Kirstin Nicholson, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Leitchville local, Shaniah Dye, has been announced as a semi-finalist in the Small Business category of the 7News Young Achiever Awards. The 22-year-old is amongst eight other small business owners vying for a finalist positions, with the overall winner being announced at a gala dinner in April.

Shaniah was shocked about her placing, saying, “I am really proud of myself to get there. It’s a state-wide award so I was pretty excited that I got to that stage.”

When I called Shaniah, I was expecting to chat about her business and the award, but I discovered a backstory that needs to be told, and with Shaniah’s permission, it follows.

Her business, Blue Poppy Equines, was established in 2017 when Shaniah returned home from a short stint at university. She had fallen into a very deep depression and lost a lot of weight. She needed to make a choice between continuing her education, and her health and well-being. Her health came first.

“I came home and I was stuck in a bubble – I didn’t want to go out. I had a really bad mentality about putting myself out there after that experience,” said Shaniah. She proposed her business idea to her parents, who were supportive, but had their concerns that Shaniah might get stuck at home and become more confined than she already was. “I praise them immensely. With their support my business has grown. It pretty much came from me needing my little safety bubble, wanting to build my own confidence from myself and from horses which were healing me. I thought, what better thing to do than start my own business where I can work with the animals that I love the most and be able to talk to people who have similar hobbies, instead of going out to a workplace where I didn’t feel I could relate to people at that time. That was pretty much how Blue Poppy Equines started, it was my new opening into the world. I had to shut the old door and start fresh. That was how I wanted to start it and I haven’t looked back since. I truly have no regrets; I think it was the best decision I could have made for myself.”

The word, ‘depression’, put Shaniah into a negative world. “That word, just that one word, made me feel like I wasn’t good enough and that there was something wrong with me. It took me years to use that word, I thought it was something shameful. That was mainly because not many people openly talked about it with me when I was a young kid. If I heard about depression it was through a really bad story. Now, I’m proud of it. Yes, I’ve had depression, it is an evil monster, but the fact that I’ve come back, and I’ve come back stronger is just amazing to me. So, I would much rather go out and openly talk to you and other people about it so that others suffering with it can say, ‘hey, you know what? It doesn’t control my life. Look where Shaniah’s got with it, so anyone can do it.’ That’s what I’m trying to get across now instead of it just being that dark, gloomy subject that not many people wanted to talk about.”

Shaniah made halters and lead ropes to begin with and sold them in equine stores. A year in, she decided she would sell directly to the public. With queries about other products, jumps and cavalletti sets were added to the range. Everything is made by Shaniah at her home near Kow Swamp.

In 2019, horse training and clinics were added to the business, and with a dressage arena, round yard, obstacle course, cross country course, trail riding tracks and some agistment paddocks, her facilities are well stocked.

It was COVID-19 that saw the business expand in a different direction, but one that Shaniah had toyed with, having had discussions about equine therapy with Dolly’s Dream, a suicide prevention group. She had been wanting to expand in this direction, she just didn’t know how to implement it. Knowing that people were struggling with their mental health during COVID-19, she decided to use her business to help people. It was time to branch out – just earlier than expected. She did have her doubts though, as she explains. “I was on the fence about it, it’s a big thing. Helping other people, having time to myself and getting a good work-life balance were my big issues with it because of how high the demand was.

“I’ve actually found it has helped me too in being able to go out there and talk to people I can relate to. I’m more approachable in that manner too because I’m not just someone who’s coming in trying to make them feel better when I don’t have a clue how they actually feel. I can actually relate; I can open up about myself and what I’ve been through. Then I get a really good working relationship with them. So, COVID-19 was sort of that little bit of a push, an opportunity to get it out there in small amounts. Helping these people has been great for me.”

Shaniah is happy to trial this with just a few clients and will expand if she feels she can do it justice. She is exploring the possibility of getting her horses certified as therapy animals so they can visit aged care facilities.

Blue Poppy Equines is now running full time. Shaniah and her family are of course proud of her achievements and semi-finalist status.

“Mum was really excited by it and Dad was blown away by it, they are both super supportive. I think I made my nan cry when I told her, and my mum’s parents were super excited, there were hugs everywhere and a lot of excitement.”

In her fourth year of business and with family proud that she stuck with it despite her hardships, she is starting to see the benefits of the business, not just financially, but in being able to help people. “It’s showing that all of my hard work is paying off. We’re all just proud that everything is coming together for me now.”

Regardless of whether she progresses to the next round of the awards, Shaniah’s eyes are on her business and continuing to help others during their time of need. Since she has opened up about her depression and experience, she is seeing a change in people’s responses.

“Now people really understand, and they go, ‘actually, no, she just found herself the right track and opened herself back up to everything instead of keeping herself enclosed.’ So, I’ve really benefited myself, in that people actually really understand me now, rather than just thinking I was a bit stubborn and closed off from everyone.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 11 March 2021.