1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,880 And I know within the equestrian industry we're a little bit on 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:09,320 the struggling side at the moment due to, you know, the 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:14,920 financial costs of everything and everyone not being able to 4 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:19,720 afford to ride really. And I thought, how can I do that 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:25,000 whilst making horse riding more accessible, but also getting it 6 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:28,000 funded so I can keep doing what I'm doing as well. 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,200 Hello and welcome to Curious Equestrian. 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,200 I'm your host Anna Louise and today's guest you might already 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,080 know her from going viral across social media. 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:43,240 It's Chloe in Cornwall, AKA Chloe Hinson who is on a mission 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:50,000 to make riding accessible by creating EU KS first free riding 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,800 school at Barnwell Equestrian Centre. 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,680 Chloe, welcome to Curious Equestrian. 14 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:57,720 Hi, Anna. Thanks for having me. 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,120 Chloe, take us back to the moment you decided you wanted to 16 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,519 set up EU KS first free riding school. 17 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:13,280 So back on the back end of last year, I had a little bit of time 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,400 off. I'd done a lot last year and I 19 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,760 thought, you know what, I need a little bit a moment just to take 20 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,280 a breather and think what am I going to do next? 21 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,280 I was just thinking there's a lot of people out there either 22 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:36,120 across YouTube, TikTok and even Facebook now really making 23 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:42,600 financial now, really making money online enough that they 24 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,160 are supporting themselves fully financially and completely 25 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,920 independently. I love what I do and I'm so 26 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,560 lucky because one day years ago this was what I'm doing now. 27 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,560 It was my dream. So I just thought how can I 28 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,200 actually keep doing what I'm doing? 29 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,400 But the next step to make it better. 30 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,720 And I know within the equestrian industry we're a little bit on 31 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,160 the struggling side at the moment due to, you know, the 32 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:19,760 financial costs of everything and everyone not being able to 33 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,600 afford to ride really. And I thought, how can I do that 34 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,960 whilst making horse riding more accessible, but also getting it 35 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,960 funded so I can keep doing what I'm doing as well. 36 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:37,400 Because we've lost so many of our riding schools, haven't we? 37 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,160 Over the last 10 years, we've lost 20% of our riding schools. 38 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:46,400 We've lost an estimated 330 riding schools because they just 39 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,120 cannot continue as a business. Why is that, Chloe? 40 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,320 How expensive is it to run a riding school as a business? 41 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:59,200 So I think up to a year ago we even we were sort of just making 42 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,840 it work. And even now going forward, we 43 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,560 are sitting down with an accountant and thinking even now 44 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:11,440 where do we go from here? Because of it's such a high cost 45 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:18,480 business to run, you cannot put your prices down because 46 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:25,800 unfortunately it does cost so much with feed, bedding, straw, 47 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,400 hailage, whatever you feed as well, whether it's hail, 48 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:34,000 hailage, I've seen some prices around the country just hailage. 49 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,240 1 Bale of hailage is about 5060 lbs. 50 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,800 Now you've got to unfortunately charge your customer base what 51 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,280 it costs to run. Unfortunately, if you don't, 52 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,280 your business model doesn't work and then it's not financially 53 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,080 viable. I think also coming out of COVID 54 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:56,120 there was a lot of retirement happening but also a lot of the 55 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,400 land, a lot of the riding centres have closed because the 56 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,480 land has been built on. We are losing the land around us 57 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,880 then we're in the hay shortage crisis aren't we? 58 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,920 At the moment across the UK none of us can get hold of enough hay 59 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,280 and it's all the costs have skyrocketed in some places 60 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,320 doubling and tripling. So it just feels as an owner 61 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,040 impossible to manage costs, let alone a riding school with 62 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,440 around 30 plus horses to care for. 63 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,480 How much is a lesson, Chloe, at your riding school? 64 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,320 So we start group lessons from 25 lbs and then we even do like 65 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,480 an owner pony day, which is 1/2 day three, a three hour sort of 66 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,200 experience for children at 45 lbs and then we go up to an hour 67 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,600 at 35 lbs as well. We obviously then do more 68 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:45,320 expensive sessions when they're privates. 69 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,720 Some people need a private or a semi private and we just go from 70 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,000 there really. And tell us why you wanted to 71 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:57,200 make riding lessons accessible again, and why it's important 72 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,680 that they are accessible to everyone, not just to those who 73 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,320 can afford it. I think that really stems back 74 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,080 from where I feel like I came out of school. 75 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,360 I left school early. When I came out of school, I 76 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,440 really struggled with my mental health and what I wanted to do 77 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,840 going forward. From there. 78 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:22,800 That's where I really got involved with the horses a lot 79 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:28,240 more, and I think the more I did with the horses, the more my own 80 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,080 confidence grew. So personally, I really know how 81 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,840 beneficial they are to a person's mental health and 82 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:41,320 confidence really. I remember being that child and 83 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,080 that teenager who was such a warrior, you know, everything 84 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,280 was all sunny on the outside for me, but internally I would be 85 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:54,000 worrying about something. And to have that weekly lesson 86 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,880 with the horses was my therapy really. 87 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,440 It was the moment that I got in the saddle and my mind went 88 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,640 silent and I could focus just on me on and the horse and be in 89 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,720 the great outdoors, you know, having hacking lessons or cross 90 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,680 country lessons out in the field or in the and school. 91 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,880 And it was my me time where I had a break from my own worrying 92 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,120 really. And, you know, since I've been 93 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,360 diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and suddenly I realized that 94 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,320 horses were my medicine, you know, getting me through those 95 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,280 teenage years where they're full of anxiety. 96 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,080 And I was so lucky that my mum prioritized me having riding 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,920 lessons. And I think of if I didn't have 98 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,560 that, what would have happened? You know, how would I have 99 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,600 managed my mental health? And it's so interesting that for 100 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,480 you, horses were your therapy at that time as well, and then LED 101 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,440 to your career. And if riding schools close 102 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,160 around us, what will happen to those children that can't access 103 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,760 horses and that can't get that time in the saddle? 