LUCINDA de Stacpoole-Lynch recently established Equine Business Consultancy

The concept behind this business came from a combination of Lucinda’s own personal experience working in a variety of sectors within the industry and from her third level education.

She explained: “My ultimate aim is for you and your business to maximise all of its resources and to be performing to your ideal level and standard.”

Education and experience

Lucinda is no stranger to the industry and has an outstanding educational record.

“So I come from a farming background then I just gravitated towards the horses really then I started doing work experience in different areas. I did experience in equine hospitals, I did a week in the Army Equitation School, I did work experience in three-day eventing yards, doing horse chiropractic as well.

“ I worked in a hunting yard, and then I went into the thoroughbred industry so I was working in one of the top National Hunt yards in Ireland for about three to three and a half years.”

She also gained experience doing both National Hunt and flat yearling prep.

Lucinda completed two Post Leaving Certificate courses – one in Animal Care and one in Applied Psychology. She then progressed to do her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Counselling.

This was only the beginning of Lucinda’s educational endeavours: “I did my Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and then I did an Advanced Diploma in Personal Leadership and Executive Coaching.

“It was during my master’s thesis that this all came about, I was coaching where I previously worked [a top National Hunt yard] and I worked with the head lad for about six weeks.”

Lucinda began by talking to him about areas he would like to improve on, he struggled to pick these out himself so he selected some members of staff to suggest areas they would like to see an improvement in.

She found working with a combination of the head lad, trainer and members of staff to be very effective. It gave a very well-rounded idea of what was going on and she explained how she worked as a facilitator throughout the process.

“He improved a lot, which meant the staff were happier. It was really effective over the six weeks. From there I recognised that there is no-one really doing this in Ireland, or in the UK or abroad.”

Consultancy

Through Lucinda’s own trial and error in the early stages of establishing the business she realised that clients were looking for answers to their problems and for consultancy was very much what the market was looking for.

She continues to offer a range of coaching services, including both life and business coaching, however, her business is primarily focused on consultancy. There are elements of the coaching that cross-over into consultancy and she finds they complement each other well.

The concept behind the consultancy is very simple – Lucinda works with any equine yard or business, big or small, across all sectors of the industry to help solve any issues they might have. The majority of issues usually relate to how best to save money and increase productivity.

She emphasised how her own experience working in the industry means she can offer practical and simple solutions to help save money.

The route the consultancy takes is very much dependent on the client’s needs, according to Lucinda.

“It depends on how big their business is, how many staff they have, how many horses they have, what’s the scale?

“Within smaller yards the consultancy tends to be much more focused on the business perspective. This can include things such as looking at how to get sponsors and staffing issues.”

Timeline

Lucinda does not have a set timeline for working with clients, she fits her consultancy programme around her client’s schedule and in accordance to the issues they are trying to solve.

“It will very much depend on what the client’s challenges are, sometimes it will just come to a natural end but then I would follow up in about six months to see how they are getting on, if there are any challenges, anything I can help them with. Generally I would say about 10 sessions.”

Lucinda explained how the frequency of the sessions also depends on the client’s own schedule. She went on to say how leaving more space between sessions can often be the most beneficial because the client will have actions and homework to do between sessions.

Lucinda helps her clients deal with a range of issues. She has found that a number of clients have required help and guidance finding good, reliable staff. She explained that she generally helps them think outside their usual circles for finding staff, this can be as simple as looking into another equestrian discipline or possibly can involve working with an agency.

“I’ll give them the tools, I’ll find some possible people that they can get in touch with and they’ll do that. Then they come back and talk to me about how they got on and we can go from there.”

The ultimate goal with the consultancy is that clients develop the tools to work independently of her.

Thoroughbred industry

Through her work with clients in the thoroughbred industry Lucinda has found that the focus of the consultancy is dependent on the size of the business.

“Finance and budget play a very big role, especially in smaller yards. While with larger yards the focus tends to be more on interpersonal skills,” according to Lucinda.

Interpersonal skills usually include things such as improved communication and delegation. She went on to explain how even though these may seem like small things to work on they impact a huge amount on every member of staff. It also helped to filter through the different levels of staff and changed the overall atmosphere and productively of the yard.

Lucinda leading up Don Cossack \ Jennifer O'Sullivan

Not only does Lucinda provide an outside perspective and advice, through her discussion and communication with members of staff at every level she is able to establish a very clear idea of behavioural patterns and areas to improve on.

She describes the process as being very inclusive and providing validation for every member of staff.

Testimonials:

“Very knowledgeable in both the equine world and in business. A huge asset to any equestrian enterprise. Lucinda has helped the veterinary practice where I work and we all find her superb” – Victor Bennett, senior veterinary surgeon at Navan Veterinary Clinic.

“Lucinda has helped our yard with the team’s interpersonal skills, such as communication and delegation skills. She has also helped solve some of the practical issues within the yard. This has helped the yard run more effectively and efficiently.Looking back on working with Lucinda, I would say that she facilitated with implementing changes which were long overdue. I would highly recommend Lucinda as she is very professional, has great knowledge of the industry and was very positive to work with” – Simon McGonagle, head lad at Gordon Elliott Racing.

Contact details

Lucinda is currently based in Co Meath and happily travels to yards and businesses around Ireland, however, the cost of travel is additional to the flat rate of €80 per hour.

Email: lucinda@equinebusinessconsultancy.com Phone: 087 6624735

Web: equinebusinessconsultancy.com