THE EQUINE PLATFORM: Horse Sales Made Simple at Shows

Kendall Gath and her horse, Jamica Van Kattebeek flying high in competition. pc: Sara Shier Photography

In real estate, they say it’s all about location, location, location and when it comes to finding the right horse(s) – why not pick a convenient location based on the most available horses and professionals who are offering them? We found out that is just the case with The Equine Platform, an online and app buying and selling tool from founder and accomplished equestrian, Kendall Gath.

Early Beginnings
Living in Orange County, California, Kendall starting riding at a young age and was blessed with living in the right – you guessed it – location, with a barn across the street. “I saw people riding and wanted a lesson and that started it,” said Kendall. She soon became pony obsessed and had up to 9 ponies to ride at one time. “After my pony stage something switched in my head, I didn’t want to ride hunters or equitation anymore and decided to go straight into jumpers, training with Mexicans and Brazilians,” she shared. “My horse, Jamica Van Kattebeek and I jump in international competitions up to the 5* level and I’m always looking to add more horses.” Kendall represents Uruguay in many international competitions.

A Need Drives Innovation 
“The Equine Platform launched online in January 2018 and recently we introduced the app a month ago,” said Kendall. Designed to serve primarily the hunter/jumper and equitation markets, the solution is based on her original struggle of finding a horse to buy. “My Dad has an online company for cars and he is very successful with that platform, so I thought why not adapt that model for the horse market?” In addition to being a digital marketplace, her solution is geared toward professionals only to help keep it authentic. “I’ve had amazing support from top rider, Mavis Spencer who helped us launch and who has also been involved for the past for 2 years.”

“What started as brokering deals and trials, soon shifted to horse shows,” explained Kendall. “Mavis and I created show lists of available horses and went to show grounds,” she said and added, “Since the list was so well-received it was just natural to have The Equine Platform evolve the show list into a digital tool.” To help boost the awareness of available sale horses, they also send an email blast to 2,500 trainers to focus the buying at the horse show. “You can look up any horse show across the country on the app and our show list is featured.”

 

Search for Shows

Simply select any state in the US and find a show in your area, there are 481 horse shows currently on the app.

 

Upload, List and Sell
“It is free to list as many horses you want and it is free to shop. You’ll also be amazed on how easy and quick – just 2 minutes – it is to upload a horse,” said Kendall. Simply select any state in the US and find a show in your area, there are 481 horse shows currently on the app and range from 1-day county shows to well-established show destinations such as the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington. “This solution solves a major issue at the horse show and gives people access and builds relationships they wouldn’t normally have.” There is a small listing fee per horse show, per week. There are also packages available to list as many horses as sellers want. 

“We are excited to announce future enhancements including partnering with horse show producers to create one easy process. It will provide an integrated show buying and selling experience – allowing you to follow a horse; watch videos; and get stats on how they performed,” shared Kendall.

The App Features an Easy to Navigate Interface

Tech Adoption View
“In 5 years I hope tech adoption with equestrians is further along because, as we all know technology is not our strong suit.” The good news is she is seeing an increase, especially after the pandemic that has made it harder than ever to find horses. “I’m seeing the trend of more people buying off of videos than actually trying horses,” pointed out Kendall.

Horse Shows are Center Stage
With close to 90% of horse sales happening at horse shows – The Equine Platform aligns technology to aid buyers and sellers and their plan is for the app to be available at all shows. “We recently had 200 trials in one week at Thermal, and we will roll it out in Wellington and Ocala during the winter circuit,” said Kendall.

Customer centric
“We are clients of Phelps Media and they handle our marketing outreach including email, text and social,” shared Kendall. “This allows me to fully focus on customer service, offering tips and tricks for selling and keeping in contact with professional trainers.” Finding your perfect horse shouldn’t be a chore and The Equine Platform offers a platform that is safe, effective and well received with the professional community. You can download the app today on the App Store or Google Play.

With close to 90% of horse sales happening at horse shows – The Equine Platform aligns technology to aid buyers and sellers.

Buying & SellingJuliana Chapman