding.

I love to see initiatives like this. There is a financial need – through not fault of the jockey’s own – and it is met by the generosity of people who provide funds to this trust. The details on the website indicate how much the trust has already been able to help those in need:

The National Jockeys Trust has helped over three hundred jockeys with equipment and resources
to assist them during and after their recovery.

200 riders are injured a year.  $3.3 million in assistance has been provided to seriously injured jockeys and their families.  Apparently 89% of race falls result in the fallen jockey needing assistance.

You can find out more about the statistics on the website.  There are also details of how they help those in need.

This is another opportunity to consider your equine industry and needs that could be met in it. Is there a trust that could be set up to help equine workers that have fallen on hard times due to an accident in the industry? Could the generosity of others help to build up and also meet the needs of an industry?

At times I wonder if we didn’t have the joys of the internet, if some setups would be so easy to initiate and promote. Heather Mitchell-Matheson is the Alberta Stables Initiative Coordinator. This initiative is a great idea!

“The goal of the Alberta Stables Initiative is to create a professional association for stable owners and managers. This initiative will improve and increase the public profile and awareness of the stable industry in Alberta, build a network of stables, provide educational opportunities to industry members, inform and educate government and the public on the stable industry, increase accessibility for those choosing horses as their leisure activity and, most importantly, create a common voice for Alberta stables.”

For an area that recognises the challenges urban living places on keeping horses, this setup is a great idea. It allows people to research different equine housing possibilities within the area of Alberta, Canada. It is a collaborative project of three different setups. These include the Horse Industry Association of Alberta, the Alberta Equestrian Federation and also the Horse Industry Section of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

Alberta Stables Initiative

The mission statement of the Alberta Stables Initiative is:

“To strengthen Alberta’s commercial stables by promoting safety, animal welfare and sound business practices as well as providing support, education and marketing opportunities for the stable industry.”

There are many great associations and federations set up for horses and their owners and carers. It’s great to see however that other initiatives are created collaboratively to fill a gap or meet a need. Would something like this be of benefit to where you live?

“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.” ― William Shakespeare

I had a baby on August first of this year. The date was a joy to my husband and I! For him, because the birthday 1/8/18 was appealing. For me because August 1 is the thoroughbred’s birthday here in Australia – cool, huh? With a new child came some gifts from various members of our church congregation. One couple provided a gift in a reusable Boomerang Bag. I loved the concept of this and thought, why not reusable bags with a horse theme?

The idea with these reusable bags is that you use them instead of plastic bags. Or alternatively, you gift them to someone else to use. According to the flyer included in the pocket of the Boomerang Bag we were given:

“In the span of its lifetime, one re-usable shopping bag will replace over 700 plastic bags.”

And what is the benefit of this? Using one of these bags instead of a plastic bag will help to:

• protect wildlife
• keep waterways and oceans clean
• reduce reliance on fossil fuels

Reusable Bags with a Horse Theme

Sustainability and eco friendliness is growing in importance in today’s society. Anyone could be encouraged to utilise reusable bags, but why not some bags that cater to the horse enthusiasts? These bags could have gorgeous horse images on them, horse quotes or even horse related gear printed on them. And of course, the website where you can order more bags could be included, too!

On a slightly different take on this, perhaps you could set up an online store to sell eco friendly horse related products. Others could design and create them and you could provide an avenue to sell them from. Did you know about the sustainable rocking horse?