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Social Supercharge: Riders… Getting to know Gemma Gilbert

Gemma Gilbert Gem Eventing

In 2019, I launched my very first digital course aimed at equestrians and riders called Social Supercharge: Riders. Since it launched, I’ve been able to work with, learn about, and help riders from (literally) all over the world through the beauty of online training! In addition to the course, all equestrians taking part in my Social Supercharge: Riders get access to a free Facebook group and, lately, the chance to participate in the NEW NFU Countryside equestrian T&T panel! It’s an incredible group and it’s lovely to see these fab riders upping their social media game and getting what they want from it. And I want you to get to know these riders better too…

First up is Gemma Gilbert, who you might know better as Gem Eventing. I’ve know Gem for a little while now, and actually asked her to test the Social Supercharge: Riders course for me, before it launched officially to the big wide world! You’ll find out a whole lot more about Gem and her lovely skewbald Con below… and you can find out how to follow her at the bottom of her interview too!

Gem eventing and Con

Getting to know Gemma Gilbert aka Gem Eventing

Name
Gemma Gilbert

Whereabouts do you live?
I live in the South West of the country in a town called Yeovil in Somerset, a county famous for tractors and cider.

What’s your favourite equestrian discipline?
My favourite equestrian discipline has got to be Cross Country, the excitement of both horse and rider in the start box as well as the pure buzz you get galloping through the finish line. One other thing I get to wear is all my lovely purple xc stuff which is a whole load of purple and lilac matchy matchy which makes me very happy.

Tell us about the horses in your life
My lovely boy is called Conner, Apache Blue for posh. He is a 11 year old skewbald tobiano gelding, with stunning two blue eyes, he is very unique and eye catching.
I have been the proud owner 3.5 years . We have had a few lows which has set us back but some amazing highs.
We compete all disciplines, show jumping, dressage and unaffiliated eventing. We also compete for our local riding club Taunton and District and have represented them at national level two years running.

What’s your greatest equestrian achievement so far?
Leading on from representing my riding club, my greatest equestrian achievement has got to be coming 9th in the country last year at the British Riding Club National Championships with my show jumping team mates.

What’s your ultimate equestrian dream?
My ultimate equestrian dream has got to be riding round Badminton grassroots or winning a national title.

Care to share a funny equestrian story?

I lack in this department but I think the funniest story has got to be when I was younger, I was doing gymkhana games with my sister leading me, she fell over and the pony stopped went down for grass and I slid off down the neck of the pony.

Best bit of riding advice you’ve been given
Worry about your own score, don’t compare it to others as you’re only really completing against yourself.

Favourite equestrian brands-
I work with the following brands…

My favourite equestrian brand has got to be Hiho Silver. The gorgeous equestrian jewellery you can literally wear it from yard to out for dinner. Some real timeless classics such as the cherry roller bangle.

3 Donkeys coveralls are complete life savers for competition wear, keeping everything clean and tidy. I recently was honoured to help launch the Dartmoor coveralls which are waterproof and rideable coveralls.

eGlove are fabulous, they sell riding gloves which you can use your mobile phone or touch your smart watch. They come in a huge range of colour and styles.

Albion, I’m lucky both my saddles are Albion but their tack cleaner is a game changer. It really is incredible stuff the results are amazing.

I’m not linked to these brands…

Cool Horse Socks, are brilliant for all your long socks needs. Any colour and pretty much any pattern and super comfy and breathable.

Honest Riders, I have a few t-shirts and jumpers and I just love the slogans and the fact that Zoe is so amazing with making everything as  sustainable as she can.

One thing we might not know about you?
I am a precision engineer for a living. I studied as an Apprentice and have been qualified for 2 years now. There aren’t many women in the industry on shop floor.

Do you have anything you deem as ‘lucky’ when you ride/compete?
I have a pair of thread bare socks my late grandma gave to me which I wear under my long socks. They are a pale blue, not purple, which might be a bit of shock for some.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals when you compete? How did this start?

I never ever compete in brand-new things. It’s got have been trained in or ridden in before a competition, sounds slightly silly but when I have ridden in brand new items I have fallen off. So when I was given my new Hiho Silver stock pin, I hacked round the village with my stock on just to wear it in the week before our dressage competition!

