Jaysus… Hindsight Really Is 20/20 😂

Over the last couple of weeks, I've had the enormous honour of being interviewed by a reporter from The Irish Field for a feature about me and my business.

When I was first asked, I assumed we'd talk about Parkmore — the products, the animals we help, why I started the company and where we're going and possibly Fredthefemaleroadhound.

We did.

But first, she took me all the way back.

Back to being a little girl in Ireland who loved horses. Back to my father and Barrowside. Through breeding horses, coming to America, the horse import business and eventually the beginnings of Parkmore Supplements.

And I wasn't quite prepared for what telling that story would feel like.

Some questions made me laugh.

Some brought back memories I hadn't thought about in years.

Some were exhilarating.

And some were bloody hard.

Because when you're living your life, you don't experience it as a story. You just get up the next morning and keep going.

There's a horse to feed. A bill to pay. Somebody needs help. Something goes wrong. Something else goes brilliantly.

Then somebody comes along with a notebook and asks:

How did you get here?

And suddenly you have to remember everywhere you've been.

What struck me most was realizing the enormous role horses have played in my journey and how they have shaped Parkmore.

Every horse I bred, bought, sold or imported taught me something. So did every mistake, every success, every person willing to teach me and wow have I met some great people along the way. A few standouts are mentioned but alas there are too many to list them all.

Somewhere along that road came the philosophy behind Parkmore today:

Help people solve problems, not simply sell them products.

The interview made me look backwards in a way I rarely do.

There are parts of the story I'm incredibly proud of.

There are parts I'd probably rather forget.

There are a few stories that may surprise people who only know me through Parkmore Supplements today.

And there were moments during the interview when I thought, “Good Lord, are we really going there?”

Apparently, we were. 😂

I'm incredibly grateful to The Irish Field and Siobhan English for believing the story was worth telling — and particularly for asking the questions that took me back through all of it.

I haven't seen the finished article yet.

So I'm now experiencing the slightly terrifying prospect of waiting to see what someone else does with several decades of horses, business, America, Ireland, successes, disasters and one fairly determined Irishwoman.

I think 😂 I can't wait to share it with you when it comes out.

And I have a feeling some of you are going to get a proper good giggle.

Until next time,

Be kind. Be the person you needed starting out.