The History Of...

20 years ago, in the small town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (not so small anymore :),

A very dedicated father was on a mission to help all of his 15 year old daughter’s dreams come true, when he came up with the name...Rocky Bottom Stables.

 

I had been showing horses for 5 years, and although we started with a 1 stall “shed”,  we had gradually upsized to a big new barn.   We didn’t have an over-abundance of money, we couldn’t hire people to do the dirty work.  When it came time to build the stalls in the new barn, Dad and I grabbed the post-hole digger and took turns.  We couldn’t believe the rocks that we were finding...they were huge...and there were tons of them.  It took over a week to finally get those holes dug...we were exhausted...and from it all, Rocky Bottom Stables was born.

 

From the time I started riding, my parents had been told by many trainers that I had “the gift”.  I was very young, and never really understood what that meant, I just knew that I didn’t just love horses, I have a passion for them.  My father would work all day, come home, and work on the barn, the pastures, the arena...there was always something.  My Mother was always the Horse Show Mom.  She made lots of sacrifices while I was growing up so that I would have what I needed to show the horses.  But, I was always there to help, and they both taught me so much.

 

A few years past, I graduated from high school, and started professionally training horses.  Unfortunately it didn’t last.  To this day, I’m not sure what I was thinking... I got married, had a little girl, and began drifting away from myself and my passion.  I sold all of my horses and all of my equipment, it was so hard to do.

 

When my daughter was 3 years old, we moved to Arizona.  While there, I got a job as an assistant trainer.  It felt so good to be in the saddle again.  Then, I found out that my husband’s job was taking us to Colorado.  I stayed behind for a couple of months, I didn’t want to give up my training job.  Shortly after moving to Colorado, I opened my own Dog Grooming Salon.  It was very successful, and after 9 months, I did something that I never thought I’d have the strength to do.  I bought a horse... without my husbands “permission”... and I didn’t care what he thought.  It was my money, I had earned it, and I had the right to be happy again.  Our relationship was already going down-hill...it had been for years.  Into my life came 2 year-old Appaloosa “Mr Fritz”.  I had to board him, but I saw him every day.  I was back, and getting stronger by the day.  A little less than a year later, we were on our way back to Arizona.  I had sold my Grooming Salon and became a DC Electrician.  Things were looking up... I rented a nice horse property, and shipped Mr Fritz out to Arizona.  That was when plans to “re-build” Rocky Bottom Stables started going through my mind.  I finally got the courage to get a divorce, but that meant starting all over.

...it was worth it.

 

There are still struggles, but I bought a little house with a little land.  Since my dream is to someday have a big house with lots of land, the name was adjusted to Rocky Bottom Ranch...and the construction began...and still continues.

I lost my Dad many years ago to cancer, but I know he’s here helping, and everything that he taught me...I am now passing down to my daughter.   I am very blessed to still have my Mom here helping every step of the way.  She never misses a show, and we’ve even started getting her back in the show ring.