104 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,040 Because riding schools are the gateway to horses for many 105 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,480 children who aren't born into horsey families. 106 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,760 I think that's where a lot of people have got to remember how, 107 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,560 how do people start accessing horses? 108 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:12,680 Where do they get involved with horses and how can they, you 109 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:17,320 know, really progress is there's not a lot of other options for 110 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,200 people. And also there are loaning a 111 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,280 horse, going straight into a loaning a horse. 112 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:27,080 There's insurance issues and whether there's the right horse 113 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,080 available to people. The horse hasn't turned out to 114 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,600 be right, unfortunately. And then they are back with us, 115 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,480 hopefully and luckily, but there are those situations where it 116 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,200 can go really wrong if you're not careful. 117 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,400 And in that riding school environment, you get that 118 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,320 support. Don't you learn all about 119 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,840 horses, Not only riding them, but usually you might help 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,640 tacking up or, you know, untacking the horses. 121 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,840 You get to handle the horses. And you get that experience that 122 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,640 you just don't get if you suddenly took on a lone horse 123 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,760 and that horse is entirely yours and you're responsible with no 124 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:02,760 knowledge at all. And take us back. 125 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:04,760 Chloe, how were you feeling at that time where you'd left 126 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,960 school early, you'd found horses. 127 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,440 He was suffering with your mental health. 128 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,960 How did they support you at that time being around horses? 129 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,600 I think like just the therapeutic benefit, just being 130 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,160 around the horses, grooming, It wasn't necessarily, it didn't 131 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,480 even have to ride that day, but grooming, just being around 132 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:28,520 them, mucking out and giving myself a task to do by, you 133 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:33,000 know, filling up peanuts or water buckets and just thinking 134 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,520 if I don't do that job today, nobody else is going to. 135 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,120 So that horse needs me. So it gave me, it also gave me a 136 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:45,480 bit of that responsibility that I needed to be there for the 137 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,400 horse because nobody else would do it otherwise. 138 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,960 Oh, that's such that sense of purpose, isn't it, that they 139 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,840 give up? Yeah, in the fresh air and 140 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,520 moving, which is so important for our mental health that we 141 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,160 don't talk enough about. We often talk about hitting the 142 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,120 gym or going for a run, but actually horses get us outdoors 143 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,640 and moving and lifting, when actually we might have stayed 144 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,160 inside otherwise and sort of moped around. 145 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,920 So it really brings in such benefits to us, doesn't it? 146 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:16,920 And tell us when you thought, that's it. 147 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:18,720 I'm going to set up this riding school. 148 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,600 I'm going to set up some free lessons, as you say, using the 149 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,200 power of social media. How on earth do you begin to do 150 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,480 that? I think you've really got to 151 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:36,720 probably just be really brave, a little bit crazy as as we are 152 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,120 all horse people, we're all a little bit nuts. 153 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,760 It's probably too many hours in the stables mucking out and 154 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,440 doing all of the jobs that we're meant to do out in all the 155 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,760 weathers as well. In all that nuts. 156 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,720 But yeah, I would say you need to be brave. 157 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,840 You need to put yourself out there and you also there is a 158 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,720 little bit of not really caring whatever people think. 159 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,240 You've got to remember there are 8 billion people in the world. 160 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,600 And if you're worried about, I don't know, Susan down the road 161 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,560 thinking whatever they think about you, There are 8 billion 162 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:13,840 people in the world and she's just one person. 163 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,800 So do not worry about what people are thinking. 164 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,640 They are going to do their own thing, but you go and do your 165 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,160 thing and keep doing what you want to do. 166 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,560 Tell people about it and hopefully you can get some 167 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:35,080 inspiration from someone and you can then be the inspiration for 168 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,360 someone else. And how are you rallying this 169 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,760 fundraising effort on social media? 170 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:47,040 So I think it really has broken down into what you can do on 171 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,880 TikTok, to what you can do on YouTube and to what you can do 172 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,800 on Facebook. It's all about the ways we could 173 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,960 have monetized those platforms and build an audience. 174 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:05,480 But the audience, again, is more like a community to us. 175 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:09,000 And again, it's that it really is that equestrian community 176 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,520 that drives projects like this forward. 177 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,880 And there's so many people out there that want this to happen 178 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:22,240 because they find it so relatable that they were once 179 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,000 that person that could have really done with a project like 180 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:32,600 this and the help from it. And I think the help that I'm 181 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:38,040 asking people to do is also relatable because everybody 182 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:42,640 needs some help somewhere along their journey, doesn't matter 183 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,560 which journey that they're going on. 184 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,280 But nobody got to where they were today without a little bit 185 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:53,840 of help on the way. 100% and for those who haven't seen, Chloe 186 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,320 talks to camera every day and marks each step of the journey 187 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:02,560 by saying day one, day 2, day 30, day 60 of the journey and 188 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,680 doing little mini vlogs across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook 189 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,680 as well. People have been donating as 190 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:09,560 well, Chloe. Yeah. 191 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,040 So we've had a few PayPal donations and that was amazing. 