Horsewomen In Business "Horsewomen need to have a means to support their horse habits" By Nancy Brannon Horsewomen need to have a means to support their horse habits, so what better way than have your own business selling horse-related items? Meet the lady who makes and sells Soapie Ponies: Ellen Ingram. Soapie Ponies are manufactured and sold wholesale to tack stores and other gift shops across the country through Ellen’s business, Glycerin Gardens. From her beginnings with Soapie Ponies, Ellen expanded her product lines and created a small Internet retail business, www.CarriageAndPlowGifts.com, which sells a variety of “horsey” items, many with carriage driving themes. Ellen’s story of her relationship with horses is full of twists and turns and unimagined networks. “You never know where getting into horses will take you,” she said. It all started when she was working at the State Prison. A co-worker there, the head of maintenance, had horses and allowed her to ride some of his. Her “prison friend” eventually “indefinitely loaned” her one of his horses. So she finally had her own first horse at age 23, at the same time she went back to school at UT Martin to major in Animal Science. At Martin she found a mentor who guided her in the care and training of horses. Ellen was the first member of her family to own a horse, and she named the mare Secret because she didn’t want to tell any of her family that she had a horse. She got Secret as a 2-year-old and kept the mare until she died at age 23. She still has Secret’s 22-year-old daughter. Ellen mostly rode Secret on trail rides, going to the Ozark Mountain Trail Ride and Bucksnort Trail Ride. In 1991 Ellen started riding Secret’s daughter in endurance rides. She jumped a little and had an interest in dressage, but due to a severe back injury she incurred riding a borrowed 2-year-old, Ellen gradually stopped riding. She couldn’t give up horses entirely, so she got into carriage driving and had an Amish-built Doctor’s Buggy. Carriages are now her main interest in horse sports. “The Cannon Carriage Classic in Woodbury, Tennessee was the first show I competed in,” Ellen said. Ellen has had a variety of experiences with animals, more than just horses. She once worked at a Thoroughbred farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has worked on a hog farm and milked cows. She worked at Almadale Farms, a Racing Quarter Horse farm that once existed on Houston Levee Road in Collierville. Now that farm, race track and all, is in housing subdivisions. She worked with her father in the cotton business on Front Street for 12 years. Her relationship with Soapie Ponies started in 2001 with a trip to Seattle, Washington, where Soapie Ponies was headquartered. At that time, Ellen was interested in starting a business as a vendor at carriage shows, but the owner of Soapie Ponies wanted to sell her business. A year later, Ellen bought Soapie Ponies and moved the business to Memphis. At first, she worked out of her house for a while, and then rented commercial space for the soap shop in Brunswick. “The woman who originally owned Soapie Ponies retired, sold her farm, and moved to Florida, and competes in driving events,” Ellen said. “Her daughter was National Junior Champion one year in Combined Training.” In 2006 Ellen started Carriage and Plow Gifts and was traveling to carriage shows as a vendor. She carried everything wrapped up in the back of her pickup truck. As her lines of merchandise grew, she got a topper for her truck. She now travels with a pop-up camper. Ellen likes the fact that this business gives her the opportunity to travel. She mostly goes to combined driving events (CDE’s), some pleasure driving shows, plus a few dressage shows. She has traveled to Arizona, Texas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida; the Iron Horse CDE in Illinois, and the National Drive at the Kentucky Horse Park. She enjoys the lifestyle; “It’s so much fun!” she said. “I get to talk horses with a lot of people and getting to travel allows me to see many different parts of this country, some that I haven’t seen.” She usually takes one or two dogs with her for companionship. She has a Border Collie, “Skye,” and a Labrador-Border Collie mix, “Lilly.” “That one was a stray who came to my shop in 2004 and now is my constant companion.” She used to have a “game little guy,” a long-haired Chihuahua who traveled with her. “I just thoroughly enjoy my business!” Ellen said. A lot of her merchandise has carriage driving themes. For example, the Post-It-Note holder design is modeled from a photo of Kathryn Foster driving her horse “Raqui” (pronounced “rocky”). She works at finding unique items for carriage driving enthusiasts, but most of her merchandise can be appreciated by any horse person. Glycerin Gardens, home of the Original Soapie Ponies, is her main business and source of income. Soapie Ponies and Soapie Critters have been around since 1994 and are made from the best vegetable-based glycerin soap. Soapie Ponies are bars of clear glycerin soap with a tiny horse model inside. The same kinds of model horses found inside the Soapie Ponies are also used to make zipper pulls and keychains. Most any other animal can be found in the bars of Soapie Critters. Her soaps also include Tree Tea Leather Soap for cleaning tack. “It is anti-mold, anti-fungal, and leaves your tack soft and supple,” she explained. For more information about Ellen’s merchandise and Soapie Ponies, call toll free 888-840-7503 or visit: http://www.carriageandplowgifts.com and http://www.glyceringardens.com.