©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Christine Graf
New York City native Whitney Mulqueen has been working in the equine industry for her entire adult life. Two years ago, she relocated from northeastern Pennsylvania to Saratoga County.
“I came here to immerse myself in the horse industry—just not the racing part of it,” she said. “It ended up being the best decision I could have made in terms of career and doing what I really enjoy.”
After relocating, she was offering riding lessons through her teaching business, Celtic Crest Farm LLC. In July, she moved her business to a leased space in Ballston Spa and opened Rewind Equine Tack & Consignment at 76 Front St. in Ballston Spa.
“The store is about 800 square feet and is chock full of riding boots, saddles, show jackets, breeches, shirts—anything for the horse owner that rides English,” Mulqueen said. “Whether they ride for pleasure or for competition, we have everything. I’m also going to carry a few new items.”
For the consignment merchandise she sells, Mulqueen does a 50/50 split with the consignor on everything except for saddles that are priced at more than $1,000. For those more expensive saddles, she takes a lower percentage.
Business at the store has been good, and customers have come from as far away as Vermont and New Hampshire. Unlike most stores, she does not depend on foot traffic. She relies on her Facebook page, Rewind Equine Tack & Consignment, to promote her business.
Rewind Equine Tack & Consignment is open on Thursdays from 1:30-6:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Mulqueen’s store hours are limited due to her teaching schedule, but she would like to expand them in the future.
In her teaching business, Celtic Crest Farm LLC, Mulqueen uses a retired thoroughbred, Wesley, for lessons. Wesley raced at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park and Mulqueen adopted him 10 years ago through an adoption program.
“I adopted him at 6, and he got a second career and a permanent home with me,” she said.
Mulqueen started riding at the age of 5 and has been teaching riding lessons for more than 35 years. She teaches at Shadow Rock Farms in Ballston Spa, instructing students in the English style of riding. Her clients range in age from age 5 to 65. For the past 25 years, she has also been judging horse shows
She credits her late father, fashion designer Jack Mulqueen, with igniting her entrepreneurial spirit. While living in Pennsylvania, she operated a retail store in addition to giving riding lessons. After moving to New York, “I started feeling out the area to see what niches there were here that needed to be filled,” she said.
After learning that the area’s only equine consignment shop was no longer in business, Mulqueen decided to open Rewind Equine Tack & Consignment.
“I actually started the business in my living room in my house,” she said. “I had a separate entrance and worked by appointment. When I wasn’t teaching, I would meet people at my house.”
Within the next five years, she hopes to purchase her own show, training, and boarding farm. When that happens, she will move her shop to her farm.
“I look forward to serving the horse community and being an asset to Saratoga County and being a business that can give back to the horse community. I feel like I’m covering an area that no one else is, and that’s been rewarding,” she said.