I haven't always been this confident!
It has taken YEARS and a lot of hard work. But that is what life is all about right? Learning and developing as a person and a professional.
As a youngster, I was pony MAD. My parents made the "mistake" of allowing me to go on the traditional pony rides at the local animal farm. Of course the obsession grew immediately. The pony rides turned into riding school lessons and the riding school lessons turned into the purchase of our first horse, Bubbles.
Bubbles was your typical first pony that teaches you it all! He came to us through my mother's best friend, Andrea, the one she would ride with when she was a teenager and the perfect horse-woman who taught me everything I needed to know. It was meant to be! I spent months in the lead up to his arrival creating the perfect 'how to care for Bubbles' book, with everything I could possibly find on the internet. I then was lucky enough to have a second palomino named Phantom, he will forever be my heart horse. The one who gave me it all, not easily but fairly through hard work and passion. He passed in 2019 and will forever be apart of my life.
It is fair to say I dragged my mum and dad to Horseland, Pony Club and probably every other local pony club in a 400km radius from our little hub in the heart of the beach side town, Williamstown.
The Williamstown Horse and Pony Club was and still is located 15km out of the Melbourne CBD hustle and bustle. And what a club it is! I really have this club to thank for the career, life choices and confidence I have developed to this day.
As a young girl, I was shy - the type of shy where you hide behind your mum so she would order your lunch or something from the local milk bar, the shy that you would freak out about any oral presentation at school and the shy that just couldn't fathom the thought of talking to someone she didn't know.
Pony club taught me many things, but the ones that stand out to me are, to always be responsible, on time, community is everything and always put the horse first. It taught me to communicate, speak up and always ask the question, even if it feels silly at that moment. The community at my pony club was like a family, everyone supported everyone. It was the type of environment you dream of and I aspire to continue that trend in everything I do.
As the years went by, I was in the midst of my third year of my Bachelor Degree, I thought why not use this knowledge and build an app. An app to solve the problems equestrians face in the space of health and wellness. We all know our horses are cared for better than we sometimes care for ourselves. I was studying a Bachelor of Sports Management, specialising in Active Communities - with elective units in Personal Training and Strength Conditioning. It just felt right to join my passion for horses, business and sport into one problem solving app. An app is no easy feat, as I soon learnt during my research phases. I was only a third year university student, I didn't have a million dollars to build an app here in Australia nor did I have enough market research to show that this was worth investing in or going to be a success. Many people told me "NO" with no other avenue to giving it a go.
In my determined ways, I found a solution. I partnered with my beautiful and intelligent cousin, Sarah-Jane (SJ). SJ also happened to be a personal trainer and lover of all things Fitness, Food and the Fundamentals of a Healthy Lifestyle. Together we built 'The Riders Pod'. A mobile app dedicated to supporting equestrians with their health and wellbeing. The app was home to hundreds of specifically designed workouts, recipes designed by a nutritionist and catered for a wide range of dietary requirements, meditations, goal setting, a customisable calendar and competition result safe storage. It was everything I as a competitive equestrian needed and wanted.
We reached thousands of equestrians, all across the globe! It was a successful subscription operated business and 3 years later we sold to one of Australia's largest international equestrian app companies, Equilab.
This opened the next chapter of my life, working with another equestrian, women founded - tech start up - Ridely. I took on the role of Country Manager of Australia and New Zealand as well as Community Manager. I love working with the Ridely team who is based all across the world in Sweden, Portugal, UK, USA, South Africa and Poland. Together we are achieving a range of exciting developments and working with the world's best riders including Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin, Henrik Von Ecckerman and 65 more! This role is very exciting and allows me to be create, build on product and also develop my skills in a variety of marketing and strategic planning spaces. In my spare time I support local leading equestrian rider wear brand, Equipad Equestrian with their podcast and social media marketing operations. I also run my social media page @hannahjaydebasetti where I have a loyal and supportive community of over 18,000 followers.
It sounds like a lot.. and it is. However, I have always been this way - some see it as a fault, but I love a challenge, I love to be busy and I am really good at prioritising my time to ensure I am giving all aspects of my life and career the time they need to flourish. I am still riding competitively, however it has been a rocky few years between Kissing Spines surgery and new horses that aren't the right fit. I have now found my dancing partner, Kenny aka Tanlee Azazel who will debut in 2024 to the dressage arena and hopefully Dressage and Jumping with the Stars - Performance Pony section.
The Equine Business Summit is my latest project, one that consumes my weekends and the odd chance I have an hour to spare. Alongside my good friend, Katie, together we are building the event every equestrian business owner, founder, operator and industry professional needs.
It came from a need for resources and support, the want to network and grow. Here we are! It has been a year long journey to get to this point, however I am really excited to be here and be welcomed with such incredible support from the industry.
It is inspiring and has that passion burning brighter than ever. We can all learn something and we all need to continue to push the boundaries of status quo and be better together, for our customers, our horses and ourselves. Along the journey so far I have met so many incredible like-minded professionals who are so genuine and generous with their time, knowledge and expertise. I really encourage you to come to the event, alone or with your team - it is going to be a wholesome, inspiring and something we all need to grow and develop in this industry. Let's bring the Australian Equestrian industry together!
From that little horse loving girl, to the women I am today, writing this article from the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, while my mum and greatest support has a life saving surgery. It is really odd how these events happen when you least expect it, but give you every ounce of strength to continue on and push for what you believe in.
Thank you for reading this far along, I hope to meet you and see you at the 2024 Equine Business Summit! The event of my dreams, that has come true.