192 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,800 The January 1 really hit off where, again, a lady donated 193 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,680 quite a big sum to us. And that was just absolutely 194 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:26,280 incredible because that really kicked the project off in 195 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,720 January. And I feel like now we're on a 196 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,320 bit of a roll where we're continuing all of that funding 197 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,520 and the outreach and just getting this out to the right 198 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,880 people now. It's amazing because you came up 199 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,920 on my feed, not surprisingly, because obviously I love horsey 200 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,680 content and I'm always looking for, you know, the latest 201 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:48,360 stories. And then what's happening with 202 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,640 horses on social media and your face popped up all bright and 203 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,160 smiley, you know, on a dreary January day, talking about your 204 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:56,760 dreams and what you wanted to do. 205 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,440 And like so many others, I'm sure it really resonated with me 206 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,720 seeing so many riding schools close around me and in all sorts 207 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,320 of different areas in the UK. And seeing those empty barns and 208 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,240 the gates close and then going for housing development, as you 209 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,640 say, and losing the land and seeing you on a mission was so 210 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:19,480 refreshing to want to bring something for free to those who 211 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:21,960 can't afford it. Just tell us where you are in 212 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,280 your journey now. Because you're on day 60, aren't 213 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:24,680 you? Oh, come. 214 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:32,280 On day 64, day 64, I can't actually believe we're on day 64 215 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,000 because it feels like I've just started still. 216 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,880 But yeah, we've, I think we've got, I don't know how many 217 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,840 followers we've got now, but it's got to be closer to the 50 218 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,880 mark, I'm assuming. 50,000. I think we've got over 50,000. 219 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:52,000 I would say now that's even across Instagram. 220 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,640 And although Instagram doesn't necessarily, you can't monetize 221 00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,000 Instagram necessarily, but I would absolutely not skip on 222 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:05,520 Instagram because the reach on Instagram is great for putting 223 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:12,960 yourself out there and finding people who are in the same, the 224 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,360 same boat as you or they want to be able to support you. 225 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,360 And tell us, Kevin, you've just started rolling out some of the 226 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,320 free riding lessons and what does that look like and who are 227 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,960 your clients? So we've got an application 228 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:35,520 process that we have done through our YouTube channel. 229 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,880 People then get directed to the website, they find the secret 230 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,400 link, as I say, and then they can apply for the lessons. 231 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,720 So in the application, there are a few questions in that 232 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,840 application that hopefully, you know, people are honest with 233 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,120 their answers. They fit the boxes. 234 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:00,400 These are people from, you know, low income families, people 235 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:04,240 struggling with their mental health, people that have been 236 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:12,000 through a bad time recently. And I think also like just also 237 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,240 looking at like sort of the Make a Wish sort of foundation how 238 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:19,920 that works. Not just the people suffering, 239 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,960 but also the families around them. 240 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,280 Maybe they're just going through such a hard time that they could 241 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:31,400 really do with something that would uplift them and help them 242 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,320 get through whatever they're going through. 243 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,240 Oh, that's wonderful. And so do they, when they apply 244 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,000 Chloe, do they automatically get put on your waiting list? 245 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,040 It would be great in the future to be able to fund like a full 6 246 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,480 week block of lessons for the people. 247 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,200 So then at least they're making sort of a progression. 248 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:57,040 At the moment we've only been able to reach reach a certain 249 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:01,200 level of offering them a free session and then going from 250 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,920 there. But the idea eventually is to be 251 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:08,240 able to offer them a a full 6 week course of those lessons so 252 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:13,880 they can at least get up to walk and trots and getting off the 253 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:18,280 lead rain hopefully and. What was your first free session 254 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,040 like? How many? 255 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,800 How many people did you have in your session and what did you 256 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,440 do? So we ran smaller sessions for 257 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,400 children that had never ridden before or only had ridden a 258 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:35,840 handful of times because they'd gone for pony rides and the odd 259 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:41,400 experience here and there. We ran small sessions of four 260 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:46,200 children at a time just because it was slightly easier for us to 261 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,760 run, especially if they were all complete beginners. 262 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,200 We took them through their paces, their, you know, beginner 263 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,320 sort of level position, got them in the saddle. 264 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:02,960 It was absolutely amazing to see a few of those children who were 265 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:08,280 quite shy and seemed quite timid at the start of the lesson, open 266 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:14,079 up throughout the lesson and then just start chatting away, 267 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,839 smiling and really starting to feedback to me about, you know, 268 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,079 how comfortable they became while they were around the 269 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:24,400 horse. And I think also growing in 270 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,280 confidence yet again with themselves and the horse. 271 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,560 And how did it feel to see it all coming together, Chloe, and 272 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,440 seeing your first three sessions actually happening in front of 273 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,840 you? Yeah, it felt amazing, 274 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,880 absolutely amazing. I think that's what's spurred me 275 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,080 and it's keep, again, snowballing into me keeping 276 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:51,320 doing this and thinking that this is a very real thing that 277 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:56,400 can happen and it's possible. It's just you've got to take one 278 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,920 day at a time and keep doing what you're doing. 279 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,480 So how many sessions do you have at the moment per month that are 280 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:10,800 free to your funded places? So at the minute we've raised 281 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,400 around the £400 mark for our February sessions. 282 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:19,280 We've not quite closed that funding off just yet because 283 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:22,440 we're waiting up until that last week where we can start running 284 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:28,960 the sessions to roll them out then and I'm hoping we can get 285 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:34,440 to the round, the £500 mark. We raised 750 in January and it 286 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,480 would be great to get to that goal yet again. 287 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,800 But who knows, who knows what we're going to be able to do. 288 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:46,360 You just, you just don't know. One day at a time, tomorrow 289 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:50,960 someone might see the content and they might feel like they 290 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,200 could help us along with the journey so. 291 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,320 And so you you roll out the fundraising throughout the month 292 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,160 and then you put into place those free sessions in the last 293 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,280 week of that month. Is that how it works? 294 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,920 At the moment, that's what we did in January. 295 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,040 So yeah, we're just waiting for that last sort of week and then 296 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,720 hoping to put on those sessions again. 297 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,120 And how do you fit that in within your normal riding school 298 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:20,240 schedule? We just opened up for an extra 299 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:25,000 day of the week and we run them specifically on that day. 300 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,800 We then had a few more sessions the day after that we did for 301 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:35,160 our home educated children. And again, those are children 302 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:39,520 that again, I find relatable because they're children that 303 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,480 not necessarily got on with school. 