Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Reed.
Hi Tracy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in busy Riverside, CA, a city girl who always has a love for animals, but especially horses. Living in the city, the chances of owning a horse were slim, but my parents surprised me with a horse when I was 12 yrs old, a dream I never thought possible! I have fond memories of those few years with my horse and then life, school and work brought that season to an end. As a young adult I moved to Grants Pass, OR and then after starting a family, moved to La Grande, OR and quickly to the 3 acres into a little hobby farm where I could share my love of animals with my 4 children. We had animals of all kinds and best of all, I had horses again! Our family rode together often both our mules and horses. All the kids rode too and we enjoyed many trail rides and pack trips. As the boys got older and got busy with sports, the boys rode less and my daughter and I became the ones riding. At 7 yrs old, she started jumping her pony and we bought and trained ponies together. We hauled our horses an indoor arena 30 minutes away daily to ride year round. While on a drive one day, we saw a place with an indoor arena for sale and knew we had to have it! We purchased the 40 acre property in 2013 and named it Summerville Stables! The intention was to have a place for my daughter and I to ride in and for her to practice jumping. I thought I’d board a horse or two to justify owning a place like this and it quickly became popular. More boarders came. Several asked for help with their horses or wanted lessons and soon I began trading and teaching lessons. Things grew and grew and I began offering kid’s riding camps, clinics, a horse 4H Club, and jump shows here at the barn. I loved being surrounded by other horse loving people, kids, and animals. I had a garden and somehow dreamt up the idea of adding a pumpkin patch. this also grew as we added hay rides, pony rides, and more. I never dreamed this big when I bought the place…it just blossomed and took off!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a lot of fun dreaming up new ideas, but definitely not without struggles. I put everything I made back into improving the barn, property and facility. Financial struggles in a hard industry were challenging. A lot of long days, 7 days/week!!! I did all the feeding and cleaning for up to 80 horses for years until I could afford to hire help.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Summerville Stables LLC?
We offer a full care horse boarding facility set on 40 breathtaking acres in beautiful Eastern Oregon with an indoor arena, 3 outdoor arenas, and trails with creeks and ponds. We offer horseback riding lessons, training, and have just expanded to offer cattle sorting jackpot shows and practices, which is my passion and hobby now that my kids are grown. We also offer a pumpkin patch event every weekend in October with all kinds of family fun and activities on the farm.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is living life to the fullest and choosing happiness every day!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.summervillestables.com
- Facebook: summerville Stables
