I think whenever anyone moves, whether it be a home, business or stable, everyone comes to a certain point where you say, “Dear God, Where did I get all this stuff?”.

Fifty horses, five ponies, a donkey, saddles and bridles, tractor, manure spreader, washer, dryer, tables, office furniture, horse show equipment, wheelbarrows, feed tubs, salt block holders, trunks, picnic tables (yes, we have 10—and each must weigh 400 pounds), tools, stall cleaning stuff, bridle and saddle racks, pleasure driving carts, jog carts, jog harness, show harness, railroad ties, trail obstacles, a gator, winter blankets, a complete fly spray system, a tractor, wheelbarrows, dollies, tack trunks, and even more stuff that must be moved.

Don’t forget our camp supplies—for the past three years, the LEC has hosted entire summers of camp schedules.  Each week of the school break, along with Spring Break, Holiday Break and even Derby week-end saw us hosting a camp.  Western saddles (don’t forget cowboy camp!) along with their own “stirrup buddies” (p.s.  “stirrup buddies” are best invention ever to western instruction!), western pads, cinches, grooming equipment (about 40 grooming buckets), brushes, brushes, brushes, curry combs, curry combs, hoof picks, hoof picks, stirrup irons, peacock safety stirrups (for underprivileged camp), stirrup leathers, saddle pads—and don’t forget plastic totes so each child has their own for the week of camp to keep their own personal stuff in.  We lost count at 83 plastic totes.  Construction paper, scissors, glue, pens, pencils, stickers, tattoos, hot glue guns, stick horse remnants, ribbon, glitter, glitter glue, foam, the list goes on and on.  It must all go and then be stored somewhere.

Oh, have I mentioned the Drill Team Costumes?  Each year we take at least 20 kids to the state 4-H Drill Team competition.  Each team has a complete theme:  costumes and music.  We have been Little Mermaids, Lions and Cheetahs, Carmen Miranda (complete with cones of fruit on the helmets), and last year we had poodle costumes, Christmas elves and U of K Wildcats.  Boxes and boxes of costumes and props, again must be boxed up and stored somewhere?  Where?

You know when the cold weather hits, and you have to take 25 horses to the National Academy Finals, where the temperature can be 80 degrees in the day and 35 degrees at night (sorry for you folks up north, but for us down further South, 35 degrees is really cold)—and you simply can’t find enough winter blankets and sheets to bundle up all your freshly body clipped lesson horses?  Well, guess what during the moving process, we found all those blankets that we had been so diligently searching for.  The LEC could probably blanket and sheet every horse within the Kentuckiana area.  I swear we just threw away a bunch of old and tattered blankets and sheets just the year before.  Maybe we did, and under the cover of night, the old blankets jumped out of the dumpster and back into the store room.  Because I found them all right here in the storeroom.  Big blankets, little blankets, big sheets, little sheets, neck wraps, fly sheets, tail sets, pieces of tail sets, little bits of tail sets, cruppers, turn-out blankets, and two or three tubs full of bits of blankets, sheets and tail sets that we might need if there was ever a world wide shortage.

You know all those straps, little clasps, little fasteners, half a sheet that you saving to repair all the other torn sheets with.  Well, that’s if you ever get time or learn to sew or even purchase a commercial grade sewing machine.  That’s a lot of obstacles to overcome.  But maybe one day.

Then there’s the feed room (o.k. feed room/storeroom/utility room/tool room) which includes all these annoying Smart Pak containers, which they so helpfully send you—old supplements, medicines, ointments, unknown substances and goo’s.  Not so sure what most of it is or what it was, or what it was originally used for.  And in the feed room we’ve also collected tools, pieces of tools, bits of tools, remnants of tools—both large and small pieces of metal things.  Things with unknown purposes.  At first you start bundling all these tools and pieces up, but after several very heavy boxes and totes, eventually you just start tossing things.

Tossing things in the nearest dumpster, that’s what moving is all about.  Exactly when is the moment that you give up and are overwhelmed, and simply start tossing things, that’s when you know you moved!

Everything that once seemed so valuable, has been worthless junk.

If you’ve never moved your riding stable into another facility, let me tell you it is a whole lot of fun.

