TAILS FROM THE TRAILS
The last time I visited Stacey MacLeod’s eclectic store/collection of equine stuff for sale, it was a few years back and was located in her house out in Deer Run. I was glad to hear that her business is still going strong. It’s doing so well, in fact, that last August, she decided to move it to a more convenient location, in the business park section of Wellington off Pierson Road.
“We were actually near this location once before, back in 2007-08,” said store manager Beth Matz. “Then stuff happened, and Stacey had to move it all to her home. But now we’re back here again and open for business. We’ve been doing fairly well. The business was growing so much that we decided it was time to open a regular store again.”
MacLeod is also trying something new and has partnered with Barbara Berneit in California, adding new fashion items such as Pikeur breeches, Asmar shirts, cold weather schooling jackets, other high-end riding apparel, as well as Windsor leather goods.
Of course, there are lots of other items as well: knickknacks, bridles, saddles, girths, stirrups, halters, tons of saddle pads, blankets, boots, shirts, coats, breeches, chaps, helmets, buckets, barn supplies, custom tack trunks — a little of everything. Wandering through the store is a little like visiting a good equestrian flea market; you never know what you might find.
This year, they’ll also be doing a few trunk shows at local dressage events, and they’ve signed up to attend the Treasure Coast hunter/jumper shows in Stuart.
“We’ve always been around the dressage shows, but this year we want to start branching out to the hunter/jumper customers as well,” Matz explained. “We’ve always been heavily into dressage, but there are a lot of hunter/jumper people out there as well, and we’d like to reach out to them.”
They keep a three-ring binder with clients’ requests so they can fill specific needs.
“If someone’s looking for something special, say a particular saddle, I can call them as soon as it comes in, even before I offer it for sale,” MacLeod explained.
And they’ve added something new this year: Palm Beach Recycled.
“Many of our clients are in the process of selling their homes, and they typically have a lot of household goods which they’d also like to sell,” Matz said. “That’s where we come in. We’ll take large items in, bigger ticket items like nice furniture or whatever, and sell it on consignment. The split is typically 60-40: the client keeps 60 percent.”
So yes, interspersed throughout the saddles and bridles and buckets and boots were couches and tables and lamps, original art work and two elk heads. The antlers sit on a nearby table; they slide onto slots on the heads.
Two elk heads?
“They were brought in by a client,” Matz nodded. “Her husband shot them and had them mounted, but she couldn’t stand having them in her home, so she called and asked if we’d sell them for her. And here they are. We’ll take just about anything. We like to keep a brisk turnover on the inventory.”
Inventory includes a pair of very nice stall doors, resting up against a wall, a huge Breyer barn and horses, a parrot cage, and a 6-foot-tall coin-operated popcorn and peanuts machine that would look right at home on any midway.
“We’re even available to pick up items,” MacLeod said. “We’re very flexible, always willing to help someone out.”
This year, she’s also offering a limited amount of hay, grain and shavings.
“We’ve partnered with Larsen Farms in Ocala,” she said. “They have fabulous alfalfa hay. Customers can buy one bale at a time, or a whole barn full. We’ll also be offering bi-weekly deliveries once the season starts. Our motto is try us by the bale; love us by the ton.”
MacLeod said that hay and feed sales have picked up a lot. “I’m very optimistic,” she said. “I think this’ll be a good year for us.”
Starting this month, there are expanded store hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and Sunday by appointment. For more information, call (561) 790-6786, or visit www.everythingbutthehorse.com.
