EQUILINK: The Digital Network for the Modern Rider

The equestrian world is steeped in tradition, but when it comes to the business side of the industry, "traditional" often translates to scheduling chaos, fragmented networks, and endless spreadsheets.

We heard from Alexia Mercier-Lafond, Founder & CEO of EquiLink, to discuss her journey from Team Canada’s support staff to launching a platform that is streamlining how riders and mobile service professionals connect globally. Plus, she gave us a sneak peek at "Noa," the WhatsApp-native AI booking agent set to change the game.

From Team Canada to Rural Germany: The Backstory

Q: Where are you based, and what is your background in horses?

Alexia: I’m originally Canadian, but I am currently based on a farm in rural Germany (NRW), where I train my mare, Noa. Horses have always been my life—I’ve been riding competitively for over 20 years with a heavy focus on dressage, and I hold a German trainer’s license with national team aspirations.

Before founding EquiLink, I was part of Team Canada’s support staff at the 2022 World Equestrian Games (WEG). That experience was an eye-opener. It gave me a very clear view of how much of the elite equestrian world still runs entirely on phone calls and spreadsheets.

Fragmented Networks & Revenue Leakage

Q: What specific challenges is EquiLink trying to solve?

Alexia: The equestrian industry is extraordinarily fragmented. If you're a rider—especially one traveling to shows or moving to a new region—there is no reliable, centralized way to discover and book vital service professionals like farriers, physios, vets, or saddle fitters. It is heavily reliant on word-of-mouth.

On the flip side, these incredible service providers are managing their entire businesses through disorganized texts and late-night phone calls. That leads to scheduling chaos and revenue leakage. EquiLink digitizes that entire workflow for both sides.

The Core Problem: Riders can't find trusted professionals when they travel, and providers are losing revenue to scheduling chaos. EquiLink bridges that gap.

The EquiLink platform is designed to connect riders and mobile service professionals globally.

Global Growth, Built Organically

Q: Your app launched in July 2025. Where is it being used, and who is the core community?

Alexia: We are live on both the App Store and Google Play, and the response has been incredible. We already have 500+ users and 100+ businesses across 14 countries, predominantly in Europe and North America. What I’m most proud of is that this growth has been 100% organic—we haven't spent a dime on paid acquisition.

While our footprint is global, our first focused Go-To-Market (GTM) push is launching in the DACH/Benelux region and the Florida show circuits. These areas have the highest density of competitive riders and service professionals.

Inside the Platform: Features & Revenue

Q: Walk us through the top features and how the business model works.

Alexia: The platform is built to serve both sides of the market equally.

• For Riders: Seamless service discovery and frictionless booking for mobile equestrian professionals.

• For Providers: Robust scheduling, calendar management, dedicated business profiles, and integrated payments.

Our revenue model is a hybrid approach designed to scale with a business's growth. We charge a percentage take rate on transactions for businesses on our free tier (8% for transactions under $500, and 5% for those over). For power users, we offer a paid subscription tier at $25–$50/month, which drops the transaction fee to a flat 4%.

The EquiLink app is live on both the App Store and Google Play.

Overcoming Tech Skepticism with AI

Q: Equestrians can be traditionalists. Are you seeing resistance to tech adoption, and how are you handling it?

Alexia: There’s some healthy skepticism. The industry has seen a lot of tech tools come and go that simply didn’t understand the unique culture or day-to-day workflow of a barn. That builds caution among users.

But we are building the ultimate antidote to that friction: Noa, our WhatsApp-native AI booking agent.

Instead of asking a busy farrier or an exhausted rider to download a new app and learn a complex system, we are meeting them exactly where they already live: WhatsApp.

Sneak Peek: Meet "Noa," Your AI Booking Agent

Q: Tell us more about how you’ve implemented AI into the platform.

Alexia: Noa is our primary AI investment, and she’s currently in development. The architecture is built around a specialized conversational flow that deeply understands the equestrian context.

[Rider Texts Noa on WhatsApp]

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[AI Extracts: Discipline, Location, Timing, Horse Specifics]

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[Matches against EquiLink Provider Network]

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[Coordinates & Confirms Booking End-to-End]

It’s designed to feel like texting a knowledgeable friend who actually knows the industry, not a generic chatbot. To accelerate this build-out and aggressively push our GTM strategy, we are currently raising a pre-seed round.

Moving Forward: Community-First Marketing

Q: What does your marketing look like moving forward?

Alexia: Our primary channel will always be our organic community. Word of mouth within the sport has driven our entire user base so far, and we want to honor that.

On the content side, we love celebrating our users, so we regularly run rider and provider spotlights on Instagram. Simultaneously, we're building out a dedicated presence on LinkedIn and Substack targeted at industry operators, partners, and investors who want to see this massive industry finally get the modern infrastructure it deserves.

To learn more, browse providers, or list your equestrian business, visit www.equilinkapp.com.