You just sit down and make lists and lists, then throw away some lists and make new lists.  You make phone calls by the hour, to coordinate horses moving, telephones moved and re-hooked up, trash delivery started, electric and water turned off and more electric and water changed into your name, dumpsters ordered at two locations, rent a “pod”, rent a U-Haul truck, get hay deliveries changed, try to coordinate exactly how much hay you will need until moving day (don’t want to move several tons of hay), reschedule grain deliveries (grain to new place while still feeding at the old location).

One of my favorite moving items is to try to get a hold of the Amish guy who built my run-in sheds and then coordinate with him and his schedule to move these run-in sheds.  This Amish guy has a phone which he only answers once a day, not after 5:00; and considering he starts work at 6:00 a.m.—building and moving run-in sheds and barns, it can take a couple of days for him to get back with you.  He’s moved them three times now, we’ve become quite close, watched his sons grow up—probably as close as you can be to an Amish guy and not be Amish.  And no I don’t think they’re going to be on the reality show.

Now you’ve got all of this planning done and then one of several things happen—(1) it rains, (2) the hay guy can’t find your new location (3) or the Amish guy’s gotta fix fence.  Most of the time when you move, you wait until you absolutely have to move—so there is a bit of a time schedule which needs to be followed. `

So back again to the list making.

After all the planning is done and hopefully follows the schedule, you realize two more things:  (1) you need a lot more people than you have (2) and dear God, where did you get all of this stuff?

Lesson riders fall basically into three categories:  the wonderful ones, the ones who can’t continue riding at your new facility (even if it is closer to their house), and those that will cancel work and move heaven and earth to help you with your move and “Do-Over”.  The wonderful ones keep on riding, even at your new location—they love you, your instructors, your horses.  The wonderful ones pay their bills, have children who follow directions, and listen to everything you say.

The ones who couldn’t possibly change their GPS system in their car, even though they have been riding with your program for two or three years, and you’ve basically dedicated your teaching career to their darling children, simply either tell you that they are no longer riding or have decided to move to another stable where, it is cheaper, closer, better lesson horses, they have a long lost cousin who rides there, or they simply don’t like you or your instructors (and maybe never did like you or your instructors and must send you a lengthy email discussing all the problems they’ve encountered with your program, how the new facility that they’ve chosen will basically solve all their problems, and they’re not sure why they even spent all this time with you over the years to begin with?).  Not that I’m bitter over all the changes with my program, I must simply remember that I’m in my “Do-Over”!  And in a “Do-Over” it is time to get rid of all these darling people.

Then there are the clients who, ask you months in advance of your move—can I help you move, I will risk losing my job, to help you move, even if I’ve had major surgery the week before the move, I can lift something.  These clients are your saving grace, your mental boost that you need during such a crazy time.  They repeatedly tell you how much they enjoy being a part of the barn, how much you have done for them with their riding and their horses.  How you are a big part of their family.

So make another list of who’s going to help move, who’s going to drive the U-Haul, who’s going to load horses, who’s going to tear apart the offices and lounge, who’s going to move picnic tables, who’s going to pick up lunch, who’s going to move railroad ties, who’s going to move, move, move and move.  So with the assistance of several strong employees and their strong friends—and a huge group of client volunteers we started the move.  Whew!

Thirty-six hours later, it was moved.  It might not be in the right location, but everything is out and at the new stable.  Now for the fun of organizing and unpacking.  Arrgggghhhhhh!

Next Blog article we will talk about “Dear God, where did you get all this stuff?”.

The Red Barn Arena is located immediately outside of Louisville, in the small town of Mount Washington, Kentucky.  Now the physical address is actually in Taylorsville, Kentucky—but it is much closer to Mount Washington than Taylorsville.  It is a giant red horse barn or equestrian facility, if you like better, which sits very attractively up on a hill.  The Red Barn is not only the name of this equestrian facility but it has also become a physical landmark for everyone in the area.

The Red Barn was built in 1997 by a local personality for his two daughters who loved barrel racing.  It was built to house their racing string as well as offer the barrel racing and speed community a facility to hold competitions and also practice during the winter months.  It has an indoor arena which is 110 feet wide by 200 feet long.  Which for us Saddlebred people is really big.  It has 31 stalls, a concession kitchen, men’s and women’s bathrooms (yeah!!!!),  second story office and lounge space, a picnic area, tack rooms, big outdoor lighted arena, tons of parking space, tie stall barn, two- story announcer’s booth,  a picnic/camp pavilion, and simply tons and tons of parking.

