The latest from the
equestrian marketing world 

Originally Published on Horse Nation . COVID-19 has changed the world quickly and in ways that most of us never thought possible. Who would have predicted even just a few weeks ago that businesses, restaurants, schools, libraries, and more would completely shut down? It’s a strange time. In times like this, it is important to take care of one another. It’s important that we make connections, reach out, offer to help and care for those around us. As an equine business owner,

Originally published on Horse Nation . Launching into a professional equestrian career feels a lot like getting baptized by fire. The successful people who do it pour their fair share of blood, sweat and tears into making it happen. Why are stable owners, trainers and other equestrian professionals leaving their hard-earned careers legally vulnerable? Mostly because the legal aspect of their business is an oversight or complete afterthought. Or at the end of a long day in the

Originally published on Horse Nation . Find out what’s shaking up the equine industry when it comes to jobs, finding perfect fits, and catch-riders. The process of finding qualified applicants for employment roles as stable managers, ranch hands, or catch-riders has always been a straightforward word-of-mouth model: if you knew the right people, you found the perfect employee. It was an old-fashioned method many in the equestrian industry are familiar with and trust because i

Originally published on Horse Nation . I know we've never met, and I haven't seen your online store, but if you're running an outdated website, you're losing money. How? Because while your social activity and digital ads are pulling people in, your dusty site is giving people the wrong impression; that you're outdated or possibly not in business anymore. It's causing you to lose the trust of potential customers - a trust you're working so hard to earn. How Does a Bad First I

Originally published on Horse Nation . Marketing is the big picture. From your social media posts to ambassador programs, to your website, it defines the product's placement in the daily life of your audience. Your marketing establishes product relevancy, creates a need, or proposes a possible alternative to your audience. As your business grows, advertising allows you to target potential customers with specific messages, content, and information about your product. Advertisi

Years of data prove the digital presence method works, so why don't we see more horse businesses crush it online? Our industry thrives on reputation and word of mouth. It's always been that way. But things change, and a new step in the referral method stops the well-oiled machine of reputation and word of mouth in its tracks. Referrals are checking you out online to verify if you’re "legit". If they search and find nothing or very little, that's the moment when a stable or ri

Halloween is arguably one of the best holidays of the year. I mean who doesn’t love dressing up in costumes and getting free candy? The festivities don’t need to be limited to trick-or-treating and Halloween parties, because equestrians know that come October, Halloween horse shows will be starting up and the costume class is quite debatably one of the most competitive classes of the horse show. With October 31st quickly approaching, we’ve searched far and wide and found some

As an equestrian, you're probably using social media as a rider or to help promote your small business. If you're trying to build your accounts and your profiles, or are new to social media, the best way to look at the world of digital TMI is that of an online community. Instagram and Facebook are two of the most popular social platforms for equestrians. It’s the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video can really be worth millions in today’s digital age. If

Finding the right job or finding the right employee can be a tough search. Right now, it seems like every trainer is hiring, but they can’t find the right worker. We could go on all sorts of tangents about why that is, but today let’s focus on the big picture with some key points. So, here’s the cold hard truth! If you’re the trainer… Getting Ghosted By a Would-Be Employer If you’re a trainer, you’re a professional. A role model. An example. A standard. What I’m going to tell

Making the leap from a competitive young rider to the professional ranks of dressage can feel like jumping the Grand Canyon. Just like me, you may know your ultimate goals and dreams of becoming a top rider and trainer, riding in international competitions, and having your image known and respected. But how do you get there? I am a professional dressage rider and owner of Brianna Zwilling Dressage, based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Currently, I am enjoying a successful busine

It’s important for trainers to understand that running their own training business is just that--a business. At the end of the day, successful business owners know that client relations are at the heart of all horse-related business relationships. You make money by providing value- and with that said owning a horse or taking riding lessons is considered a leisurely expense to your clients, much like a vacation or gym membership. It’s important for trainers to remember that cl

Social media, ambassadorships, and professional rider status have been a hot topic lately. When USEF “clarified” their amateur rule, GR1306, it created a grey area causing the equestrian community to question brand ambassadorships and amateur status.   USEF defines remuneration in GR1306 “as compensation or payment in any form such as cash, goods, sponsorships, discounts or services; reimbursement of any expenses; trade or in-kind exchange of goods or services such as board o

Talking about ethics in the equine world is like talking about politics--it can go on all day. There are ethical matters in training, showing, veterinary practices, grooming, equipment, breeding.... You get the idea. But what about on the business side of things? If you’re a trainer or a professional rider who has services offered for clients, there are ethical dilemmas in how you manage your business. From money to employees to contracts, there are ethics that can be detrime

With the summer show season upon us, many small businesses will receive requests for show sponsorship, and many will wonder how to best utilize the horse show circuit for their marketing needs. Vendor? Eblasts? Advertisements? Banners? Class sponsorship? Title sponsor? Prizes? Oh my!! It should be a surprise to no one that it’s expensive to make a horse show (you all know how expensive it is to show in one!) so show sponsorship is paramount for horse shows to make ends meet.

Social media makes it easier than ever to list horses for sale — but there are plenty of pitfalls to avoid in order to create an eye-catching ad that will help your horse find his next owner. Lucky for us, it’s 2018 and there are a lot of new ways of selling horses thanks to technology. There are many different groups and pages on social media that offer an easy and relatively quick way to buy and sell horses. But it’s not as easy as just snapping a smartphone photo and jotti

Whether you’re a seasoned rider or just starting to get your feet wet in the equestrian world, finding the right trainer is essential to...