Bridgetown mum Nicola Bingham fulfills life-long dream of running equestrian shop with little one by her side

A gap in the Warren-Blackwood region for equestrian products has resulted in a life-long dream being fulfilled for the owner of a Bridgetown business.

Prestbury Park Saddlery owner Nicole Bingham started the store four years ago after growing tired of having to travel out of the region for discipline-specific horse gear, with her Hampton Street shopfront stocking various brands from across the UK, Europe and Australia.

The idea to start the tack shop was a “deep-down dream” for Ms Bingham, who migrated to Bridgetown from the UK 10 years ago with her husband.

Settling on an 4.4hectare property, she said living in Bridgetown was like the villages she grew up in as a child in the Cotswolds region in England.

Ms Bingham was an international groom for 15 years while living in the UK and has been riding horses since she around the same age her son is now, 18 months old.

“My mum was mega into horses before I could walk,” she said.

As a baby, Ms Bingham’s mum would sit her on the horse in front of her, cantering around the paddock.

“It’s in my blood,” she said.

While she was a professional horse rider, Ms Bingham in her early 20s decided to focus on a back-up plan.

“I went and started doing administration so that if I got hurt and I couldn’t do horses as my number one thing, I had something else to fall back on,” she said.

However, her passion for horses and equestrian sports and lifestyle never left her.

“It was always a little dream to have my own tack shop,” Ms Bingham said.

“Any equestrian that says they don’t want to own a tack shop is telling stories.”

When the store first started four years ago, Ms Bingham maintained a part-time job until she was ready to focus full-time on her new adventure.

Within weeks of handing in her resignation, she found out she was pregnant with her son Austin.

“Maybe that’s a bit of a happy coincidence—that was obviously meant to happen,” Ms Bingham said.

It ended up being the right move, with the business giving her the opportunity to spend time with her “little man” at the shop.

“It’s given me the flexibility to still be able to have my own business,” she said.

The shop has a creche neatly set up in a section of the shop for Austin, who enjoys visits from customers too.

Ms Bingham said little Austin thinks visitors are there to see him.

“When people come in, especially if they’ve got children, they gravitate to him, and they’re all playing,” she said.