Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Lacy.
Hi Kristen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Massachusetts with my horse crazy parents, who taught me everything I could learn about horses. I showed horses as a young girl in all 3 seats, hunt seat, western & saddle seat. In my twenties through my Thirties, I Trained Competitive Trail & Endurance Horses, professionally, in Vermont and then later in Virginia, where I traveled abroad, and flew with the USA endurance Team to France & Dubai, where the USA took home the World Endurance Championships in 1998. After that, I met my husband Kent, and moved to Missouri. His work sent us to Florida, for a couple of years after we had just built our own house together, where I ended up starting an online horse business in 2005 Horse Lovers Outlet. The internet e-commerce business in 2005,was not what it is today. We purchased The Distance Depot in 2005 and brought it back to Missouri. We have built the business into a premier Trail riding & Endurance store, custom making Beta Biothane horse tack, for riders all over the world. We manufacture the custom tack, as well as sheepskin saddle covers & accessories & mfg. our V-Max line of Equine Heart Rate Monitors, at our retail location, 21520 N Main Street in Peculiar, Missouri called Horse Lovers Outlet, where we stock a variety of horse products and rider apparel. We also do custom embroidery, and sell consignment new & used equipment, at great low prices. We have 2 websites www.thedistancedepot.com and of course www.horseloversoutlet.com Local store hours are M-F 8am to 5 pm & Saturday 10am to 3pm. Closed on Sundays
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?
Learning how to start and run my own internet & retail business, and keeping up with all of the ever-changing technology & advances in the internet world, has definitely been a challenge, since the majority of my education had been all bout horses for the majority of my lifetime.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Distance Depot/Horse Lovers Outlet?
Our retail location is called Horse Lovers Outlet in Peculiar, MO. But we mfg. our custom tack, under our Brand The Distance Depot & that website is marketed mainly to Endurance & trail riders.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Hard work and determination, along with the support from my husband Kent, has played a huge role in the success of our business. We started out by driving our mobile tack shop all over the country, to sell our custom tack & wares at endurance rides. We believe that, along with the many friendships I was fortunate enough to have built over the years, played a big role in developing a strong customer base. We pride ourselves, with being a top-quality Beta Biothane tack dealer & we have one of the fastest turnaround times in the industry, for custom made Beta Biothane tack, typically it is made & shipped out in 1-3 business days.
Pricing:
- Free shipping on most orders over $100, some exclusions apply.
- New & Used Consignment items offered at low costs.
- Embroidery is done by stitch count.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thedistancedepot.com and www.horseloversoutlet.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDistanceDepot and https://www.facebook.com/HorseLoversOutlet
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TDDonTV and https://www.youtube.com/@HLOTV
