CARLEY O’CALLAGHAN and Gareth Rees of Equi-Nine UK announced yesterday that they are named the winners of The Equestrian Business Awards’ Behaviour Trainer of the Year.
Carley O’Callaghan is a recommended Intelligent Horsemanship Trainer with a wealth of experience. The highly anticipated national event took place at The Holiday Inn Peterborough-West on 30 November 2024, with 320 guests in attendance.
Katy Wright, founder of the Equestrian Business Awards, said: “It was an honour to award the team at Equi-Nine UK. Their approach is built on compassion, ethics, understanding, trust, and determination, aiming to create strong, respectful relationships between animals and their owners.
“They focus on solving behavioural issues and building confidence, offering tailored support to help owners develop ethical, positive, lasting connections with their pets.
“Furthermore, they are dedicated to educating the wider public across the UK through the power of social media, bringing together the expertise of a range of equestrian professionals including vets.”
This is the 4th year of The Equestrian Business Awards, which was set up to celebrate the achievements of small equestrian businesses and professionals across the UK and highlight the unsung heroes of the equestrian industry who are often overlooked or taken for granted.
The awards have quickly gained momentum, with 16,185 nominations received across thousands of businesses during the nomination phase at the beginning of the year. There are a variety of different award categories ranging from Riding School of the Year to Equestrian Tech of the Year and everything in between. Only 4 finalists per category were shortlisted so to be selected was a huge honour.
Category Judge, Melanie Watson of Instinctive Horse Training, said: “When judging the Behavioural Trainer award, the main criteria Katy and myself look for is the importance of welfare of the horses being trained. We look for empathy in training and a good understanding of what that individual horse needs and how the training is delivered.
“The team at Equi-nine holds both close. The recommendations spoke very highly of their care for the owners as well as their horses. They have embraced change and shown progression into the use of positive reward, bringing applied behavioural science into their portfolio.
“Congratulations Equi-nine for your well deserved win!”
Carley added: “We are two Equine and Canine behaviour trainers with a combined experience of over 20 years. We specialise in overcoming any kind of behavioural issues.
“Our core believes are build on Trust, Confidence, Motivation, Understanding and Compassion. Our goal isn’t just to build confidence and trust in the animal – it’s also equally as important with you too. Everything we do, we will teach you how to replicate the same relationship and results too.
“Our goal is to educate and inspire, to grow and blossom into competent, confident owners so you too can achieve the same results and more. We don’t want you to be like us, we want you to be better. “
The Equestrian Business Awards was founded by Katy Wright in 2021. The aim was to raise the profile of small equestrian businesses, charities and professionals throughout the UK, “Celebrating Equestrian Excellence” and provide a platform for horse owners and riders to show appreciation for those that help them.
The awards have quickly gained momentum with Clare Balding presenting an award in 2022, paralympian Natasha Baker OBE joining the 2023 judging team and attracting large equestrian sponsors including Bloomfields Horseboxes and Westgate Labs as well as up and coming brands such as Equicantis, Steddy Neddys and The Perfect Fit Kit, allowing them to champion small businesses.
