Two 60-Year Old Women “Stirrup” New Business

by Melissa Jacobs

Horses and cocktails? Yes, please. That’s the concept behind Copper Pony, a new business launched by Joann Fisher and Carolyn Dunkel, two Chester County women with deep ties to the local equestrian community and hospitality business.

Copper Pony is their beautiful, aptly-named mobile bar that – with top-notch bartender service and a menu of carefully-curated alcohol – can be hired for parties and other events. Once a well-used horse trailer, Copper Pony was transformed into a party bar, complete with sinks, an ice chest and cooler, a refrigerated system for kegs, and an electrical hook-up.

If owning a mobile bar seems like an unusual career move for two women who just turned 60 years old … Dunkel and Fisher are okay with that. “We are first-time business owners and, while being entrepreneurs is not easy, we are loving the challenge,” Dunkel said. “We aren’t fading at all. We’re here and love what we are doing.”

Renovating the trailer was no easy feat, but Dunkel and Fisher wanted something authentic. “The trailer is 30 years old and had accumulated a lot of horse … debris,” Dunkel said with a laugh. “We researched what we wanted the finished design to look like, and found a craftsman in Carlisle, PA who could marry our ideas with the existing horse trailer.”

The finished product glows thanks to a tin ceiling with brushed copper accents and a Corian counter, plus shelves and a door made from salvaged wood. A  200-year old copper pot that holds wine and beer bottles completes the rustic, vintage look.

Copper Pony launched in August and has already been at private events at Overbrook Golf Club in Villanova and Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern. Dunkel taught at Thorncroft for about 20 years. “I got certified as a therapeutic instructor many years ago and worked at Thorncroft with veterans and kids with disabilities,” she said.

Fisher worked in the hospitality industry for years. “We are very different in the strengths we bring to the business,” Dunkel said. “She is the cocktail creator. I basically just drink wine.”

The co-owners, who both live in West Chester, met through their kids’ sports activities. “Now, with Copper Pony, we have a new thing to do together on the weekends,” Dunkel said.

For more information, visit https://copperponypa.com/.

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