A beloved business featuring ‘Henny the unicorn’ has made a magical comeback after facing the threat of closure last year.
‘Wish Upon a Pony’, owned by Claire Economou, offers ‘real-life’ unicorn visits for children’s parties, groups with special educational needs, weddings, care homes, TV productions and more. But at the end of 2024, the future of the enchanting enterprise was under serious threat.
No choice but to sell
“I had car issues and had no choice but to sell my horse trailer,” said Claire, who lives in Shorne and who has been doing unicorn visits for the past five years.
“I had already ruined two cars previously from towing my trailer so heavily throughout the summer months, so I felt I had no option but to sell the car before it became scrap value and start again.”
Unfortunately, another blow was about to hinder the business when Claire lost access to her Wish Upon a Pony webpage.
“To make matters worse, my web designer, Danny Kelly, very sadly passed away, and I lost both of my business websites,” added Claire.
Back to square one
With a lack of transport and no digital presence, Claire was unsure whether to reopen the business after their usual break over the winter months.
“It felt like I was back to square one after building up the business for the last five years,” Claire explained.
Instead of giving up, she came up with a plan to get Henny back on the road.
“I didn’t want to buy a 3.5 tonne lorry as Henny is so tiny and I’d already lost so much money, so I decided to buy van.”
With the help of her dad, Claire converted a transit custom van to accommodate Henny on her visits.
‘I couldn’t give up’
“I couldn’t give up,” Claire added, “Henny is a local celebrity.”
With the help of web designer Zack Stanger, the Wish Upon a Pony page was recovered and given a revamp, just in time for opening at the beginning of April this year.
‘Henny’, who stands at just 7hh, is an eight-year-old American miniature horse.
His official name is ‘Pandoras Gold Hennessy’.
Claire has owned Henny for the past six years.
His rainbow mane and tail are created using non-toxic chalk which easily washed out.
Meeting the Mayor
The miniature horse is becoming an online sensation, with some videos on his dedicated TikTok page reaching over 4 million views.
“My friends kept saying, you need to get Henny on TikTok!”
Claire is now able to monetise on Henny’s popularity on social media, with followers reaching tens of thousands.
Wish Upon a Pony is a finalist for two major national awards this year.
The Mayor of Gravesham Borough is also due to meet Henny in a few weeks.
“Since the start of the year we have made some amazing achievements so far,” Claire continued.
“Seeing the smiles Henny brings makes it all worth it.”