Unfortunately shortly after building the Red Barn Arena, the gentleman passed away, leaving the facility to the management of his two daughters.  So for several years, the facility was simply rented out to barrel racing organizations for competitions, rodeo functions, ranch horse competitions, and even dog and antique shows.  Considering that the facility was mainly in the hands of people who were simply leasing the facility for a day or two, it is in good shape and structurally sound—and simply has tons and tons of stuff to throw away.  And by stuff, I mean STUFF!  Simply dumpsters of STUFF!

Barrels, poles and all sorts of racing competition stuff, broken and good office furniture, concession stand stuff, farm equipment stuff, rodeo and barrel racing paperwork, more paperwork, some sort of hay trailer full of hay and stuff, stall equipment and stall cleaning stuff, stuff and more stuff had collected over the years.  Oh, and have I mentioned the pallets?  So many pallets you could elevate the entire facility.  So far, we have hauled out dumpsters of stuff, and there is even more to go.  Stuff is stuffed everywhere—in closets, nooks, buildings, sheds, behind buildings, behind sheds, everywhere!

Getting the facility under contract was no easy feat, because the facility had several event contracts, as well as 15 horses boarded there.  A few years back in order to keep the facility running, one of the daughters had taken over full ownership and then had brought in a partner.  The partner brought in some fresh capital and had done some major improvements.  But the partnership had not worked out well—two different individuals “butting heads” had finally led to a court battle.

Finally we got all the show managements to agree on contract negotiations, getting deposits back, contracts cancelled—we were ready to go, except for 12 boarders.  The majority of these boarders have to leave by mid-May, but it has been quite an experience to live with a community of barrel racers.  This is not a sport, I knew much about, but I have learned a lot.

The facility is large, and all under one roof.  Remember the original list of requirements, the Red Barn Arena met all of them.  Clean up, clean up, and more clean up will take some time.  One of the great things is that when you stand in the center of the arena, you have a clear view of all that is going on.  It makes for great management—not sure all the employees think so?

So the Red Barn Arena?   Mmmmm, not a traditional Saddlebred facility.  If I squint tightly I can see, a clean, manicured, well-groomed facility, with a great sign out front, bathrooms re-done and re-finished, a new rail around the indoor arena, another outdoor arena, a newly organized tack room, and a great new lounge and office area.  But at the moment I have to squint pretty tight.

Every day something gets cleaned—something gets thrown away, and something looks new.  Can’t wait for the finished project.

Where to go?  Where will the horses live?  I had found myself in quite a dilemma – having to leave a new, state of the art facility; specifically built to house a huge lesson and show program.  I found myself searching high and low for a suitable location in which to start the Louisville Equestrian Center “Do-Over”.  As everyone said, “You’re in the heart of horse country—there’s a million barns—you’ll have your pick of barns!

Mmmmmm, no, not really—I’m in the business of starting new riders and families, and building them into show riders and horse owning clients.  I’m not in the business of breaking and training young horses, and I’m not in the business of selling a dozen horses each month.

So there are some basic requirements needed to run this business:

• An indoor arena – I looked at a lot of farms with no indoor arena, and maybe not even space to build an indoor arena
• Stalls – I moved 55 horses (clients and lesson horses)
• Bathroom Facilities (it is a luxury that some stables simply don’t have, and a porta-potty could work for a while, but bathrooms aren’t cheap to put in)
• Storage for Tack and other “important stuff” (yes I have 45 English saddles and about 10 Western saddles, and enough other “vitally important” stuff)
• Parking – years ago I leased a facility that had so little parking, that people had to leave their keys in their car, so we could double and triple up the cars—move someone else’s car to pull yours in
• Some kind of area for clients to watch lessons
• Location – needed to be within 30 minutes of the majority of my lesson riders (although the new location is only 14 miles from the old one, many of our lesson riders thought we had moved to Florida—they couldn’t possibly drive to the new location—some even told me this when they lived closer to the new stable than the old one? Hmmmmmm)

Everyone kept saying just get a piece of land and then make it work for you.  Okay, but building something does require money and time.  I’m not in the financial position to be able to shut down the entire business, take some time to build and then re-open (even though several people said I should do this?). Unfortunately I am not independently wealthy.  So I started searching, calling friends, realtors and eventually just driving up and down the road asking people with farms it they were interested in leasing or selling their farms.  Yes, I even got run off, with threats from one farm, even though it had a For Sale sign on it.

