A booking platform for equestrian holidays and experiences, the first of its kind
Founder’s/Owner’s story and what motivated them to start the business:
Company Founder Tauseef Qadri has been travelling all his life. His early, formative years were in Saudi Arabia, and he has been taking in the sunny climes of Dubai, Portugal, Singapore, and the USA for most of his life. He now resides in Warwick.
“I thought I should be doing something for the horse world because of my love for it. I have a passion for horses which spans playing chukkas before work in Singapore to touring some of the world’s iconic centres of classical riding. I thought to myself that there was no real booking platform or technological access to horse businesses. I was in a position to build a booking platform and so I went ahead and did it.
The challenges the business/market is facing:
Horse businesses are good at working in
the business but not always very good at working on the business. In most cases there is a lack of technology, access and discovery. They don’t have many gateway options on their website, they don’t have SEO. They are running their businesses inefficiently from that point of view, so they have their backs to the wall when it comes to keeping horses alive, feeding them, and then getting people through the gates to access their services. This is where Cavago can help.
There’s no getting away from it, technology is now an essential part of the equestrian industry. From making online entries to using video clips to choose your next horse, we’re never far away from our phone or tablet, even in the stable yard. Yet equestrian businesses are missing a trick in getting the most out of technology. The challenge for the industry is to provide access, by creating a route to discovery and a user-friendly way to go online and book. Many equestrian businesses build a website and then do nothing with it. If a site is not physically interactive, it is not tracking on with search engines and can be a waste of money. A postgraduate in artificial intelligence from MIT, I have extensive experience in business including equestrian real estate. I have now turned my attention to developing this digitalised booking and administration system for equestrian facilities.
Even for businesses offering services to more experienced riders, digitalisation could offer additional flexibility and convenience to both parties. Managing cashflow is always a challenge, but a subscription module allows the booking to be charged to the client’s card for regular lessons or clinics for example, avoiding the need to handle cash or cards on the day. The use of an app means that both business and client can check the details of the booking at the swipe of a screen, with notes and details (eg provision of bedding etc for a stayover clinic or choice of instructor) to hand.
Even businesses that consider themselves to be IT-savvy can benefit as Cavago’s tech allows them to be discoverable and accessible digitally.
The opportunities the business/market is facing:
By empowering equestrian businesses, we are in fact improving rural/equestrian economics and weaving sustainability in the foundations of what we do at Cavago. The platform is being piloted for UK consumers first before being rolled out to other countries.
We want business to be part of the community – essentially the mission is to bring the entire equestrian community and horse lovers onto a single platform.
The UK alone has nearly a million horses and 374,000 horse-owning households. But you really don’t know where to experience a ride or the myriad of different disciplines and the hundreds of different breeds. That puts off a lot of people. There are 27 million people in the UK with an interest in horses but only 4.5 million will get on a horse each year. So, there’s a big gap and I think that’s to do with discovery and access. So I collaborated all my experiences together into a platform that’s akin to booking.com or Airbnb.”
More about Cavago:
Cavago is the first of its kind, a revolutionary online web and app booking platform for equestrian experiences and holidays. It launched in early 2022 and has been quickly attracting hosts, such as riding holiday centres and facilities, all over the world.
With the help of Cavago, an equestrian can search and book incredible experiences anywhere, anytime. Hosts from renowned properties have been handpicked by the Cavago team to enable easy access to likeminded equestrians who want to experience horse riding holidays, horse clinics, horseback trail rides, equine exhibitions, and much more. Enabling access to the entire breadth of the horse world, they have hosts at 250 horse facilities across the globe, spanning more than 500 breeds and over 120 different equestrian experiences.
Cavago’s mission is to connect horse lovers globally. Professionals and beginners alike, an amazing opportunity awaits. Whether you want to travel across the globe or seek an equestrian experience in your immediate vicinity, it’s simple. This time don’t Google it, think outside the box. Just search, book, and pay on the Cavago app. It’s a one stop shop for all your equestrian adventures! This needn’t be the items from your ‘bucket list’, but it can be. Perhaps you’d like to ride on the same beaches as Madonna in Portugal? Or be taught on grand prix dressage school masters under the supervision of an Olympic rider? If you’re feeling brave you might like to play polo at dream destination ‘Estancia Vik’ in Uruguay.
Have you ever Imagined riding a beautiful Arabian horse on a private beach, with the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai, as the backdrop? There is even Horseback Falconry available in Southern England – who needs to go to Mongolia to experience this wonder when you can go to Devon? The opportunities are endless. If you can imagine it, it can be done with the help of Cavago.
As horse people themselves, Cavago are passionate about connecting equestrians, and inspiring people to try new things.
GP
The work of a family doctor includes a wide range of clinical diversity, which requires extensive knowledge and erudition from a specialist. However, I believe that the most important thing for a family doctor is to be human because the cooperation and understanding between the doctor and the patient are crucial in ensuring successful health care. On my days off, I love being in nature. Since childhood, I have been passionate about playing chess and tennis. Whenever I have time off, I enjoy traveling around the world.