304 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,080 They felt shut down in the classroom, they couldn't cope, 305 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,840 maybe experience bullying in in whatever setting that they were. 306 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:52,360 And they just again, they couldn't cope. 307 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:54,560 So mental health comes back into that. 308 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,240 And they're a really great bunch of kids and they love the 309 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,960 horses. They just want to be around the 310 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:06,840 horses. And you can feel how good like 311 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,080 this bunch of kids are. If once you get them in the 312 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,280 right place, really. Chloe, how do you think you 313 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,120 bring in your experiences, what you went through as a child and 314 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:22,000 a teenager, into your lessons as an instructor? 315 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:32,560 I think just remembering how difficult I found things when I 316 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:37,160 was that age and also even the experience. 317 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,480 I said a couple weeks ago I learned how to ski and that was 318 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,800 a great experience to remind myself how difficult horse 319 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,600 riding is especially and how scary it is as well. 320 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:57,560 If you've never done it before, it can be quite intimidating to 321 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:03,120 just even go up and touch the horse to start with for a lot of 322 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:08,320 people, and it's that even that is a great experience to give to 323 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,880 someone if they've never been around a horse before. 324 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,200 Tell us about some of those reactions of those children that 325 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,400 experienced for the first time horses and riding in your free 326 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,280 sessions. What were they like after after 327 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,880 their lesson? Yeah, you could tell that they 328 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:31,800 had come out of their shell completely different child to 329 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,880 when they first started to the end of the lesson. 330 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,400 They were so much more like giving with their answers when I 331 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:44,440 was asking for feedback. They just, they just had such a 332 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:50,400 better outlook to them to when they were on the horse from at 333 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,960 the end to the beginning basically. 334 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,480 And Chloe, tell us about your riding school for those who 335 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,920 maybe have never ridden in one, or for those who want to know 336 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,640 about your approach within the riding school, tell us about 337 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,840 your horses and how you keep them physically and emotionally 338 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,840 and mentally happy in their work as a riding school horse. 339 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,000 Yeah. So all horses have a very varied 340 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,560 work routine. We try not to do any more than 341 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:24,160 two hours maximum of workload with them per day, so they're 342 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:29,520 not overworked whatsoever. And that has also come into how 343 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,560 we're running the free sessions as well. 344 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:38,400 Obviously they have got X amount of hours per week to to work, so 345 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,800 we can't go over that. So all of the free sessions are 346 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:47,280 carefully planned and worked in with how we run as a normal week 347 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,880 as well. When our normal regular clients 348 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,280 come, we really encourage them to get a bit more hands on with 349 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,840 the horses. So we do, we sort of say you can 350 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,960 come, you can groom, you can tack up, you can learn all of 351 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,560 those bits before the lesson and also after the lesson, 352 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,840 untacking, washing down and rugging up as well. 353 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,600 We really encourage all of that to go hand in hand with the 354 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:17,480 riding part because otherwise sometimes they're never going to 355 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,320 get that opportunity to learn all of those things that you've 356 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,160 got to do with the horse as well. 357 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:30,320 And even when I was young, my mum taught me how to ride and 358 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:35,120 she'd always say horse first, then you can sort yourself out 359 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,840 after. Even if I was tired, sweaty, 360 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:43,520 messy, whatever it was, always untack your horse, wash your 361 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:47,640 horse down, feed your horse, and then you can sort yourself out 362 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,160 after. Oh. 363 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,640 I'm talking of your mum. Your mum was previously running 364 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,160 the riding school since the 80s and you've now taken over for 365 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,440 the next 5 years, which is a big pressure isn't it Chloe, to take 366 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,000 over and and to fill your mum's shoes. 367 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,440 Have you felt that responsibility and do you think 368 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:09,000 that's why you've wanted to put your own stamp on your ride in 369 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,600 school? Yeah, I think compared to me and 370 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,000 my mum, we were doing things very differently. 371 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,520 We've definitely we both got a very different way of doing 372 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:21,800 things. Sometimes that's not for the 373 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,680 best where we butt heads a little bit. 374 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:27,880 I always say this they say you should never work with horses, 375 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,040 children or your family. Your. 376 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,720 Families and children and then your family that's I've never 377 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,080 heard the family one, but I can totally imagine how he did that, 378 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,560 Yeah. So there's all all three there. 379 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,920 So as you can imagine, it's it can be a very interesting day. 380 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,640 Chloe, how does it feel showing up on social media every single 381 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:49,600 day? You're not only running the 382 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,720 riding school, you're an instructor at the riding school 383 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,000 as well. You're trying to fund these free 384 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,560 places and you've got to show up on camera every day. 385 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,240 How do you manage that without getting burnt out? 386 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,200 I think there is a little bit of an aspect of getting burnt out 387 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,920 and there there is a risk of that with this. 388 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,560 But if you think of it, you've just got to make a short clip 389 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,320 which is one minute long per day on TikTok. 390 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,480 It's just got to be over one minute to monetize it. 391 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,640 So that's what we've been trying to do. 392 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,840 The more I've been doing this, the harder it's actually got to 393 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,280 keep it to a minute. I've been going over and then 394 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,280 I've had to because so much has happened. 395 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,760 The more I've been doing, the faster this has been getting. 396 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:42,320 I think if you think of it, it is just try try to do one minute 397 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,640 which might turn into 5 minutes with a bit of editing and 398 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,560 captions. But one minute of your day is 399 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,040 achievable if you look at it like that. 400 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:57,600 Breaking it down rather than looking at the whole year ahead. 401 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,400 And will you keep doing this, Chloe? 