We have our first featured seller! Meet Abby M. of Silver Horse Tack Shop! Abby is a 14yr old model horse entrepreneur.
I ran across her shop several months ago when I was looking for inspiration for props. I really liked it so I followed it. A couple days ago, I was sifting through my favorite shops picking one for the first in my featured Friday series. This shop banner caught my eye:
Then I saw these fabulous reviews:
Sold! This was my shop choice. I contacted her right away asking for her permission to feature her. She agreed, and I asked her to write me a bit on how she got started, what prompted the beginning of opening her Etsy shop, a bit on her shop, and her hobby goals. Here's what she wrote:
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE HOBBY? A few years ago I came across an article in Young Rider magazine about how to make a halter and leadrope for a Breyer model. I already had a few Breyers but I didn’t really know how to make tack. When I saw the article I thought it looked neat and decided to try it. I made a halter and leadrope set for one of my models and that is really what sparked my interest in tack making. Soon after, I got the Breyer model of Catch Me, who I took with me to the Devon Horse Show in 2019. I was able to meet the real horse and his owner/rider Becky Gochman, who generously signed my model and even invited me to the barns to visit “Snoopy”. Later, I watched her competing in the amateur-owner hunter division. When she won the championship, she came over to the rail and handed me and my sister her ribbon! The show photographer snapped a picture of the moment which the horse show later included on their social media, and someone tagged Morgen Kilbourn’s studio in the comments which is how we figured out that she was the sculptor of that model. That was my first inkling about how big (& friendly!) the model horse world is! For the next 3 years, I focused on expanding inventory in my Etsy shop. In 2022, I launched a website (www.silverhorsetackshop.com) and Instagram page (@silverhorsetackshop), and that summer, I was a virtual vendor at BreyerFest. I attended in-person with my family and finally got to meet Morgen there, which was a fun surprise. BreyerFest was definitely the highlight of the summer. It was amazing to be at the Kentucky Horse Park and finally see/meet so many people from all over the world who enjoy this hobby.
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO START YOUR SHOP? I enjoy making tack, and eventually I had made so much I thought I should start selling some, so I opened my Etsy shop in 2019. At first, I focused mostly on halters and leadropes, but gradually expanded my inventory to include other tack and accessories as well. My favorite part of the order process is seeing customers’ color selections for their custom orders. Sometimes the choices are surprising, but they always end up going well together! The items that take the longest to make are the harnesses because everything is custom-measured and there are so many details. The harnesses are a popular item right now since the BreyerFest theme this year is ‘Driving Forward’.
A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON YOUR SHOP: On Etsy, I sell mainly custom tack items and accessories for sizes from Schleich to Breyer Traditional Scale. There are also limited-edition sets on my website that are not available on Etsy. Currently I am running a fundraiser on both platforms, with 20% of my sales going to the Museum of Chincoteague for their fund to save the Beebe Ranch, home of Misty & Stormy. If the museum is not able to raise the funds, the property will be sold to a developer. As of the end of March, the museum is almost halfway to their fundraising goal, and they hope to raise the rest of the money by the end of June! Chincoteague is fairly close to where I live, and it’s a place we enjoy visiting. I’m hoping they are able to preserve the ranch, but another reason I want to support them is because my real-life pony is a Chincoteague pony named “Star”. She’s 21 now, and we’ve had her for about 3 years. I’ve watched the Misty & Stormy movie and read Marguerite Henry’s books more times than I can count.
WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT HOBBY GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: Looking forward, I have some ideas for future products and inventory expansion that I will be working on. Some of the other projects I would like to work on as a collector are customizing models and making accessories to go with my tack pieces. I also hope to be a vendor in upcoming BreyerFests and perhaps attend other collector events. I really enjoy the challenge of working with scale models because it takes a lot of accuracy and precision to work with such small details.
Thanks Abby! I appreciate you being willing to share with us. :)Below you will find photos and links to some of Abby's products. You will find lots more on her Etsy and website!
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