If you could have dinner with any rider/equestrian, who would that be?
I would say Gemma Tattersall not only is an amazing rider, and continues to produce incredible horses. Not only that, we have the same name and both love purple.

If you could ride any horse in the world – past or present – who would it be?

I would say Ben Hobday Mr Mulry as that V8 cob is something else. I think he would be incredible to take him eventing.

Why did you join Social Supercharge: Riders?
I was kindly gifted the course by Rhea as a test rider. It couldn’t have come at a better time as going from riding and competing regularly, to both me and my horse having time off due to a nasty fall for both me and Con, I was left with no usual content. I found competition photos and training photos were my go to images to use, but the course taught me that there is far more than that.

What’s the best thing about the course?

The best thing for me about the course is it teaches you to document rather than create. Things you do normally looking after your horse or using regular products. Rather than taking ages to try put things together to try get some content together. It’s all under your nose, you just have to be creative in how you want to share it. The course has given me the confidence to have a go at IGTVs and regular stories of what I’m doing, or even a spot of vlogging. It certainly gave me a little kick up the bum with my blogging too, so much so I now have my own website.

Tell us all the places where we can find you 

You can find me on Instagram and Twitter at  @gemeventing
https://www.instagram.com/gemeventing/?hl=en

My website is
https://www.gemeventing.com/

Fancy becoming a Social Supercharge: Rider?

If you’re an equestrian, whether you’re an eventer, showjumper, dressage rider, happy hacker… or whether you keep horses and want to share what you’re doing with them on social media, this is the course for you. Social Supercharge: Riders has been created to help riders promote themselves and what they’re doing better on social media, to help it attract what they want. For professional riders, this might be owners and sponsors, for others it might be brand ambassadorships, or maybe growing an engaged following to share your story with.

Social Supercharge: Riders is a digital course broken into three main sections with a bonus interviews section, a free Facebook group, exclusive discounts and also the opportunity to be part of the NFU Countryside Equestrian Review panel that I run.

To find out more about the course, all the information is here. And you can sign up for a free preview here, to see what it’s all about!

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The social media course for riders – Social Supercharge: Riders

Social Supercharge: Riders the social media course for ridersFor someone who writes press releases for brands without too much stress of worry, you’d be amazed at the gremlins that cropped up when I decided to write the one below, all about my social media course for riders, Social Supercharge: Riders!

While social media and content marketing are definitely key marketing strategies for me, I really do still believe in the power for the press release. Not just for in print publications (actually, nowadays, less and less for this), but because through sending out a press release to a list of contacts you’ve nurtured, you’re spreading the word. You never know where these press releases can lead you. And I’ve seen time and again the amazing and long reaching benefits they have. So who was I to hide the fact that I’m really flipping proud of my social media course for riders – Social Supercharge: Riders. And also, I’m such an advocate of doing the work and not just preaching at people (mainly because I have no time for people who talk a good game but do very little else!). I do do the work for my clients every single day. But when it comes to my own stuff? That’s an area I’m working on…so here goes! This is the actual press release I sent out about the course. I should say press releases should be written in the third person – I haven’t gone weird on you…

Social Supercharge: Riders digital course launches to help riders improve their social media and promote themselves better

Renowned social media expert, Rhea Freeman, has downloaded her digital knowledge into an online course which will help riders improve their social media and promote themselves better to owners, sponsors and potential business partnerships.

In it Rhea talks riders through a range of content ideas before looking at how to capture this content, and how to ‘supercharge’ their social media growth further. In addition, it also looks at the opportunities that growing an engaged social media following can hold.

“I’ve worked with riders through the brands I work with for years, and latterly on a one to one basis with riders too,” said Rhea. “Social media is an essential part of any brand’s marketing, whether they’re a rider or a small business, but knowing what to create, how to get it out there… and how to stop it taking over your life, can be challenging. This digital course pulls all this together into one, and also has a Facebook group to offer course participants further support. I know how valuable this peer support can be as my 1700+ member Small & Supercharged Facebook group (which was created to support small equestrian and country businesses and brands) is such a supportive place. The group creates genuine business and life value for people, and I’m confident this will happen for riders too.”

