Migrant business: Anna Prins, Coonamble


Anna Prins spends her days ‘horsing around’ but as an equine osteopath, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Moving to the Orana from France, Ms Prins is loving her role treating animals around the region. 

“I travel around the Central West and Orana region to treat horses,” she explained. 

Equine osteotherapy is a kind of treatment designed to improve fluidity and movement in horses.

Ms Prins commenced in the career with a love of helping animals. 

“Horses are my passion, I’m also interested in health and fitness,” she said.

Initially coming to Australia to see the sights, Ms Prins loved it so much, she decided to make the move permanently.

“I came to Australia for a holiday and fell in love with the country and ended up staying,” she said. 

“I did two years of a working holiday visa, and then did a partner visa. I am currently waiting for my permanent visa.”

Ms Prins has made Coonamble her home and has been fortunate enough to start her own business - even though she initially didn’t know how far apart the towns were in rural Australia.

“I never realised how big the country was until I moved here and had to drive from one town to the other.

“My experience has been really good with the opportunity to start my own business. 

“I’ve had a great experience settling in Australia. Everyone has always been very welcoming and supportive. I felt at home very quickly.”

Her leisure time is spent horse riding with friends, attending social sporting events like the touch footy summer comp, mixed netball and following the local rugby games. Ms Prins is also bi-lingual, speaking both English and French.

She said the chance to migrate to a new country has been a valuable opportunity. 

Her advice to other migrants is to prepare early for each stage of the visa application process. 

“Make sure to get all the information you need before you start and maybe get someone to help you to get all the paperwork done.

“Get on top of it sooner rather than later so you don’t have the pressure of one visa ending before starting your new one.”

Ms Prins definitely plans to stay in the Orana region permanently and is looking forward to expanding her business in the future.

“There are plenty of horses around, so hopefully it will keep growing and I can keep my business going and growing. I like the idea of living in a country town that still gives you access to most services you need.

“I can’t wait for my permanent visa to come through and keep growing my business as an equine osteopath.”