IF the tv show Dragons’ Den was up and running in the early 1990s, you could imagine Aidan Keogh’s persuasive pitch about his equestrian clothing company.

Instead, it took several years of self-belief, the backing of his wife, “best friend and supporter” Christine and expanding the Tredstep range, first funded by the proceeds of a Blackrock Market stall.

Likewise, he staged a remarkable comeback to compete at five-star level after an 18-year gap from eventing.

Growing up at Spruce Lodge, Aidan’s early years were spent hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays on the 12.2, Ronnie, under the watchful eye of his father Michael.

“Mum [Joan] had a really successful riding school. You had to book in for a term of lessons and each lesson was followed by three-quarters of an hour of stable management. In between, you were given a glass bottle of Coca Cola!”

A Bray Pony Club member, Aidan has fond memories of its cross-country course at Kilruderry and competing in working hunter, dressage and local show jumping classes with the rescue pony, Primrose.

“At that time, William Micklem was based in Spruce Lodge. I changed schools, which gave me a six-month gap between schools. This allowed me to work with William seven days a week, giving me a fantastic foundation to my riding and understanding of quality training, something I will always be grateful for,” he said about his mentor and family friend.

On William’s advice, the family bought Blueberry. “After sitting on him, I never looked back,” Aidan explained. Unbeatable at junior level, the pair were picked each year for the Irish team at European championships “But each year, we did not make it due to lameness.”

Next came the home-bred Spruce Lad (by Sparring Partner). “Harry carried me to success in young riders but again, while been picked to represent Ireland at the Europeans, we failed to travel due to lameness. We did manage to win a Golden Saddle which meant a lot. It gave recognition to talent which is always good for your confidence and encouragement to continue on this path.”

After three years in a row of making junior and young rider teams “but never making the championships, I had had enough and dropped out of art college.”

Aidan went to America for a year, firstly to Georgia-based eventing rider Ann Taylor (nee Sutton), who competed at the Seoul Olympics on Tarzan and to Rodney Jenkins’ yard in Wellington.

After his return home, he ran the family’s livery yard. Buying and selling horses proved to be a Catch 22 situation. “I was hoping I could afford to keep a good one so I could continue to compete but, as many producers will understand, it’s the sale of the good ones that pays the bills, which left little prospect of me returning to competition.”

Master Tredstep and Aidan Keogh in the show jumping phase of the final year of the Rolex sponsorship of the five-star Kentucky Horse Trials in 2017 \ Susan Finnerty

Getting innovative

Deciding to give “mainstream life a try, I bounced around working in various industries; all-weather riding surfaces, print, food and beverage. I continued to keep a horse at home with my parents but wasn’t really competing.”

Seeing a gap in the market, he started developing an idea. “At that time, nobody really wore half chaps, full chaps were all the rage. The chaps that were on the market were very basic and unappealing. They came in small, medium and large and sat on the bottom shelf in a tackstore.

“By inserting elastic, some basic leg shaping, a range of sizes and making them aesthetically appealing, the modern-day half chap was born.”

He realised he was on to a winner when the prototypes, displayed in a corner of his all-weather surface tradestand at Dublin Horse Show, sold out on the first day.

“The story of Tredstep had begun but was not off the ground yet. The manufacturer I had commissioned to make the chaps decided to double the price.”

Although encouraged by girlfriend, now wife, Christine Carey to make the product himself, cash flow was an issue.

“With zero money in my pocket, I did a deal on a job lot of parka coats and took a stall at the Blackrock Market. Up on my soapbox, we managed to sell the lot and raised enough money to purchase the first consignment of leather.”

Each pair was cut by hand by Aidan in his bedroom. “While I could do the cutting and preparation of all the materials myself, I still needed stitchers. I was very lucky to work with some great Dublin leather craftsmen such as Julian Vard, Sean Donnelly. Tredstep was now up and running.”

Interestingly, Joan’s father Laurence O’Donoghue owned the OD Shoes factory in Thomas Street. His best Irish customer was Clerys Department Store. “I don’t remember the factory but my grandfather then had a pub and we’d go there on Saturdays to collect the bottles of Coca Cola for the riding school!”

How did he come up with the company name?

“Tredstep was a name I had used for the company that was supplying all-weather surfaces; a mix of chopped-up tyre rubber and sand. So, Tred for the tyre and the step for the horse.”

“From very humble beginnings, the simple half chap has given me and Tredstep a platform to grow and expand worldwide. We’ve always applied the same basic logic used when creating the half chap, to all our product development.”