402 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,800 So you're now locking in with your social media posting and 403 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,920 content so that you can monetize and and get money from your 404 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,400 pages. That means you've got to show up 405 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,840 every single day for the years ahead, for the five years ahead. 406 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,920 Is that right? I think for the minute, I've got 407 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,120 to keep doing it. Everyone keeps holding me 408 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:20,640 accountable. They're they're really rooting 409 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,480 for me. They're it's been so positive. 410 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:27,960 There's been so much positivity around this that I just thought, 411 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:30,000 yeah, I've got, I've got to keep doing it. 412 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:35,200 And I've been with YouTube. We can now start going into like 413 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:40,120 longer format videos, maybe even doing one a week to build up the 414 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:44,680 monetization there, building up the views and the hours because 415 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,000 we've got to get to 4000 watch hours over there. 416 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:52,200 So we've now just started thinking and planning where 417 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:59,360 we're going with the content to really be able to monetize more 418 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:03,480 basically. Yeah, And for those wondering 419 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,360 how difficult is it with your just over 50K followers across 420 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,280 all platforms? You mentioned Instagram isn't 421 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,240 monetized, but how much money does that equate to for those 422 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,000 who are thinking either you're rolling in it or oh she's barely 423 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,000 making 10P, how much does that actually work out to when you 424 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:30,600 talk about posting these videos? It can work out to be a 5 LB 425 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,920 video through the engagement or A5P video through the 426 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,760 engagement. And that's where you've got to 427 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:43,160 build the community and the right audience to get people to 428 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,600 engage with your content. And also when you're making 429 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:52,520 those videos, remind people to engage with your content, it 430 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,040 triggers a little light bulb to people to say, Oh yeah, I, I, 431 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,800 I've got to support this. I'll throw them a, like, I'll 432 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:01,840 put a comment on it or even a repost and a share. 433 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,920 And that's again, those repost and those shares push the 434 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,320 content content out even further. 435 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,480 And it all helps. And that's how we've got here 436 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,840 today so far, just by people doing that. 437 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,480 And have you found Chloe? The ripple effect of people 438 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,760 finding your equestrian centre who might actually want to 439 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:31,200 become a paid client. Yeah, so we're busier than ever. 440 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:35,160 Brilliant. We've had a fair few inquiries 441 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,080 like that as well. A lot of people still say, 442 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,480 although I've been running for the last five years, a lot of 443 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,880 people still say didn't even know you were here or on the 444 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,640 map. So we've really put ourselves on 445 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:52,440 the map across Cornwall again and that has further generated 446 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,960 more inquiries. So it's still worth doing that. 447 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,520 Not everyone wants a free session and they want to start 448 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,560 coming and being a paid client as well. 449 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,600 That is so exciting and great to hear considering the climate as 450 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,240 well with horse ownership and horse care being, you know, 451 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:12,680 absolutely the most difficult financially it's ever been with 452 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,200 the cost of living and and the hay crisis. 453 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,240 And get back to the conversation in just a mode. 454 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,960 But first, have you subscribed to our completely free 455 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,280 newsletter? Join the Inquisitive Herd where 456 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:29,000 you get to go behind the scenes with me and every guest and 457 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,240 shape the questions in our listener Q&A's. 458 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,040 You'll also get producer Teresa's take on what we've 459 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,320 discussed and lots more. It's completely free. 460 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,600 Link in the description. Chloe, before you started this 461 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,760 this initiative, how worried were you about the survival of 462 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:50,120 your riding centre? I mean, we've been doing all 463 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:56,000 right, but for the next five years or where I want to be, it 464 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,920 did start to feel a little bit impossible. 465 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:03,920 We have got a lovely indoor arena bar stabling we have been 466 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,680 fixing up year after year, spending more and more money on 467 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:13,920 trying to mend a few aspects of the yard because it is older and 468 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:18,720 a little bit more worn and torn. So where I want to really be 469 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,880 able to put the money back into the place is with our stabling 470 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:28,680 and also a sort of clubhouse where we can offer our clients 471 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,560 somewhere warm and dry to have a drink and a coffee. 472 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,640 And also with our home educated students, they could come in and 473 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,760 sit down somewhere warm and dry in a sort of classroom, a 474 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:43,920 classroom environment. So that I think I was thinking 475 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:49,840 of how am I going to get there when I am breaking even. 476 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:57,040 So I thought, yeah, if I, if I can do this, you don't know 477 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:01,160 where it goes. You even with opening maybe a 478 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:05,480 CIC, there might be some more access to direct funding. 479 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,160 There's so many options that we've got. 480 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:14,800 And I think a lot of people have opened up the CICS, but I've 481 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:19,160 also seen a lot of people even struggling with accessing the 482 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:24,280 grants through that as well. So it's not always as easy as 483 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,920 just opening up CIC and getting grants because that doesn't 484 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,080 always happen either. So I think this way of doing 485 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,600 things is also going to be really helpful. 486 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,080 As you say, it comes back to that community, doesn't it? 487 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:44,360 Supporting what you're doing, believing in you and the horses 488 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,160 and the power of what you're doing. 489 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:50,600 Every share not only boosts your content and potentially hopes 490 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,600 monetize that content, but it gets new eyes on it, doesn't it? 491 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,920 So then someone might stumble across you and then donate some 492 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,000 money to help you along the way. So that importance of having 493 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,000 that community. And I was hearing actually, you 494 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,640 know, in the world of content creation, obviously everyone 495 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,440 wants as many followers as possible. 496 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,640 Now we've all seen that there's a digital career that can be had 497 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,480 if we have 10s of thousands or hundreds of thousands of 498 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,280 followers even. But also there's a big power in 499 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,040 having a small niche at the moment. 500 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:22,640 Apparently that smaller base, like you say, sort of 50K, you 501 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,000 know, a few thousand, but people that just want to get behind you 502 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:30,320 and, you know, either donate or subscribe to your content or 503 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,600 share what you're doing and and believe in what you're doing. 