Setting off at the crack of dawn to attend Pony Club rallies isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially if you’re only there to support your sibling, but the then 12-year-old Sebastian Tarrant took the weekend outings as an opportunity to start his own business.
Initially using a family friend’s tried-and-tested recipe, Sebastian started making and selling homemade fly spray from trailer to trailer in 2019, and when his product sold out every time, he knew there was scope to make it something bigger.
“I was 12 years old and fed up of being dragged to my sister’s Pony Club events at 5am every Saturday morning in the middle of a freezing cold Dartmoor,” he told Your Horse. “I decided to find a way to earn money from these weekly trips to the Moors and started selling my equine fly repellent at these events and selling out every time.”
When his family moved from Devon to Herefordshire in 2021, Sebastian started to obtain stockists and his hobby project soon turned into a fully-fledged business – Fly Free Equine. He left college a year early in September 2023 as the rapid business expansion required his full-time attention.
Sebastian now has more than 135 stockists, with over 150 retail outlets accross England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Top riders have given glowing testimonials of the product, and the ingredients are compliant with FEI and BHA rules and regulations.
Sebastian now has plans to branch out to a sweet itch product and mane and tail spray, with more details to be released in the near future.
To find out more visit flyfreeequine.com