Aidan believes too that his time in America tuned him into the “nuances specific to the US market. Tredstep has grown over the years and now provides a range of products that meet the needs of riders, from Pony Club to Olympian.”

Priorities changed after he and Christine married in 1999 and again three years later, when twin daughters Sadie and Lilly arrived.

“Becoming a father very quickly focuses your priorities. Naturally, providing a stable and loving home trumped everything else. Concentrating on making sure Tredstep’s future was stable and in a position to grow over time, we were very lucky to be gifted a site by my parents and so we built our home in Kilternan.”

The family moved in around 2006, the same time as two “12.2 woolly ponies”, Tiny and Heather, a package deal from Brook Lodge in Stepaside, settled in too. “Sandra McCracken was closing down her riding school but did not want the two ponies to be split up.”

Aidan Keogh warming up for dressage at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Horse Trials on Master Tredstep, supervised by William Micklem \ Susan Finnerty

Chasing your dreams

Although his teenage ambition of representing Ireland never materialised, Aidan set about achieving this once his business was established.

“I remember, as a young man, watching some of the great riders of the day and having the thought that ‘if they can do it, then so can I.’ How naive was I. But I’ve always had the belief that training and competing horses was probably the one thing I was actually good at and had received exceptional training in over the years.”

He teamed up again with William Micklem and a horse bred by his coach: Tredstep Boa (by Sea Crest).

“This was the horse that set me on the road back into competitive riding. In May 2006, we were back at Punchestown three-day international. I only realised afterwards that there had been an 18-year gap since my last run at a full three-day international.”

“Balancing family, work and horses has always been a huge challenge. My family has always been incredibly supportive and have sacrificed much in order for me to follow my dreams. By now, the penny had dropped and they realised that I really was serious about competing at the top level but they always encouraged me to go for it.”

His business-like approach of “quality, focused work, not quantity” crosses over into his eventing. “Not riding full-time brings its own challenges but I also see some advantages. I have a very focused approach, time planning and schedules are a vital component.”

Injuries then sidelined a pair of promising horses. “Apart from Tredstep Boa, I had a great up-and-coming young horse Paris Pastilla (by Lenard). He was the real deal and the future was bright until, in 2006, he suffered a very serious leg injury in a travel accident. A great shame as he was a superstar.

“Another special horse was Tredstep Bold Flyer (Barnaby Flight), a horse that galloped with ease, light, agile and a joy to work with.”

And then along came Master Tredstep. Or Wilson, as the imposing dark brown gelding is known as. By Kings Master, he was bred in Tullow by George Mernagh – “No, not Tattersalls’ George Mernagh!” – and was sourced by Aidan’s “good friend and wonderful horseman, Patrick Hughes, of Horse First supplements and Carlingford Horses.”

Tipped off about the horse by the Micklem brothers John and William, Aidan went to see the four-year-old, at that stage jumping a cross-pole. “Very soon it became apparent that he was special. A true gentleman with an incredible heart. Every step of the way he was so forgiving of my mistakes as I learnt my way up through the grades.”

Lilly Keogh and the consummate schoolmaster Master Tredstep at the European junior championships in Maarsbergen

All the fives

The pair made their five-star debut at Pau in 2013, “completing with a 20 on the cross-country and a rail in the show jumping but we were on cloud nine. I came out of there wanting to go to Rolex the following spring.

“It is a long road to five-star, having never competed beyond Intermediate as a young rider. Each step up beyond that level was a major milestone, but it’s the road travelled that is the most rewarding part for me.”

Unfortunately, Wilson picked up a strain at Pau which left him sidelined for two years. In the meantime, another horse joined the Tredstep team. Pride of Tredstep was bred at Motabower Stud by Geraldine Berney and is by their resident thoroughbred Lord Noble. “A very special lady”, ‘Molly’ and Keogh were selected two years running for the six and seven-year-old finals at Le Lion d’Angers.

Aidan’s lifelong dream to ride the Rolex Kentucky track happened in 2017. “One of five competitors travelling from Europe, I was in good company with Michi Jung, Zara Phillips, Tim Price and Maxime Livio. Not everything went as well as we had hoped, we picked up a 20 [penalty] early on cross-country but finished strong and completed the event.”

Also in the Kentucky travelling party were Joan, Christine, Lilly, Sadie, Paddy Hughes and William Micklem, who bred Zara Phillip’s third-placed High Kingdom (Master Imp.) “It was a wonderful lifelong dream and it was extra special to have them all there.

