Why HayNet exists

Horses are hard. Make running a sustainable business easy.

Our mission is to support the long-term success of riding and training programs by building the tools necessary to run a profitable and sustainable business.

The cycle

The sport has a math problem, and it's compounding

This isn't a temporary spike. It's a squeeze that's reshaping not just who can afford to stay in the game, but what the game becomes.

Many barn owners can't see their numbers clearly
Boarding, lessons, shows, feed, staff, a horse that needs the vet and farrier. When the whole picture lives in a notebook and a bank balance, it is easy to spend more than you make without noticing.
So prices rise and programs get cut without knowing the true cost
Raising prices isn't the problem; raising them blind is. Cutting a program isn't wrong; cutting it without knowing what it really costs and returns is. Those decisions ripple through purchase prices, show fees and everything downstream. The result: an overall reduction in the number of clients willing to do more or participate at all.
Riding programs are the front door, and the door is closing
Riding programs with available horses for lessons and lease are where future riders and professionals get their start. When they go, the sport asks newcomers to make a substantial investment before they even know if they love riding. The opportunity for new talent, investment and market growth dies before it ever begins.
You can't manage what you don't measure. HayNet measures it precisely.
From a notebook and a bank balance to numbers you can trust. When you can see exactly where you stand, you make informed decisions instead of hard guesses. That is the whole point of HayNet, and it is why the business side and the barn side live in one place and work together in harmony.

The horse industry's heritage is worth protecting. Modern business practices are how we protect it.

It's time to upgrade from manual spreadsheets and notebooks to a system that never forgets an entry.

What we're doing about it

Four commitments

Tools that make sense and just work

Purpose built tools that seamlessly work together to actually reduce burden and provide real financial insight, rather than simply claiming to.

Simple pricing that you control

No monthly subscription, just a small platform fee on invoices. You control if you want to build all or part of the fee into your pricing or transparently pass it on to your clients, allowing the tools to reach the programs the sport depends on.

Education from real data and real numbers

Financial projections and metrics, precise historical data, and accurate bookkeeping records are all there. Breakeven calculators, pricing guidance and benchmarks are on the roadmap. Built for equestrian businesses, not generic small business.

Always striving to provide the very best

Regular updates and customer support that buck the industry standard. Built correctly from the ground up by veteran software engineers who also happen to be horse people. Real native apps that actually work in the barn and fast reliable support whenever you want it.

Meet the Team

Veteran software engineers who also happen to be horse people.

HayNet is built by people who have spent their careers shipping software and who also ride, board and compete. That is why the features in HayNet just feel so right.

Founders

Founded in 2018 by riders who write code

Brenda Cook

Founder · CEO

Brenda is a software engineer with over a decade of professional experience in the industry, specializing in Android software development and having worked for multiple successful startups and big companies. Prior to leaving to focus on HayNet, Brenda worked at startups such as Instacart and ed tech company Seesaw Learning. She also had the opportunity to work for large public companies including Disney Streaming Services seeing through the entire development lifecycle from concept to product launch of the Disney+ app on TV and Android platforms. She has a passion for horses and has been riding since she was two years old, riding Western and trail. After a sixteen year hiatus from horses, she came back to the sport mid 2017, this time riding English and wanting to learn how to jump. She currently rides and competes her Belgian warmblood named "Mo".

Chris Jenkins

Founder · CTO

Chris is a software engineer with over a decade of professional experience in the industry, focusing on Mobile and Platform engineering. He enjoys the creativity and difficult problems that come with being at startups and has worked for many over the years. Chris has always had a passion for all things tech and for building things in general, both in the physical world and in the digital world. An open source contributor, creative problem solving is what he does best and he loves a good challenge. Being a "serial startup" guy, after having contributed to multiple successful startups, he finally decided to create his own. A native of England, Chris moved to Colorado in 2017 and has been enjoying the mountains ever since.

Team

Expertise beyond the code

Image coming soon

Lauren Gay

Consulting CPA and Auditor

Lauren has worked in public accounting as an auditor and business accountant. She plays an important role at HayNet ensuring that our financial tools follow industry best practices, are easy to use, and are accounting ready.

Colleen Maersch

Marketing & Outreach Coordinator

Colleen is a Finance major at Arizona State University, graduating in 2027. She has worked in ERP implementation and consulting, and builds AI tool stacks that improve business processes across a variety of industries. She has been showing on the A circuit for over 10 years across the United States and loves helping develop young horses. Originally from Carmel, Indiana, she now lives in Colorado with her new mare, Farfalla.

Start building a better future today.

The heritage is worth protecting. Modern business practices are how we can achieve it.

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