Horse people are the same the world over - they all love to have new and exciting gear to look at and buy!

Ireland is now being treated to a great new range - The William Funnell Range is now available in 80 of Ireland's 100 equestrian outlets and it has peaked our interest - you may well ask why we would be interested?!

Our interest came from the excitement and enthusiasm of the Irish connection - Helena Walsh.

When we visited Helena at her warehouse in County Wicklow her excitement over her range of gear for horses, riders and the yard was infectious - and with good reason! The William Funnell Range is bright, innovative and totally affordable without any compromise on quality.

Helena worked in the IT industry for many years combining this with her horses and after being diagnosed with cancer (which she has now been given the all clear on), she decided that she needed to be doing something else with her life. During the time Helena was looking for something, Paul Darragh talked of doing a book on his life and that perhaps Helena might be interested in being involved. Sadly Paul passed away just months after this discussion took place and so it never happened.

It was around this time that Helena met up with Andrew Laver, who began The William Funnell Range with William and he was looking for a distributor in Ireland - this excited Helena and her partner, Dave Darragh and 12 months ago they brought The William Funnell Range to Ireland.

Helena has a working knowledge of what is needed for riders and horses as she has her own showjumping horse - a 10 year old gelding, Royston Valentino who was sourced for her by Paul Darragh.

Helena and Royston Valentino - pictured left - are based at Boswell Equestrian Centre and this would be the best dressed horse and rider combination around.

Originally from Galway, Helena says she was "thrown up on ponies from a young age, as are most Irish kids" but then got into racing motor bikes and went away from the horses.

Helena has now been back in horses for some 15-20 years and has shown that she can be tough as well as organised as the Pocket Steward for the Main Arena at Dublin Horse Show for 12 years now.

This is a woman with boundless energy and this makes her the perfect person to distribute a great range of equestrian gear, which she will be adding to constantly.

Helena is also heavily involved with The Showjumpers Club in Ireland and she and Dave Darragh were involved in the instigating of the Guidam Spring Grand Prix Tour, which they sponsor as well as doing all the public relations work at no charge.

Perhaps being Pocket Steward at Dublin Horse Show also showed Helena just how little exciting new gear was available for horses and ponies. The thing which impressed Helena about The William Funnell Range was that William is not just lending his name to the products, he is heavily involved in the design of the range and he and Pippa test drive everything to ensure that a high standard is maintained for everything that carries the Funnell name.

The kids range is particularly exciting as it is "quality cute" - the jodhpurs are child sized versions of adult jodhpurs - pictured below - , complete with pockets - no elasticated waists here! And the colours include the popular pinks, blues and purples which all the girls are crazy about - add to the jodhpurs, the matching coloured jumping boots - pictured below right - and you have happy pint sized riders without any question of the quality of the gear.

Helena tells us that the William Funnell Range is for "people looking for quality without a Rolls Royce budget"

The everyday items are all so practically packaged as well - making them handy to store in the yard!

Elastics are the most irritating item in everyone's tack kit - they usually come in a plastic bag which almost always breaks when you are running late with your plaiting - never the right time to be looking for a container which will stand up to being thrown around the tack up!

The rugs in the range are another thing which excited us - everything from quality show throw rugs through to summer and winter paddock rugs, stable rugs and under rugs - they have it all and all are quality at affordable prices - no need for a second mortgage to outfit one child's pony or a team of showjumpers!

As Helena gets more feedback from the riders themselves she will be adding more and more to her range which benefits the customer looking for something to excite them!

Just recently Helena has been appointed agent for the John Partridge range of clothing - this is a range which was readily available in Ireland up to about 4 years ago but has been difficult to find since - no longer a problem!

Helena will be stocking the traditional range of wax jackets as well as the latest in fashion coats for those who like to spend time outdoors - hard to think about this as the sun shines on Ireland right now but it is nice to know that come the colder weather we can be warm and fashionable!

There is an old saying "give a busy person something to do and know it will be done" and this saying certainly applies to Helena - with boundless energy and innovative ideas there is no doubt that Irish horse folk will be treated to great new products from now on. If your saddlery doesn't have The William Funnell Range in stock for you to look at and compare quality and prices ask them to get onto it - seriously don't miss out on this gear!

We would like to thank Helena and Dave for a most enjoyable summer's day spent at their warehouse and at Boswell Equestrian Centre looking at their range of gear, both in the packet and on the horse!

Helena and Dave - pictured below - with Royston Valentino at Boswell Equestrian Centre in Ashford, County Wicklow