Equis Productions / equisvideo.com - About Us
Jessie Nelson is much like many other female show riders she loves horses and dogs. Yes she owns the typical nice hunter, a second horse that can jump to the moon, and a lovely Thoroughbred rescue horse that will have a home with her till the day it dies.But what makes Jessie different from any other horse-crazy amateur rider? In the last few years, she started her own equine video company and is now able to pursue her passion hanging around horse shows full time Nice job ,if you can get it.
Central Equine Magazine
Sept/Oct 2007 issue Vol 2 Num 4
http://www.centralequine.com
So how did Jessie get started in the equine video business?
Hard work and the "nerve" to go after her dream.Jessie grew up riding and showing, as many of us did. She thought about college, and even attended U.N.H. before she quit and got a job, a job that led her into a strong career as a top news video person for ABC news affiliates around the United States. She worked in creative services as a topical imaging and branding specialist. Even though she enjoyed her job in news and in fact received two Addy Awards for news promotion, she felt the pull towards video-taping horses.
So with the help of her supportive husband Patrick Collins and good friends, Jessie decided to "go for it". Three years ago she became the owner of Equis Productions. What started as a part-time passion has now become a full time position, with her husband leaving his full time career to work with her this year and with several other employees working full time on the road.
"I've had horses all my life and enjoy being around people" Jessie explains. "Then with my video production background, I saw an opportunity to offer a quality product to the customers. There was a huge need for it - I know,I saw that some of the companies were taking advantage of people who were showing. "There is a difference between Hunters and Jumpers and you kneed to know that," she adds. "You need to know what they are looking for in their video."
Jessie sees her role as an equestrian, as an understanding rider who understands what they need to show prospective clients. She also like to make the kids feel good, show them a nice round at their first horse shows.She does onsite DVD production,with a turnaround time of the same day if the videos are done at the show.
Her company offers clients several video products- which include Ruffkutt: raw video on DVD which is quick, Edited versions: which can take a while to get the polished versions,Musical Montages: finding all the highlights of the show for her clients and makes it like a personalized rock video " That is where my production background comes in, because I get to play and be creative." "We're on the road quite a bit "Jessie adds. "This year we might be home four to six weeks out of the year."
While last year Jessie rode her horses quite a bit this year she hasn't been able to do very much. She and Patrick travel with their dogs and sometimes with one of their horses if she can get a stall. "I just like to go out and hang out with them and unwind at night" Jessie says "I need to get my horse fix each evening"
Equis Productions formerly based in East Moline, Illinois has moved it's company offices to to Harrodsburg, Kentucky fall of 2007 in order to be closer to many of their customers and business acquaintances."I've just been trying to grow the company this year" Jessie says "I think my company is the first video company that has come in that really understands the equestrian personality's and my business is now growing huge, last year I had one camera, this year I have five ... we put everything we make back into the business to make it as good as we can for the riders."
Much of Jessie's products are for sale horses and perhaps 15% are for the riders to see their rounds and learn, while 10% are for keepsake stuff, where the family wants to show off what their loved ones have done.
Jessie says it was pretty scary to take on this business and leave her successful career behind."We took a huge risk, and it worked" she says. "We couldn't get a business loan and didn't have any backing. We started with a $300.00 camera from Best Buy just to test the waters and now we have five professional cameras, and all professional equipment for all the other work."
Jessie thinks if you treat your customers right, you can be successful in the equine services industry. Her goals are to have the business be able to cover a many shows as they can, and to provide superior quality video.
"We're very loyal to the people that we work for, so we try to get to their shows, and feel guilty if I cant make it to some of the shows,"Jessie says .I would really like to get back in the irons and start showing again - I would really like to get back to a level 4 in jumpers."
Jessie says to belive in yourself and just do it, if you have a dream to pursue in the horse world. "I just think if you do what the customers want and be nice to them, you'll be fine, I keep hearing people say that so many in the business are just not nice."
Jessie's philosophy and hard work seem to be paying off, literally.
