Reflections of This Past Year in Horse Boarding

Sitting here, on this little slice of Heaven, sipping coffee and reflecting on the past year, seems like a nearly impossible outcome. Nothing about this journey has been easy. I first looked at this property at the end of 2022. My best friend and realtor extraordinaire, Dorothy Tangren, called to let me know Happy Horse was for sale. Of course Happy Horse was long gone, and it was now Baker Ranch, to us it was still Happy Horse. It was the hallowed grounds in which we rode, learned, laughed and competed in the egg spoon race!

I came out to look, mostly for a sweet taste of nostalgia. Standing out here, walking by Avalon's stall and remembering sweet Nova carrying me to the coveted blue ribbon, something stirred inside me. A week went by and I asked to come out again, this time to look "for real". Even in our wet winter I felt the stirring again.

I tried to talk myself out of it. This is crazy right? Do I really want to buy this place? Do I want to figure out how to run a small business? Do I have any idea what I'm doing? Is it possible I could own Happy Horse? But try as I might, in January, on Friday the 13th, I placed an offer on this facility. After some back and forth we went into contract.

Maybe Friday the 13th wasn't the best day to place a bid. Maybe there are reasons and forces I couldn't possibly understand. But our six week escrow turned into a six month painful endeavor with door after door shutting in my face. I didn't know how to read it all, was I supposed to quit or try harder? The path was so muddled and frustrating. There were emotions and psychological effects at play as well.

I won't bore you details. Obviously I own the place! We closed on June 5th. Whew! We did it. My kids excitedly moved into the main part of the house, and we began a little six week reno to upgrade the master bed/bath and closet. They say it always takes longer and costs more. Well ours was a nightmare with the contractor taking money and not completing the work, to us eventually firing him. Our little six week project turned into a seven month nightmare sprinkled with excessive stress. We were trying to build and run a new business while living off property.

While all the reno construction was going on, we were working hard to improve the property. The Bakers took amazing care of the place and upgraded many areas, however, when the place has this many miles on it, it needs a lot of care. In just under a year we: added three turn outs, a 50' round pen, painted a barn, improved the footing of the outdoor arena, moved the olive tress blocking the eyeline of the street, poured a custom driveway, added extra gravel, install a beautiful new sign, fully enclosed the property, added an electric gate, put in a fly system, added music to the barns, upgraded to 70 gal water buckets, moved the manure pile away from the barn, and are finishing a small extension to the smallest tack room. Whew!

We were finally able to move in to our completed home in early 2024. As our rainy winter transitioned into spring, I was finally able to take a deep breath. After 18 months of carrying my defenses up, I dropped my shoulders and relaxed. Happy Horse is now Little Reata Stables and I love it. The joy of waking up to the Berryessa Gap never gets old. Hearing the sweet nicker of horses as feeding time makes me smile. And the community of boarders who have become friends on this property is the icing on the cake.

My friend and boarder Karen told me a few weeks ago, "You know how to make a small fortune in the horse boarding business? Start with a large fortune!" While this may be true, standing here looking at the Vaca Mountains, and smelling a mixture of horse, hay, manure and blooming roses, I know I am the richest woman alive!

Jett at Little Reata Stables