BRAND FEATURE: Ride On Reserve
In the spirit of community over competition, I'm excited to continue the Brand Feature Series. Each month, I feature another woman owned equestrian small business that I love. This month we chatted with Kelsey Dellis about the unique rental service she has created! She had some valuable advice and words of wisdom to share!
Ride on Reserve is the ultimate equestrian rental destination for the modern horse and rider. We offer the first-ever shared collection of premium equestrian goods ranging from Matchy Color Sets and Show Coats to Therapeutic and Training devices; all available on a rental basis. We aim to put a stop to the revolving door of waste and unsustainable shopping habits while also providing accessibility to the best and most sought after brands in the equestrian world.
Tell me a bit about why you started the business.
Ride on Reserve was born out of a need for something that didn’t exist. Let's face it, everything about horses is expensive. We pour our heart and soul into giving them the very best of everything, which means we typically end up having to make a choice between getting what we want, and what we can afford. I kept finding myself asking, what if there was a better way? A way to make riding more accessible. To instill confidence in every rider, on every ride. To put the power of healing into the hands of each person wanting to do more for their equine partners. With Ride on Reserve, you can finally have all of that and more.
What is your favorite thing about owning the business?
Knowing that I have the chance to empower someone to feel more confident when stepping into the show ring or provide someone access to pursue a passion that would otherwise be unattainable due to the extreme costs associated with being an equestrian, makes it all worth it for me. If I can be a part of helping even just one person, or one horse feel their absolute best.. there’s truly no better feeling.
What has been the biggest challenge of owning the business?
Finding balance. As a one-woman operation, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and feel like I’m in over my head sometimes, especially being a perfectionist. Ride on Reserve is not my full time job at this point, so juggling a demanding career along with being a wife, soon-to-be (human) mother, and full time horse girl can be difficult, but I believe in this business so much and I know that we can make real change within the equestrian commerce industry, so that’s what continues to motivate me.
What is some advice you would give to entrepreneurs?
As cliché as it sounds, go for it. Take the leap. Be unwavering in your vision and don’t give in to the temptation of taking the easy way out. It’s going to be hard. There will be so many days where you will question every decision you make and whether or not you have what it takes to get to where you want to be, but I promise you, you do. If you can stay in a learning frame of mind and allow your mistakes to be lessons, you’ll be able to give yourself a lot more grace throughout the process. Having a solid support system never hurts either - shoutout to my amazing non-horsey Husband who has supported this dream since day one!
Tell us about some fun things customers can expect to see in 2023.
More of everything! Increased inventory, especially within our Show Coat offerings. More collaborations with some of our favorite equestrian brands. And hopefully opportunities to get the word out about everything we’re doing to forever change the way that equestrians shop. We’re just getting started and I’m so excited to have you all along for the ride!
Use code DAPPLE10 to get 10% off your next Ride on Reserve rental until the end of August 2023! Also, don’t forget to enter the Dapplebay/Ride on Reserve Giveaway over on Dapplebay social media to win some great prizes!
