Through a spiritual take on her equine business, Dawn O’Connor serves as a role model for children and young adults.
“I truly believe that being a positive Christian influence for all my students is my calling in life,” says O’Connor, who through Sac River Stables LLC, hosts up to 300 riders per week - including programs for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. “I measure the success of my students by watching confidence and self-esteem grow in riders of all ages as they and their horse work together to become a team.”
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Missouri State University, O’Connor manages a staff of seven and some 40 horses at her stables northwest of Springfield off of Kansas Expressway.
She requires the staff of the family-owned business to take the same care with horses and students.
“I select riding instructors and staff that will be good role models for students and represent the stables in a professional manager,” O’Connor says. “I work with my staff to develop skills necessary to teach students, especially the young children, to work with animals effectively and to exhibit the discipline necessary to have patience when horses and students are not responding as requested.”
State Rep. Sonya Anderson, R-Springfield, a colleague of O’Connor’s in the equine industry, notes the business owner’s work ethic in keeping the stables steady in an unstable industry.
“I believe Dawn’s success comes from her strong work ethic, her love of horses and her willingness and patience to share her passion with others in hopes that their small interest will turn into a lifelong passion as well,” Anderson says.
O’Connor says she became acutely aware of her success in 2008, when a group of students nominated her horse Speed Wagon, also known as Opie, as a Certified Horsemanship Association School Horse of the Year, for which the animal took second place.
“In October 2009, at the age of 28, Opie moved on to greener pastures, but the memory of his dedication to the students and of that award will always stand as a testament to my proudest accomplishment, my students,” O’Connor says.
In 2001, O’Connor founded the Sac River 4-H Club, which started with only a few families but has grown to one of the largest in Greene County with more than 40 children enrolled.
“This club has been a wonderful opportunity for my students and other children in the county to increase their involvement in the community, Greene County and state activities,” she says.
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