504 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,280 And apparently that is also a real key to success online now 505 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,440 is having that close knit community. 506 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:42,680 And I can imagine on days where you've had, as you say, like A5P 507 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:44,800 video and you think, oh, that's not going to do anything. 508 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:48,000 I imagine it's that community that keeps you going. 509 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:50,680 Yeah, it's definitely the community. 510 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,320 A comment, just a nice comment that you read or someone sharing 511 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,640 their story with you is absolutely what you need on 512 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:02,240 those days because it can feel a little bit useless when you feel 513 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,440 like your contents not being pushed out there. 514 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:06,480 Nobody's seen it, nobody's engaged. 515 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,120 The importance is keeping doing what you're doing and ignore the 516 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:15,280 views, Ignore the numbers a little bit because over time, 517 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:20,040 that video that yesterday you made might have got 500 views, 518 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,840 but in 30 days time it might have got 5000 views because that 519 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,920 all accumulates and it counts for something as well. 520 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,520 And then one day the algorithm might change and it might push 521 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,760 your content out even further. When you had this bolt of 522 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,720 lightning, Chloe, and you thought this is what I want to 523 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:39,840 do, I want to help make riding more accessible. 524 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,880 I want to really boost, you know, the exception of our 525 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,920 riding score and spread the word of what we're doing in Cornwall. 526 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:49,480 Were you someone who was already into social media or did you 527 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,280 have to get to grips with mics and recording video and 528 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:58,160 uploading it? Yeah, so I've always, I've tried 529 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:02,360 a little bit here and there and I probably would tell you that I 530 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:06,160 just did it for fun. And then when I really did try 531 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,639 to do something with social media, I would be that person 532 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:14,040 that it didn't really get a lot of engagement. 533 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,120 Nobody's really seen it. I got a little bit disheartened, 534 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:22,159 so I stopped doing it or I just didn't find the time to make the 535 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:25,120 effort to go and do it. But I've still got all of that 536 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,639 content that I can still re share now especially. 537 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:34,360 But I think again, that is the importance of no one watches 538 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,600 your content. Keep doing it anyway. 539 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:42,080 Nobody's commented. Keep doing it because one day 540 00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:46,239 people might see it and it might just get pushed out there. 541 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:50,520 Especially, I think TikTok works in mysterious ways. 542 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,040 It does, doesn't it? It really does. 543 00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:55,800 It really does. And I say this, I'm laughing, 544 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,040 Chloe. So as well as being a presenter, 545 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,400 I know exactly what you mean about Tick Tock working 546 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,560 mysterious ways. Because I also run a little 547 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,880 animal sanctuary with my mum with rescue horses and sheep and 548 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,760 we post all sorts of beautiful videos of sleeping sheep that 549 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:10,920 are dreaming and sort of stirring their sleep. 550 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,440 We also post like galloping horse videos and all the rest of 551 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,720 it. But we posted in the icy January 552 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:23,200 the smashing of the ice in the through and because it was ASMR 553 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:28,480 apparently it got 14,000 views. And it's like why that video? 554 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,600 Why not the horses rearing and playing or the sheep snoozing 555 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,400 and sunbathing? It has to be the ice breaking 556 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,200 the through. And I was like if that was about 557 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,320 our YouTube channel or our Patreon, that could have been 558 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,720 life changing for the sanctuary. But no, it was just the smashing 559 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:46,160 of the ice trough and that's what went semi viral. 560 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:48,600 And it's like, it doesn't make sense, does it? 561 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,120 No it doesn't sometimes and you've just got to roll with it. 562 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:56,120 But yeah, it is what it is sometimes. 563 00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,920 And you do 1. And why did they push that one 564 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:03,560 out rather than the rest? Yeah, you do. 565 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:05,320 You do. You do wish sometimes it was 566 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,240 just the right content. Yeah, it's the stuff you really 567 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:11,760 want to go viral, doesn't. And then the the the sort of 568 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:15,600 video that you throw up can suddenly just start spinning on 569 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:17,840 everyone's feeds. It's really peculiar. 570 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,080 But yeah, just keep keep going. And I love that you've also 571 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:24,120 started calling out sort of media outlets, Chloe. 572 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,800 So you've sort of started tagging Radio 1 and other the 573 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,120 broadcasters to kind of try and ramp up the traction. 574 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:34,600 And all the other people on my platforms have done that for me 575 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:36,880 as well. So I think that's important too, 576 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,280 just to try and get people to engage. 577 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,280 And I think if you ask, if you ask your viewers to do 578 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:48,120 something, they will engage and they will do it. 579 00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:52,960 So that's also another form of engagement and how things can 580 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,480 get pushed out to other people such as like celebrities or 581 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,280 radio stations as well. That is the power of asking 582 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:02,280 something actually is, particularly in Britain. 583 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,080 We're not very good at, are we? You know, we're not very good at 584 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,080 asking for help. I feel like everyone feels 585 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,760 shamed about asking as well, don't they? 586 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,040 And it's sort of like a taboo thing to do or no, you can't ask 587 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,560 for help. So I think everyone needs to 588 00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:23,960 realize that and wherever anyone is nowadays is because they've 589 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,080 had help with it on their journey. 590 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:29,640 And I think as well as I watch a lot of Simon Squibb, I 591 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,440 absolutely love Simon Squibb. Oh. 592 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:32,480 I love it. He asked. 593 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:39,360 Everyone what is his dream in life and everybody has got to 594 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:43,320 realize that you've got to think what your dream is and find your 595 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,760 dream and don't be afraid to ask, he says. 596 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:52,280 He literally says nobody became a millionaire without help to 597 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,000 get there. And that's the realisation that 598 00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,200 yeah, just ask for the help, even if it's asking someone to 599 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,760 like your content. And he also says money is energy 600 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:08,520 and I really love that he says that because 20 pounds, 30 lbs 601 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:10,960 might be completely nothing to some people. 602 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:15,160 And yet for you, that is part of the way towards a session. 