There’s something about equines that inspires instant love. Ekin Ozlen, singer and owner of hair and skin care brand Keracell, loves horse riding. Owning and grooming horses has always been in her to-do list. She says her love for her equines is stress-busting.
She says: “When I’m with them, I become so focused that all other concerns I have in my life are wiped away, and I’m super-present in the moment. I can honestly say that’s the only time in my life I am so present.” She owns two horses, a mare and a gelding, both warm-blooded. She finds them the most fit breeds for show jumping as being a part of the thoroughbred, they have speed on their side. The two even made a debut in her music video, La Noche. She says she was surprised to witness them so well-behaved amid the equipment, lightning, sound, and especially people. At one time, she had to dance around the back of her gelding, Zoltaire, without a saddle. She says it’s a bond, where both the rider and the horse, trust each other implicitly.
Despite being an expensive and challenging profession, she is determined to support her kids and other youngsters to get involved with equines, as bonding with horses keeps young people sane and out of trouble, and helps in building compassion. Show jumping is not easy, apart from the required skills and talents, one needs to be brave and determined while pursuing it. Ekin says: “You have to have the connection. You cannot be narcissistic, and consider it’s all about you, as show jumping is really a partnership between the rider and the horse.”
Her grandfather opened the first riding club in Ankara, Turkey, where she was born. It’s also where her mother and father met, and a perfect love story rekindled around the horses. For Ekin, love for equines started when she was in grade three. She remembers the very first time she fell off a horse, which was a tiny pony named Tilly.
Knocking off from a pony made her feel upset, but she feels that she’d rather pay her trainer than a therapist! She finds the company of her horses therapeutic. Her dream, from when she was a young girl, was to own horses, and she worked hard to be able to achieve that. She still is working hard to fulfil her ambition of owning an equestrian estate.
Her horses, who have been with her for around 13 years, have the best training, supplements, groomers, everything that will keep them fit and far from injuries. They are like her children. Though she’s been featured in the Turkish equestrian magazine At Dunyasi and in other women’s magazines, including Allure, Elegant, and Beverly Hills Lifestyle Magazine, for her being surrounded by her horses, is the final success she wants.