“The course is completely digital and can be completed anywhere there’s internet connection. I understand the time demands on riders, so I’ve made the course as user friendly as possible and also something people can work through at their own pace. The response from participants so far has been amazing. As a launch offer, the first 20 spaces are being offered at an introductory rate of £99, and that will be increasing after these spaces have been filled.”

Testimonials have already started coming in and the first cohort members are already seeing results.

“I really look forward to sitting down with it and, to be honest, I don’t want it to end,” said Sarah Elebert of Sarah Elebert Eventing. “Within days of implementing just a few of the ideas, I had two brands that I already use and love wanting to work with me. Who knows where that could go. I am over the moon.”

“I have an idea for my first Instagram TV inspired by the course,” said Gemma Gilbert, also known as Gem Eventing. “The course has really helped with giving me a boost to do more things that I wouldn’t have done before as I wouldn’t have been as confident to try.”

 

And that’s that! I obviously included all my contact details (because they’re kind of key!), but you’re already here so you know that – but here’s the link to the course, and you can email me here if you have any questions! Enjoy!

Five social media posts all equestrians can use this week

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Why riders need social media

why riders need social media

Are you a rider? Do you use social media? Are you not sure if you even need social media at all? In this episode of the Small & Supercharged Podcast, I talk all about why riders need social media, how they can start, develop, and really capitalise on the opportunities it holds.

You ready?!

Why riders need social media

Just because it’s fun to be random, I start this podcast by actually explaining why riders don’t need social media. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my mind. See, if a rider just wants to enjoy their horse and has no ambitions of creating a community, working with brands or anything else, they don’t need it. And that’s completely fine. However, if they want any of the above and a whole lot more, they do. Actually, I really think it’s an essential if a rider is hoping to attract sponsorships, brand ambassadorships, and any of the other opportunities that the internet can bring.

So it’s all about social media?

Yes and no. Actually, having a website is really important too. I’ve said it before and I will likely say it every few weeks (and any time we talk about social media or websites) that although social media is absolutely insane, we don’t own it. And if we don’t own it and can’t therefore control it, it’s a risky place to put all your eggs, isn’t it?

The beauty of websites nowadays is that they can cost you very very little; in fact, some are free. I use WordPress for my website (and have done for a very long time), but there are plenty of other platforms too – just see what works for you. With WordPress you can use free themes (like website templates) to get started and can either have it for free (when .wordpress is included in your website address) or pay a few pounds a month for hosting (Ray gave some great advice on low cost web hosting in this podcast). Even if you only update it every so often, you can still have widgets that show your Instagram feed (for example) and provide people with more information about your horses and team. Don’t see it as ‘something else to maintain’, see it as you stables on the worldwide web!

Now back to the subject…

One of the key things for me is that if riders want to work with brands, they need to have some form of social media. In today’s world, sponsorships and ambassadorships aren’t just decided by whether or not you’re likely to go to the Olympics, there’s far more going on. Riders with large, engaged followings who work hard can have a lot more value to a brand than a world class athlete that doesn’t. Now a world class rider might have more clout if terms of influence, but if they’re not using their social media properly, they won’t be putting this information out. If you don’t have the credentials in terms of performance, you can excel in other ways, like this.

When brands assess riders and influencers, they look at many factors. The ones I work with go to social media very very quickly. Lots of factors are assessed, but if a rider is absent from the big platforms then it’s not the best start.

What can riders put on social media?

As I mention in the podcast, this episode is ‘sponsored’ by my new online course called Social Supercharge: Riders. In this course I go into lots of content ideas that I know will help you, but I share a couple on the podcast too. One biggy is behind the scenes. Because while it’s nice to know how a rider does at a competition, anyone could find that out by looking on the right website. What you have is the feelings connected to that achievement, how the horse went, how you feel this aligns with a goal, etc etc. and I talk about that a lot in the podcast too!

So there you have it – why riders need social media in podcast form. If you enjoyed this episode (and I’m kind of hoping you did!) you can find out more about the Social Supercharge: Riders digital course here. And if you join, make sure you come on over and join the supporting Facebook group too!

Read the full transcript to this episode here!

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