603 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,680 You know 30 lbs would pay for a group session for for someone 604 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,560 who can't afford it. And yet for someone that might 605 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,840 be their, you know, their pleasure money that they could 606 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,400 throw away almost or drop in the street and they wouldn't notice. 607 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,160 So to the fact that he says money is energy, I think is so 608 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,400 motivating because it can be 5 lbs, it could be 30 lbs, it 609 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,520 could be 100 lbs. But to to you, that's huge on 610 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:40,880 your journey and actually helps and has that ripple effect 611 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,840 helping those who can't afford horses in their lives. 612 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,360 And it's about finding those people, isn't it? 613 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:50,560 Yeah, and I think that's important as well because if 614 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,840 I've got 50,000 followers and I ask everyone to subscribe to my 615 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:59,800 Facebook for £0.99, even if half of those people actually went 616 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:06,040 and subscribed for 99 P, that would be 25,000 lbs potentially, 617 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:08,680 obviously without the fees and everything on top. 618 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:12,800 And that is where like it could be life changing. 619 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:18,920 And then I've seen people with a million followers and that's 620 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:23,920 where you even think like now at that point, their content is 621 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:27,840 just monetizing their and fully funding their life at that 622 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,160 point. So it it is possible, it can be 623 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,760 done. You've just got to be brave and 624 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:37,920 put yourself out there. And you are absolutely smashing 625 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,520 that Clary every day, turning up, talking to camera. 626 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,080 What is it, do you think, that really connects people to you 627 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:47,360 and your story in Cornwall? Because some of these people who 628 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,000 are donating and sharing won't live in Cornwall. 629 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:57,280 I think it's being relatable and again, their own journey and 630 00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,920 their own story of how they side with horses. 631 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:04,080 A lot of people didn't have the money when they were younger to 632 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:07,280 even own their own horses. But now they've grown up, 633 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:10,440 they've been able to fund their own horses. 634 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:15,280 And it really stems from where they started with out with 635 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:19,960 horses in their own riding school environment or you know, 636 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:25,800 even thinking how important the horses were to have with their 637 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,240 own. Even if they had their own 638 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:32,400 horses, they were lucky enough how important they were to them 639 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:35,000 to have at that moment of their life as well. 640 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:41,240 So I think again, to be able to help or give that to someone 641 00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:47,480 else is again so special to a lot of people that they can 642 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,320 relate with that. And Chloe, I hope you don't mind 643 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,520 me asking this question, but I think it's a really important 644 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,720 one for those who have no idea how much the running costs are 645 00:40:56,720 --> 00:41:00,480 for a ride in school in 2026. But what are your overheads 646 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:06,600 every single month? I wouldn't be able to tell you 647 00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:11,280 exactly. I try not to look at it like 648 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,640 that. I just feel just pay. 649 00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:15,680 The feels and worry about it later. 650 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:21,240 Yeah, I feel a bit better if we've gone up in the positive 651 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:23,720 rather than gone down at the end of the month. 652 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:28,720 We are, we're getting by. We're doing all right and this 653 00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:31,960 is what I'm hoping to now be able to sit down with someone 654 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:36,360 and just get a bit of business advice with where we need to be 655 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,080 going and which direction we should be taking at this point 656 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,680 to be able to then go forward with what we want to build here 657 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:48,400 and keep offering those free sessions as well. 658 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:51,240 And Chloe, do you think what you're doing? 659 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:54,400 And I know you've got the the mission behind you now to make 660 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:57,320 riding schools more accessible to those who can't afford it. 661 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,800 But do you think this is a lesson for all riding schools 662 00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:07,560 and a modus operandi, a way forward for all riding schools 663 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,040 to start surviving and making it through? 664 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:17,960 Yeah, I think there's definitely something in this journey that 665 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:22,800 people could take away from. I won't be able to be the proof 666 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:26,760 that they this can happen and this is possibly the way forward 667 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:28,760 for a lot of people. Just by putting yourself out 668 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:33,120 there, telling people what you are already doing and then also 669 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:38,440 telling people what you want to do, where again your dream is 670 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:42,520 and what you are aiming and trying to achieve. 671 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:47,800 Because it doesn't always have to benefit just yourself 672 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:52,480 sometimes think where you can benefit everybody else on this 673 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:56,200 journey as well. It's the exact rules of 674 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,160 business. If you get paid, everyone else 675 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:03,360 around you gets paid with the money that we fund. 676 00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:07,160 We do the free riding lessons but it also goes back onto the 677 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:10,840 cost of keeping the horses, feeding them, shoeing them, 678 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:15,080 looking after them and also my staff and all the people that 679 00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,360 come in to look after our horses as well. 680 00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:22,920 And for those who are thinking, why can't you just offer a free 681 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,200 riding session considering the paid clients that are already 682 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,680 paying for their lessons? But you've said it there, the 683 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:32,640 costs are so huge when looking after a horse, that horse in the 684 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:34,880 lesson needs to be paid for, doesn't it? 685 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:36,760 And all the care surrounding them. 686 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,240 Exactly. Yeah, Unfortunately this is just 687 00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:45,680 such a a huge, costly business. There's only so much I can do 688 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:49,960 and I am using all my free time and energy to put myself out 689 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:53,640 there at the moment to try and get this to work. 690 00:43:54,080 --> 00:44:00,120 All I can hope is that we can start doing this on a regular. 691 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,960 It keeps working and it just snowballs into something that 692 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:09,280 can eventually fund itself. And I've seen nothing but 693 00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:12,400 positivity and support Chloe. But I'm just wondering, have you 694 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,880 been hit by the online trolls on this journey? 695 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:20,480 There's been a few and I think that was probably in the early 696 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,600 stages of starting people telling me that I couldn't do 697 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:26,800 this because because of the cost as well. 698 00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:28,400 They were like, you've got no idea that. 699 00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,800 I think they missed the part where I'm I'm already doing 700 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:32,960 this. Yeah, you're already doing. 