Love of horses evolves into business venture

O’Connor is the founder and operator of Sac River Stables, which opened in 1996 and is set on a 200-acre horse farm five minutes north of Springfield. Horses are put out to pasture on 25 acres. There is a 60-acre area where cattle graze, and a 120-acre hay field used for riding.

“We keep the perimeter of the hay field mowed year-round, so it’s a three-and-a-half mile loop that starts and ends with the stables,” O’Connor said.

Sac River Stables also has an indoor riding facility, a tack room with security system and a lighted outdoor riding arena.

Family business

O’Connor comes from a family of entrepreneurs.

Her parents, Darrell and Danette Proctor, are the owners of D-4 Investments LLC, a rental property investment business that operates out of an office at the stables, and her brother, Darren, is the owner of Tek-Know LLC, an industrial automation firm based in Springfield.

The Proctors established the investment company more than 25 years ago and have grown it through the years, now operating it while they are “semiretired,” said Danette Proctor. While O’Connor was growing up, her family owned PJC Insurance, which they sold in 2001.

“I think running a business is in my blood,” said O’Connor. “(My parents) were in the insurance industry, and I just have no interest in insurance. But they, too, just like I did, started out very small and worked their way up to the top. It’s good motivation to see your parents succeed.”

Now, O’Connor’s children, 5-year-old Ella and 2-year-old Rory, spend countless hours exploring their mother’s business. O’Connor’s husband, Gavin, is a biology professor at Ozarks Technical Community College and is also active in the family business.

Building on a dream

O’Connor began riding horses at age 10 and has been hooked ever since. She got her first horse five years later, and at age 18, just after she graduated from high school, O’Connor began a part-time boarding business at the stables.

The Proctors purchased the old farm as an investment property in 1994 and the family worked until the fall of 1996 cleaning everything up and renovating it into what it is today.

“As soon as we bought the facility when I was in high school I pretty much knew that was my future, that was my goal,” said O’Connor, who leases the facility from her parents. “We started small and just built up.”

O’Connor operated the part-time boarding business 1996–2000, while she earned a bachelor of science degree in animal science from Missouri State University.

After finishing college, she was certified by the Certified Horsemanship Association as a certified riding instructor and began adding more programs to the business she’d started fresh out of high school.

“I researched it, and boarding is great, but you can’t make a full-time earning off of boarding,” O’Connor said. “Boarding is a steady income, but riding programs really provide the income.”

44 horses

The stable, which has a staff of four part-time employees in addition to O’Connor, now boards as many as 44 horses and offers riding lessons, horse training, birthday parties and camps for kids during the summer or any break during the school year. O’Connor declined to disclose revenues. The activities at her business, she said, are all focused on providing family-oriented fun.

Meon Cloud, whose daughter Autry began taking lessons from O’Connor three years ago, said O’Connor has become a trusted friend and teacher for her daughter.

The Cloud family has three horses at the stable, and Autry Cloud competes in barrel races and pole bending under O’Connor’s tutelage.

“She really takes care of our horses for us, and she takes care of my daughter,” Meon Cloud said. “It’s like a big family. We feel really comfortable there.”

The most rewarding part of the job, said O’Connor, is watching the students and all stable clients enjoy the experience she is providing them.

“I’m fortunate enough that I can have a job that I really love,” O’Connor said.