Maggie Clancy has made it possible to “swipe right” while horse shopping
From the magazine
HORSE SHOPPING can be a draining process for even the most seasoned professional. When buyers and trainers sit down to discuss the qualities of the rider’s next mount, the hope is that a horse can be found almost instantly, but usually this isn’t the case.
Phone calls, scrolling through websites, scanning social media posts, reading signs in horse show bathrooms … the search can go on and on.
But with a newly created app by Maggie Clancy, an interactive, one-stop-shop is here to make shopping easier for buyers, and more streamlined for sellers.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Clancy started riding when she was 10 years old in Sydney, Australia after begging her parents for lessons. After some time, she was known as the scrappy kid at the barn that would ride anything.
“If a horse was trying to buck someone off, they would ask me to ride it,” Clancy tells The Plaid Horse.
At 16, she bought a 6-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare who wasn’t halter broke. Clancy worked with the mare to make her into the horse she wanted while working off board at the barn.
When it was time to go to college, Clancy refused to go to a school where she wouldn’t be able to bring her horse. With that priority in mind, she attended California State University, Fresno, where she competed on the school’s Division 1 hunt seat team for three years. In her senior year, she switched to the western team with her friend and roommate to try out a new discipline. After college, she had plans to continue her education in medical school.
A PIVOT IN PLANS
Her plans to go to medical school were disrupted when people started paying her to ride and train their horses. “I figured people were already paying me to do something I love, so why do anything else?” says Clancy.
Now, Clancy owns Strides Riding Academy in Petaluma, CA, just twenty minutes from Sonoma Horse Park. With up to 100 horses on the property, Clancy has built a multi-trainer facility that offers lessons, training, and schooling shows to riders in Northern California.
While riding was the original business plan, starting a family made Clancy rethink her model and she now focuses on teaching riders in her riding academy. Strides Riding Academy has 25 school horses, an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) team, an IHSA team and many more programs that make riding accessible to the next generation of equestrians.
While Clancy doesn’t do a lot of sales herself, the idea for Enbarr came to Clancy years ago alongside the increasing popularity of dating websites. At the time, she was regularly searching for horses for her clients.
“It was a painful process,” says Clancy. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have something like a dating app for horse sales?’”
Clancy held onto the idea for the app for a long time, until about ten months ago when she decided it was time to put the concept to work and create the Enbarr app.
The name Enbarr came from an Irish mythical creature, which is a horse that travels on land and sea and is faster than the wind.
HOW IT WORKS
For buyers, the process starts with downloading and registering for the app. Immediately, buyers can scroll through all horses listed right from the home screen. Buyers can also put in their own criteria to refine their search for more specific matches.
Users have the option to add a horse to their favorites, forward a horse to a trainer or friend to view, or use the now-traditional dating app directions of swiping left or right on a horse. Messaging between buyers and sellers is done all through the app, so you won’t need to keep track of which form of communication you’re chatting on with different sellers. The app is currently free to all buyers.
For sellers, horses can be listed on the app almost instantly. All a seller needs to do is add the basic information on the horse and upload videos and pictures. As soon as they click ‘Submit,’ the listing is live.
The app will remain free to use for all sellers until Clancy reaches her goal of up to 100,000 horses listed on the app, after which membership fees for sellers may begin to apply at a low rate.
“My goal is for the app to be the go-to tool for buying and selling horses” says Clancy.
Enbarr is designed to be used anywhere in the United States and developed for international use which will be released in phase two, making importing more accessible for those who may not know where to start. “My plan is to get to 100,000 horses listed within the United States pretty quickly,” says Clancy “then, reach across the pond and add International horses!”
REVOLUTIONIZING SALES
No matter where buyers and sellers are connecting, Clancy made sure that Enbarr would be user-friendly to all people in the equine world, young and old. “The horse industry is cutting-edge in so many ways, it’s time for the horse buying and selling technology to catch up,” says Clancy.
With Enbarr she is hoping to bridge that gap.
The app officially launched in August 2023 and is available on Android, iOS, and online. To download the app look for Enbarr in the Apple and Google Play store.
