A unique equestrian health product created by Ulster University product design student and international horsewoman Jenny Gregg is set for launch in January. Developed with assistance from Ulster University and funding from Innovation Ulster, the new product is a customisable girth with a unique pressure relief system that can potentially improve horse performance, avoid rider disappointment due to missed competitions, reduce vet bills, and improve horse welfare and comfort.
The inspiration for the product came from Gregg's own experience as a competitive rider. "I've had Elvis since I was a young girl and after a few years of competing in Europe I realised that the girths I was using were causing him quite a bit of discomfort," she explains. "The friction and sweating were causing nasty, painful blisters called girth galls. The current solution is to put a sheepskin cover on the girth to soften it, and that seemed to work for Elvis."
But then she bought another pony. "I knew Cheeky suffered from girth galls, but I found the sheepskin didn't work for her. I had bought her from Scotland and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to ride her. That's when I started thinking about an alternative solution. My mother is a nurse and I took some podiatry pads from her bag and used them to make a pressure relief system for the girth and that worked for Cheeky."
Almost by chance
A solution for one horse was turned into a business almost by chance. “I was studying product design at Ulster University at the time,” she says. “We could choose any product design for our project and I chose my own product. I had used it for a year, so proved the product could work. As part of the project we were asked to make a video about the product and the business. Our lecturer asked us to upload it to Dropbox as well, and he entered it in a university entrepreneurship competition. I found myself entering it by accident.”
Success there gave her the encouragement to take the business forward. “I had to go and pitch the product and the business; I had never done that before. I got through to the final in London and everyone there seemed to believe in the product, so I kept working on it in the background.”
In January of this year she pitched successfully to Innovation Ulster for funding to patent the product. “The UK patent meant I could continue developing it. It all started because of that funding from Innovation Ulster.”
Life has been quite hectic since. "I was doing my placement year in Selfridges at the time and was trying to do bits and pieces of product work. I finished up there in April and got accepted onto the Ulster Bank Accelerator Programme. They give you space, mentoring, business advice and so on, and that was very helpful. At around the same time, Ulster University approached me about going to America for an international pitch-off sponsored by Maguire Hegarty accountancy firm. The university put me in contact with two other students interested in entrepreneurship who helped with the pitch in America. Fergal Kelly had a degree in multimedia design and Erin McEvoy was doing a masters in International Business. The three of us went to Philadelphia and won the competition."
IP protection
The team received a cash prize as well as financial assistance with IP protection. “I am hoping to get a US patent to protect my idea. I have already made a Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) filing and that will give my idea protection in 130 countries for up to 18 months.”
Gregg is about to start her final year in university but is still pressing ahead with the launch of the product and her company Crafted Equestrian. “When I started developing the business I thought the product was 100 per cent ready to go and all I had to do was learn about the business side of things. But then I started talking to manufacturers and I found it needed a few more tweaks. I am hoping to have it ready for manufacturing and launch in January 2019.”
She has chosen a novel funding method. “I have paid for all the samples myself so far, and the prize money from the different competitions has helped with that. I hope if I can win a few more competitions I can use that to launch the business. I haven’t looked for investors or at equity funding or anything like that yet. I may look at advance orders or crowdfunding to get started as well.”
Ulster University has been very supportive, she adds. “The university has been brilliant. Part of the funding I got in January helped me rebrand the company. The university also paid for the trip to America. And I am in contact with the University entrepreneurship advisor who has helped me along the way.”