The Connection Can Not Be Learned

We spoke to BGA member Aaron Campbell about his freelance clipping business and his horsemanship.

I have found in life that there is a path that leads us to where we want to be, if we chose to follow it.

I started out many years ago riding racehorses in a successful Point 2 Point yard in Northern Ireland. After mucking out 25 horses, and riding five to six horses daily, my job entailed holding horses for the head man, while he clipped them, on cold winter afternoons.

While he happily clipped away, I was standing shivering for hours in the cold, but always observing how he worked. This man was very quiet and collected, even around the most nervous of highly strung Thoroughbreds... a trait which I have taken with me that is essential to my job.

My business (Campbell Equine), has grown consistently, and I have persevered through any set-backs to be where I am at now.

Clipping is a tough, dirty, dangerous job that is made to look glamorous, as the Instagram viewers only see the nicely finished job. They don't see everything that goes on behind the scenes.

However, we grooms love our jobs, and all the tough work is worth every minute, when we leave a very happy client and a beautiful horse, then get to see our work at a local show, or on the race track, televised in front of 1000s of people!

The BGA is a great source of information and advice, and almost like a big family, as I get to see what some of the other very talented grooms in England, Scotland and Wales are doing!

The bulk of my work entails clipping horses, pulling manes and tails, creative artistic clipping and also building portable Cross Country jumps and Cavalettis in the summer months.

The majority of folk stop clipping during summer, so to keep me working with horses all year round, I created Campbell Equine Timber Products, building all manner of custom jumps. Through selling jumps in summer, I usually acquire more winter clipping clients so this keeps everything afloat all year round.

Social media has been an amazing tool for my business. Instagram has enabled me to share my work, and see the great work of other professional clippers and has also allowed me to form a working relationship with other equestrian businesses.

As I mentioned above... life has a path! Every experience is a learned lesson to add to your skill set. I studied multimedia and photography in college, but after I left, I thought I would never use that knowledge learned.

Now I spend my evenings editing clipping videos for social media, using the Davinci Resolve 16 editing suite. Who would have thought video editing skills learned over 15 years would have been such a big part of what I am doing now to provide for my four children!

Thanks for reading

Aaron @ Campbell Equine

If, like Aaron you'd like to become a BGA member have a look at how we can support you and your business. 

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