Couple hope to ‘clean up’ with their invention

4:36pm Thursday 1st May 2008

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NECESSITY proved the mother of invention for horse lovers Gareth Hulbert and Elaine Pickering. When they struggled to find the right tools to muck out their stables, they started an experiment and came up with their own.

As a result of their struggles, the Equine Speedskip – a long-handled hand rake with sprung steel tines and a detachable scoop – was born. But trying to find a manufacturer proved as gruelling and time-consuming as their mucking out had been, until they signed up with Business Link in the West Midlands.

Marketing expert Steve Joliffe, a Business Link client who runs Start 2 Finish Marketing in Birmingham, stepped in when he heard of their problems in getting the tool made. Brought in to help with marketing advice, he also brought Gareth and Elaine, from Ross on Wye, together with Stourbridge manufacturer Nick Copson, who runs C J Tools and Mouldings. And the happy result was a brand new product, designed and made in the West Midlands, being launched in front of enthusiastic buyers at the BETA (British Equestrian Trade Association) show at Birmingham’s NEC.

Gareth and Elaine were delighted with the response to their new product. Within two weeks the first shipment of British-made Speedskips had been exported to Holland and 30 retailers up and down the country were stocking the new product. Interest has also been shown in Canada and Dubai. Gareth and Elaine said: “We both own horses and enjoy riding and spending time with them. But we were finding mucking out very hard work as our local livery yard uses shredded paper as bedding and we found that the manure would get buried in the paper and, as the paddock has to be kept clean too, we were finding we could either ride the horses or muck out but we didn’t have time for both.” The Equine Speedskip is being marketed through national horse magazines and online at equinespeedskip.com