Caistor Equestrian Centre
Advice and guidance from Innovation Lincolnshire has helped a rural West Lindsey riding school to transform itself into a state-of-the-art equestrian centre.
Caistor Riding School had been in existence for 30 years when proprietor Fiona Lintin decided it was time to expand the business.
Fiona's vision was to relocate and turn a small traditional riding school into a modern equestrian centre complete with indoor and outdoor arenas.
To help achieve her goal she contacted Innovation Lincolnshire for advice on funding and marketing.
"We now have a state-of-the-art equestrian centre with an indoor and an outdoor riding arena, which allows four instructors to teach simultaneously," said Fiona.
The centre now employs six people rather than two and customer numbers have already risen from 100 to 150. Fiona's long-term aim is to increase that number fivefold.
An Innovation Lincolnshire Innovation Manager visited the business to provide mentoring and marketing advice to help the business through a challenging period of radical change.
"They encouraged us to analyse the business and focus on where we were going and what we wanted out of it," said Fiona.
The result of the analysis was a clear marketing plan which Innovation Lincolnshire developed for the business to build on and implement.
They also helped to resolve an issue regarding the sand used on the floor of the riding arenas.
Fiona wanted to use sand from her own quarry but was unable to ascertain whether or not it was suitable; Innovation Lincolnshire put her in touch with Cardigan Sand in Wales who described a simple test which allowed Fiona to confirm that the sand was suitable.
Fiona and her team say Innovation Lincolnshire's input has helped them to focus on business strategy and to develop an effective marketing plan.
"Our engagement with Innovation Lincolnshire has been very helpful," she said. "They always tried to find a way to help us and they were very attentive to our needs."
