By creating and selling gift baskets, a young girl in Alberta is raising funds to buy her first horse. Alexia Pilat launched Pink Hoof Creations by Alexia with a goal to raise $1,000 towards the purchase.
The 12-year-old Pilat has social media accounts set up for her business to takes orders and make individual baskets that suit each customer’s needs and wants. She’s also collaborating with other youth entrepreneurs to have their creations including in the baskets.
Alexia puts the finishing touches on a basket.
“Let’s say somebody wants a horse-themed basket, we’ll ask them questions like what your favourite colour is, who the basket is for, and if you have any dislikes,” Pilat tells Lakeland Today. “Then we will go out and find those types of things, find a nice basket to put everything in and wrap it up nicely.”
The young horse lover, who says she first fell in love with horses at the age of four at her sister’s birthday party, even got creative to find the start-up money for Pink Hoof – she used savings from her babysitting and dogwalking gigs.
Pilat also told Lakeland Today that she is part of the Lakeland Long Riders, a 4-H club that has been a major influence in her horse education. As part of this program, she attends clinics and camps and does barn work in exchange for spending time with horses.
“This year is my third year with the Long Riders . . . I like that we get to learn all different kinds of things and I like that you get to learn really good horsemanship,” Pilat told the reporter.
She admits she hasn’t decided on where she’d board her horse, but as for the breed and colour, her mind is settled. “I’m really into barrel racing right now. The breed that I think would be a good fit for me would be a Quarter Horse – a Palomino Quarter Horse, because those are my favourite,” she says. “If it was a Palomino, I would name it Pickles.”
With the holidays just around the corner, we hope Pilat makes her gift horse dreams come true!
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