I started getting really stressed—I mean really stressed.  One day I must have gotten 15 “No’s” – the final straw that day was the “No”, I got from a farm owner—who had her stable listed for sale or lease, both on the internet and with a sign.  She simply decided not to sell or lease, after showing me the facility.  Guess she didn’t like the look of me.

The “Yes’s” that I did get were usually priced at a million plus dollars, and most had a 6000+ square foot home, and either a 15 stall barn and large indoor arena or a 25 stall barn and no indoor arena.  Nothing was working.  I mean nothing.  The closest I got was 17 miles away, a 7 stall barn, a metal utility shed with room for about 30 stalls sitting on 9 acres, on a narrow road about 2 miles from a main road.  It was actually fairly level and had perimeter fencing and a couple of paddocks fenced.  It was a strange set up, as there was no house, not sure what the original owner’s intentions were.  So the thought was to purchase it.  It was fairly inexpensive, it was located in Shelby County and priced at $228,000 for everything.

But it would take time and money to build an arena (any arena—inside and out), and where were the rest of the horses going to go?  Just kick out half of the paying clients?  How do you pick which ones to keep?  After the Chapter 11 process, several clients decided that they would look elsewhere and had moved their horses.  But the really dedicated clients, the clients who really appreciated what Betsy Webb Stables and the Louisville Equestrian Center, was all about—they stayed.  They were committed to move their horses, their children and themselves wherever we ended up.  How do you tell those kind of clients, “Hey, sorry we don’t have room for you.”.

Pick the horses that cost the most, pick the clients who had been with me the longest, pick the clients who spent the most money—what about the handful of older, retired boarding horses.  So finally after hashing out this dilemma, I just decided this is not what I am about.  I simply could not tell clients new or old, rich or poor—“Hey, I don’t have room for you.”  These are clients who were committed to Betsy Webb Stables, they would move wherever I would go.  I would either find a place that would work, or I would shut the doors.  I simply couldn’t live with deciding who could and couldn’t be a part of the future.

Everyone said that’s just dumb.  Pick out your best clients, and tell them they can move with you.  Tell the other clients, “sorry, that you’ve spent years with me and my staff—committed money, time and dedication, but your horse didn’t cost enough to move with me.”.  No way.

Now what?

And that’s when it happened.

Literally less than 30 days before we had to get out of the current facility, a client walked in with a flyer.  A flyer with a large stable (actually a rodeo arena) not too far from the original location, and it was all for sale!

I had actually called on this property about 4 months prior to this.  But when I reached the owner, she told me the property wasn’t for sale (of course).  Which actually was true, the property was and had been tied up in litigation for over a year, in order to dissolve a partnership.  The owner that I had talked with didn’t want to sell the property, so she had made it clear that the facility was not for sale.  But now the court was ordering the sale of the property.

I was on the phone at 7:50 a.m., the next morning with the realtor.  Not sure what to expect, as the realtor was also a local auctioneer—“Was the place for sale?”  “Was the place to be auctioned off?”.  For those of you not from the south, most realtors especially auctioneers are especially known for their exceptional personalities. Mr. H is no exception.  Within less than ten minutes he knew my entire life history.

So now the ball was really rolling.  I possibly had a new location.  I had been out to the rodeo arena several years before, but hadn’t been there in a long time.  The Red Barn Arena, this is not only the literal name of the facility, but it is quite a landmark for the area.  It is a giant red barn and facility.  The Red Barn Arena was built in 1997 by a local personality who had two daughters who loved barrel racing.  Shortly after building the arena, the gentleman unexpectedly passed away.  The two daughters attempted to keep it running for several years, but it was more than they could do on their own.  In order to maintain the facility, one of the daughters took on a partner to help with the financial side of the business.  Partnerships can be tricky in themselves, and this partnership did not go well.

So the remaining daughter found herself forced to sell to dissolve the partnership.  Unfortunately one person’s misfortune becomes another’s answer.