30 SIDELINES MARCH 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Five Questions for Tom MacGuinness
H
O
R
S
E
S
H
O
W
Tom
MacGuinness
says he enjoys
many different
disciplines,
including
jumpers – and
polo
Photo by Isabel
Kurek
Sidelines:
What made you decide to buy a house in Wellington?
TM:
Wellington is a beautiful place and the property values
are good, so buying a house here seemed like a great idea.
But more than that, the Palm Beach International Equestrian
Center is a spectacular winter venue – there are all types of
horses and you can ride hunters and jumpers, do dressage,
play polo – it’s just a very horse-centric society, which I love.
The chance to be in the beautiful weather when it’s freezing
and rainy or snowy elsewhere is great. The Winter Equestrian
Festival is an incredible venue and it’s only getting bigger and
By Jan Westmark-Allan
Tom MacGuinness, the owner and founder of
Horseware Ireland, has always been an innovator who
enjoyed solving problems. Tom’s inventive spirit kicked
in to high gear in 1985, when he started Horseware while
running a riding school in Ireland.
“All the horses at our riding school wore rugs that
leaked and I wanted to solve that problem. I made
designs, bought a sewing machine and sewed the frst
prototypes myself,” he said.
Tom’s blankets revolutionized the equine clothing
industry and Tom still runs the company today. “I’ve
always worked for myself. I can’t imagine having a 9
to 5 type career, that’s just not me,” Tom said. A true
entrepreneur at heart, Tom also owns a company in China
that makes solar lighting. “If I hadn’t started Horseware,
I’d have probably done something like Starbucks. Now
that’s a great business!”
While he may not be a coffee giant, Tom is certainly
a blanket giant and Horseware has stepped up as the
Offcial Blanket Sponsor of the 2012 Winter Equestrian
Festival. “We are providing three different blankets for
the winners that will be used throughout the WEF Circuit
– wool dress coolers to start, then cotton coolers and
fnally Irish knit coolers as the weather becomes warmer,”
Tom said, adding that he likes the winters in Florida and
has bought a house in Wellington. Being in the heart of
the horse world also helps Tom take part in one of his
passions – playing polo!
Continued on page 32
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