701 00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,440 You're not someone who's just saying I'm going to start up a 702 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:39,480 riding school out of nowhere. Yes, I think that would have 703 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:42,400 been a big, a big hope and a dream, But you've you've got to 704 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,280 think like get get to where you want to be. 705 00:44:45,280 --> 00:44:48,960 And then even if you are where you want to be, what else can 706 00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:52,680 you bring to the table? What can you offer and what can 707 00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:57,880 you do for people as well? Just have a little bit of that. 708 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:04,440 I don't know, it's the word humility of offering something 709 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,680 that you've already you're already lucky enough to have. 710 00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:11,160 Because something's got to change, hasn't it? 711 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:14,360 We're seeing now that crunch point of the of the UK high hay 712 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:16,280 crisis. We were talking about this on 713 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:19,200 Curious Question back in the autumn, you know, when we were 714 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,600 first seeing stocks swindling of hay and we were talking about 715 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:26,320 the impact for livery yards and for track systems for horses 716 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:29,080 that are only eating hay and don't have any access to grass. 717 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:32,000 We were talking about impacts for owners and how the cost has 718 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,240 doubled and tripled, but yet their wages aren't going up any 719 00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:37,200 higher. So therefore, how are people 720 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,000 going to afford their horses? And we're seeing these costs 721 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,360 rising and rising. And for you as a ride in school 722 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:46,040 as well, the cost of living and the increase in bills in energy 723 00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:48,000 and and water costs and all the rest of it. 724 00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:50,880 Something has got to change moving forwards or we're going 725 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:55,760 to see more than 350 or 330 riding schools closing around 726 00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:57,520 us. We're going to see gradually, 727 00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:01,200 but actually very quickly, more and more gates closing and 728 00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:03,720 social media. You're saying Chloe could be the 729 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:07,040 answer for them in that raising awareness, sharing stories, 730 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:11,080 building community and actually showing people what you do, 731 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:14,440 which is more than just riding horses around a sand school. 732 00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:20,640 Yeah, absolutely. I think that is important and I 733 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:25,120 think even now heading into the new tax year in April, riding 734 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:30,440 schools are classed as leisure businesses, whereas you know the 735 00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:33,280 government sort of sees us the same as a hotel. 736 00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:38,880 We are having our business rates put up and that is again 737 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:42,720 unfortunately going to affect the cost of our pricing. 738 00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:47,720 So come April, that is in the forefront of our mind at the 739 00:46:47,720 --> 00:46:52,560 moment and how we're going to mitigate around that. 740 00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:56,480 Unfortunately, the government thinks that we can just sell 741 00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:02,880 more riding lessons and work the horses extra, when that's not 742 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:08,240 necessarily the same as a hotel would be selling more bedrooms 743 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:13,800 or rooms at a cheaper rate. These are living, breathing 744 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,520 animals. You've got to think about the 745 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,720 welfare of the horses. I really feel like the 746 00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:23,640 equestrian industry needs its own sort of sector because it's 747 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:29,800 such a niche market and you cannot treat animals as as as 748 00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:33,240 hotel rooms. It's interesting that horse 749 00:47:33,240 --> 00:47:37,320 riding is labeled leisure, and perhaps because it is a costly 750 00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:39,480 hobby for those who want to do it. 751 00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:43,800 But what it doesn't acknowledge by calling it leisure is all the 752 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:46,960 things that you get from that. Which is real therapy, isn't it? 753 00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:50,440 For people like yourself who couldn't stay in school and who 754 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:53,360 didn't have a focus until horses came into your life and really 755 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:54,960 gave you a channel for your mental health. 756 00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:58,720 For myself, mentioning the undiagnosed ADHDI didn't even 757 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:01,400 know I had it, nor did anyone around me because I was masking. 758 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,880 But horses gave me that release from from worrying and from the 759 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,600 overactive mind. And that's only two examples of 760 00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:10,720 people, thousands and thousands of people across the country 761 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:15,160 where horses are giving us that therapy, which is labeled as 762 00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:19,240 leisure time. Yeah, definitely. 763 00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:23,120 I think the equine industry now fits into so many different 764 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:28,440 brackets, including therapy and also like education as well 765 00:48:28,680 --> 00:48:33,080 because we're not just teaching horse riding at the end of the 766 00:48:33,080 --> 00:48:36,880 day. We are also thinking about 767 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:41,800 alternative provision and home educated children and how we can 768 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:46,240 provide like an education through the horses along with 769 00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:49,920 the therapy as well. It's really interesting, isn't 770 00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:52,120 it, Because we have our therapeutic riding 771 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:55,240 establishments and then we have our riding schools, but actually 772 00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:57,520 where there are horses and children and teenagers and 773 00:48:57,520 --> 00:49:00,920 adults all coming together, there is inevitable therapy, 774 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:04,760 isn't there? Yeah, definitely. 775 00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:07,000 I think as well. It's, it's, it's not just 776 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:12,640 children, it's it's adults too. It's such a big market out there 777 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:20,360 and you can do so many different things with a riding school and 778 00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:25,000 you've really got to think about unlocking all of those different 779 00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:29,440 aspects of the businesses to be able to make it work as well 780 00:49:29,440 --> 00:49:32,320 nowadays. And Chloe, just share with us, 781 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:33,960 you've got a five year stretch ahead of you. 782 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:36,960 You've just signed on for another five years to turn this 783 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,280 riding school around and to make it work. 784 00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:41,720 What are your dreams? Where would you like to be in 785 00:49:41,720 --> 00:49:43,400 five years time? And what would you like to be 786 00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:45,480 saying to us here at Curious Equestrian? 787 00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:52,400 I'd like to be saying that we've got next amount of followers, 788 00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:57,640 maybe 100,200 thousand, a million. 789 00:49:57,880 --> 00:49:59,840 You know, the possibilities are endless. 790 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:05,280 I'd like to say that we are fully funded through our socials 791 00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:11,120 especially I think YouTube is might be able to do that 792 00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:16,360 eventually. It's just keeping doing this and 793 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:20,440 staying on the journey. For those listening Chloe who 794 00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:23,560 think I really want to help and support this amazing initiative 795 00:50:23,680 --> 00:50:27,400 to make riding lessons accessible, how can they get 796 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:33,000 involved and get in touch? So yeah, you can see me on all 797 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:37,080 my socials, Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube and Facebook, Chloe and 798 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:41,400 Cornwall and you can follow for the journey and watch us on 799 00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:44,480 there. Like, comment, follow and engage 800 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:47,640 and help us fund our free riding sessions. 801 00:50:48,400 --> 00:50:51,120 Chloe, thank you so much for coming on Curious Equestrian. 802 00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:54,240 Thank you. Thank you for having me, Anna.