As we celebrate Free Ride Equestrian’s 6th anniversary, we wanted to share a very personal look behind the brand: where it started, the late nights, the growth, and the heart that built it all. Below is a message directly from our founder, Katie, reflecting on the journey, the community, and the incredible milestone we’re celebrating together.
"The brand is a part of me and a part of my family ... The motivation I got from our customers believing in me was something I can't even describe."
We're so excited to be celebrating Free Ride Equestrian's 6th year anniversary. It feels like just yesterday I started the brand, but at the same time it feels like a lifetime—like the brand is a part of me and a part of my family. Overnight I turned into a workaholic; I would stay up all night talking to manufactures and building the website. During the day, I would respond to customers as soon as I physically could.
The motivation I got from our customers believing in me was something I can't even describe. For the longest time, I had inventory stored in every square inch of my house, and packing orders throughout the day was one of my favorite things to do. I'll always remember how old Free Ride is because my second daughter, Amelia, was born just a few months after we started selling breeches.
I remember on the way to the hospital I had my computer with a hotspot from my phone and was typing up size splits to make sure I got all of our orders in before I went into surgery.
Then I came home from the hospital to a house full of boxes that needed to be unpacked, and I remember trying to find dressers and armoires and places to put all of the breeches because we had completely run out of space by this point. There definitely is no maternity leave for new business owners.
Amelia will be six this April, and we're celebrating our 6th year anniversary of Free Ride this month. It's amazing how fast this brand has grown. I'm so excited for this journey and where we're going to go next. Thank you to all the amazing customers that have supported us along the way. I'm so grateful to have an amazing team to celebrate our sixth year anniversary with and can't wait to see where this brand goes next.
Comments
Most comfortable breeches ever and I have tried them all! I wear them just to run errands. In the old days I couldn’t wait to come home and change out of my breeches they were so uncomfortable then came along FREE RIDE! I bought my first pair of FREE RIDE’s years ago and still have them, they hold up so well. The tops are just as comfortable. LOVE them – keep up the good work!