“We were treated so well at Kentucky and I will treasure the great memories of this event.”

With a second five-star completion under his Tredstep belt, Aidan wanted to return to Pau “to prove we had a clear round in us”. As part of their build-up that summer, the pair won the national championships at Tattersalls.

“I’m a big supporter of these championships as it gives everyone, at every level, a championship to aim for. I am very honoured to be a winner.”

Pride of Tredstep joined Wilson on the Pau trip. “Molly ran in the two-star as a warm up for me and then Wilson jumped a clear. I was blessed to be joined on this journey by James O’Haire, who was riding China Doll and Alison and Eamon Holden. Extremely entertaining there and back!”

His five-star clear achieved, Wilson became the consummate schoolmaster. “I felt he would be better off looking after my daughter Lilly in the juniors. They went to the Junior Europeans in 2019 – a very special memory. Wilson was retired in September 2019 after the national championships where he finished second with Lilly.

“Luckily, I had already found a super horse for Sadie; LGS Ladybird (OBOS Quality), a little green but in time will shine. Sadie and ‘Poppy’ were well ready to go to the Europeans in 2020 but Covid put an end to that. Hopefully she will get a chance in young riders.”

Phenomenal support

Covid-19 put an end to many plans, least of all for Aidan himself who happened to be in California on a business trip last March as the North American lockdown began. While he says he had always thought Tredstep would be a success since the company began in 1993, he had no idea that “it would take so much time and effort and the hurdles we would encounter along the way.”

Covid was the Becher’s Brook of those hurdles. “In March last year ... we had 80% of our orders, worth over $1 million, cancelled in one week. Retailers were telling us they couldn’t pay their bills, we had no orders coming in. So, yeah, it was a couple of really dire weeks when that happened.

“Thankfully, we trimmed down, we sat down and we launched our own online presence directly with the consumer. We worked tirelessly with our business partners, we’ve over 25 years’ relationship with many of them and since then, we’ve bounced back.

“One of the interesting things is that when we launched our footwear and clothing range online on May 1st, the amount of support from the Irish consumer was phenomenal. Before Covid, our main markets were the US, UK and Ireland. At least 70% of our sales were to the US market. Ireland outranked both those markets in the first month.

“Because I was personally manning the website, making sure orders were correct, I recognised so many names from the Irish equestrian world. I was humbled by the support. We really needed it at that time and they came through for us.”

Covid has also disrupted their daughters Leaving Cert year. “Sadie hopes to do Veterinary and Lilly would like to get the points to do Psychology. My wife, Christine is a Doctor of Psychology and is a great support.”

Last chance

While named on Sally Corscadden’s Tokyo Olympics potential squad, Aidan is philosophical about his chances. “Tokyo, realistically, is a long shot. Paris is our main aim, our last and final shot at the Olympics.”

“Molly is all I have now at top level. She had a freak accident in April 2019 and suffered a jaw fracture, which wrote off most of that season but bounced back with two national runs and then off to Boekelo for a double clear. She is an incredible jumper.”

The pair are on HSI’s High Performance squad. “With Sally Corscadden at the helm, the training and organisation is world class. I’d been welcomed into the team by one and all and have benefitted hugely from working with and alongside some of the best trainers and riders in the world.”

Yogi Breisner, Grant Wilson, Tracey Robinson and Andrew Nicholson are several trainers he’s worked with on the squad, plus “the likes of vet Marcus Swail and John Boyne Jnr, who shoes our horses and the HSI support team for nutrition, fitness, psychology and physio for both horses and riders.

“I’m grateful for all the support that I’ve got through the years. When you start thinking of so many people you’d like to thank, it sparks off a lot of memories. Like my father worked as the National Hunt registrar at the Turf Club, he loved racing. When I was going to an event on farmland, where a point-to-point was held, we’d have great conversations about the land and the going. It was his link to what I did.

“All the way I was incredibly lucky to have regular help and support from William too.”

Micklem had this to say: “Aidan is a remarkable man. His energy, determination and riding ability have always separated him from the average.”

Another standout memory for Aidan Keogh is competing on the Nations Cup eventing team with Master Tredstep at Aachen in 2013. “This wonderful iconic venue … as you rode up the ramp to the main arena, it struck you and I turned around in the saddle and said to William who was following: ‘Special days like this.’ Here’s to more of them.”