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Thursday, December 14 2017 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Nicole Lakin’s Unpredictable Path In Life

Nicole, the founder of BarnManager
Photo by Jump Media

By Emily Riden

It’s said that one of the only predictable things about both life and horses is their mutual unpredictability. To verify the accuracy of that statement, just ask Nicole Lakin.

As a junior rider competing successfully in the equitation and jumper rings, the now-29-year-old with a degree in social and cultural analysis would have never imagined that her life and horses would take her where she is today: working as the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of her own brainchild software company, BarnManager.

And for Nicole, what is perhaps even less predictable than where she has ended up is the path that she has taken to get there.

An Idea Is Born

Nicole got her start with horses much like many other amateur equestrians showing successfully on the hunter-jumper circuit today. She began riding at 7 years old, competing in the local short-stirrup and hunter divisions before transitioning to an A-circuit show barn and getting her first taste of the jumpers. Then, the Reading, Pennsylvania, native decided to give equitation a try as well and she began training with Max Amaya at Beacon Hill and Stonehenge Stables in Colts Neck, Jersey.

Throughout her young career, Nicole racked up numerous accolades, including the team gold and individual silver medals at the 2006 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), and she had the opportunity to compete on some of North America’s most exciting equestrian stages — ranging from under the lights at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) to the acclaimed International Ring at Spruce Meadows.

At the same time that Nicole was riding and competing under Max’s tutelage, she was spending time as a working student and getting a behind-the-scenes, hands-on look at the management and horse care side of running a successful barn. As Nicole moved on to college and beyond, she remained on board with Max, taking on even more of a full-time working student role.

“I was really managing a lot,” Nicole said. “We were traveling, and there were a lot of times that I was charged with managing all of the horses on my own. I did a tour of Spruce Meadows one year with 15 horses and was really given a lot of responsibility on the management side.”

Nicole competing at the 2017 American Gold Cup
Photo by The Book LLC

The more work Nicole was responsible for, the more she realized that there was room for improvement on the communication and organizational ends of barn management.

“I just started playing around with Excel and Word documents and making forms and things that would improve some of the troubles that we ran into managing and trying to communicate with people in different venues,” Nicole said. “Even at Spruce Meadows, I would be back at the barn trying to make grain and have a question for Max, who was down at the International Ring basically a mile away, and getting in touch with him was challenging. I was always looking for ways to get around those communication issues and to get even more organized.

“I realized that there was really a need for something more. I was very lucky that I made some amazing friends that had been managers and working with horses and managing complex organizations far longer than I had. I sat them all down one night in Florida,” Nicole continued. “I literally went around the table and asked them what the most annoying thing was that they were constantly having trouble with. Then, once we had a little bit of a venting session about all of the things that could be better, I said, ‘If I built something to make those things better, would you guys use it?’ They all looked at me, and they were like, ‘Yeah, of course.’”

Nicole had no real technological background, no experience in application or software development, and little idea what she was in for, but there was another part of Nicole’s path to where she is today that told her she needed to go for it and capitalize on her idea.

Turning Adversity Into Opportunity

Circle back to the winter of 2006, when Nicole was competing at WEF and fell off her then junior jumper, Alaska. In the six years that Nicole rode and competed Alaska, she fell off a total of two times; this particular time she hit the ground hard. Out of fear of a broken rib or similar, Nicole was taken to the hospital to undergo chest x-rays. Once at the hospital, the chest x-rays did in fact reveal broken ribs, but also something worse: stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Hodgkin’s is a relatively slow-growing cancer, which is incredibly lucky,” Nicole explained. “But on the other hand, I was already at stage three of four. So it’s very likely if I had not fallen off that day and gone to the hospital, it could have gone unnoticed.”

Following an initial surgery, Nicole spent the next four months undergoing intense chemotherapy treatments, all while insisting that she continue to be around the horses.

“Instead of getting frustrated because it wasn’t really within my control at that point, I sort of threw myself at taking care of my horses back at the barn and spending as much time with them as possible,” Nicole said. “It really became clear to me how much they do for us. I felt like I had the time, and I wasn’t riding as much, so I wanted to do as much as I could for them. I spent a lot of time with the vets and learning as much as I could. That’s really what pushed me into becoming a more full-time working student and really getting involved that much on the management side.”

Her diagnosis and subsequent treatments not only led her to her barn management role, they were also at the forefront of her mind when she made the decision to move forward with her idea that is now innovating the way barns are managed.

“I used to not want to talk about the cancer because I didn’t want it to seem like I was playing the sympathy card, but it really played a huge role in the decisions that I made and choosing to actually go through with this and take the risk,” Nicole said. “I feel really good now talking about it in the context of the business, but also in the context of how I’ve ended up where I’ve ended up.

“I really decided that I wanted to enjoy my life, and I wanted to make decisions that would enable me to live the best life that I could because life is unpredictable,” Nicole said. “I had already gotten lucky once, so who knows. That’s really why I had the courage to follow my passion and my idea.”

Filling a Need

Today, barn managers everywhere can be glad that she did.

Nicole devoted more than a year to researching application and software development options, mapping out features, drawing up design concepts, conceptualizing marketing and branding and more before she officially launched BarnManager.

“I think launching it was definitely one of the more exciting experiences of my life,” Nicole said. “After all of the work, it was just really rewarding to actually see people using it, responding and giving us feedback.”

Nicole with her horse Wannabe, aka Biebs, and dog Monkey
Photo by Jump Media

Today, the cloud-based software is being utilized to help manage barns spanning across disciplines from top hunter-jumper show barns to local stables and even to horse rescues and therapy organizations, now able to utilize the subscription service at no cost thanks to Nicole’s “Free for 501(c)(3)” program. The software is accessible from phone, tablet or computer and offers digitized record keeping for the many facets of horse care with many intuitive and simple business tools that make barn management easy and readily accessible.

“It’s always exciting when you get an email saying ‘this person — who happens to manage one of the best riders in the world — told me that I have to try it. She said it’s amazing, and she can’t live without it.’ It took a lot of time to get there, but it’s been extremely rewarding,” said Nicole, who recently completed a graduate degree in entrepreneurship from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business in Massachusetts.

“Horses are unpredictable; life throws things at you that you never could have imagined, and sometimes your goals need to change as a result,” Nicole said. “That doesn’t mean that you failed, or that you aren’t good enough. It just means that you have a new opportunity that you didn’t have before. This lesson is something that carries over to my professional life every day. You can do everything right, and you can try to predict everything that could possibly go wrong and plan for it. But there is always something outside of your control that you couldn’t predict. If you aren’t willing to be flexible and readjust to the changing circumstances, you may miss a huge opportunity.”

Learn more about Nicole and BarnManager by visiting www.BarnManager.com

 

 

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Tagged under: barn manager, barnmanager.com, Emily Riden, nicole lakin

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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

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Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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