We caught up with KBIS client Rachael Corry, owner of the Equine Rebalance Therapy Centre to find out about her horsey background, what led her to set up her own equestrian business and the pros and cons of working for yourself.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself and what has lead you to being based at Wellington?
So, I have a bit of an interesting equestrian past, I grew up in Dublin & spent most of my time in County Kildare where I rode from a young age. I went to college in Dublin before moving to England to study Law; I qualified as a lawyer and worked for PWC for a number of years in London. However, I missed horses as they have always been my passion, my boyfriend (now fiancé) bought me a horse to get back into it and I came to Wellington Riding. Of course, I picked an unbacked 3 year old Anglo Arab x Pre Andalusian mare who was such an interesting challenge & had her on livery at Wellington Riding. I then also started doing the marketing & event sponsorship at Wellington but realized I needed another career to transition into and decided to train in Equine Bowen Therapy, for me Bowen Therapy is a bit different, it’s a technique from Australia and is about fascia release, it’s really hands on and is very effective for remedial work and performance gains.
Q. You have now set up the Equine Rebalance Therapy Centre, how did that come about?
I spent 5 years travelling and treating horses with Bowen Therapy and started to think about how nice it would be to have a base. This yard at Wellington then became available and I jumped at the chance to take it on!
Q. What facilities have you set up in the yard?
We have a solarium, the latest activo-med water treadmill with loads of great features such as the incline which is useful for all sorts of horses, we have a range of FMBS products including the therapy rug. We also have chiropractors on site, clinics with vets & other equine therapist and our Rider Treatment room where you can have sports massage, chiro or physio. The idea is that we are a one stop shop where you can bring your horse for rehabilitation, fitness or performance treatments and you can get treated at the same time. Not only is that on offer but being based at Wellington Riding gives clients access to amazing arenas as well as the lovely club house, so sometimes people will come and go schooling before a water treadmill session or they will pop to the club house for lunch while their horse is being treated.
Q. What is it like running your own equestrian business?
It’s tough, it’s really challenging, I’ve got a great team here, Tonya Willingham is our practice manager. Tonya is great, she has been one of the leading people in water treadmills for years now and we also have other members of staff who are therapists in the making. One of the challenges is that we can go from having no horses on the yard to being full very quickly so I am lucky to have the support of the yard staff at Wellington when needed.
Q. What’s great about working for yourself?
It’s just so rewarding! It’s amazing to start from scratch and build it up and have top competitors and top vets recommending us as our reputation means the most to us.
Q. What are the downsides of working for yourself?
You are always working especially with social media, I am always on my phone sharing and liking and doing videos because you always need to keep your business out there. It’s just making sure we are always on top of it and offering excellent service at the right price.
Rachael also let us in on her top tips for setting up an equestrian business.