09/09/2026
Twenty four years ago today, I founded Running Roan Tack in Canby, Oregon as a 20-year-old college student. Those are the cliff notes, here is the rest of the story...
As a high school student in the 90's, I bought and resold used tack to help financially support my horse activities. I purchased inventory at clearance sales, barn sales and tack swaps. I mainly bought vintage items and quality brands. Then cleaned the items up and resold them on a Geocities website that I coded and managed. Yeah, I was one of those geeks who taught myself HTML so I could write my own Geocities website. When I turned 18, I was finally old enough to sell on eBay and I was introduced to a wide world full of people that wanted to buy what I was selling. But as eBay evolved, people could easily list their own used items for sale and I found it increasingly difficult to find inventory that I could turn for a profit.
Not one to be discouraged, I changed my approach and filed for a business license so I could secure dealerships to sell brand new merchandise. I received my official paperwork from the state of Oregon dated September 9, 2002. I named my business Running Roan Tack after my then barrel horse, a red roan freight train named Myra.
In it's infancy, Running Roan Tack was just another retailer buying merchandise at wholesale and presenting it to the masses via eBay, my own ecommerce website and vendor booths at shows. Wholesalers at that time didn't know what to do with small online/mobile-only businesses like mine, as they still favored accounts with a traditional brick-and-mortar store. But I had built a strong following, an impressive online presence and a track record for turning over merchandise and representing it well. So I was able to secure dealerships that would have otherwise been off limits.
But as the recession settled in, wholesalers relaxed their rules and opened accounts to anyone with the right paperwork and the ability to meet a minimum opening order and I soon found it difficult to source merchandise that was different from what everyone else was selling.
Again, not one to be discouraged, I began the transition from retailer to maker. This was a big leap, but I had ideas. Lots of them. And I was excited to see those ideas become tangible products.
As a seamstress and avid crafter, I was very experienced in sewing textiles, but leather was new to me. I taught myself leather work, bought tools and a leather sewing machine and finally debuted a small line of my leather goods in 2009. I didn't want merchandise that looked like what everyone else had...I'd already played that game. I focused on introducing new designs, while not sacrificing quality. I kept at it tirelessly and got my first booth at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December 2012.
The expansion and machine purchasing continued until I had outgrown my little workshop in the cow barn in Canby, Oregon. I was ready for a change of scenery and able to relocate to anywhere I wanted.
By now you've probably realized that I appreciate a challenge. They shape us and allow us to grow, especially for people of the creative sort. I decided to leave everything and everyone I knew and move to Texas. Just me and my horse.
I landed in Stephenville, Texas in the spring of 2013. I unpacked my machines and supplies into a 2,400 square foot shop...4 times larger than the shop I left in Oregon. My new shop was so empty. And expensive. I'd made a scary jump, but I wasn't going to let fear keep me from experiencing this opportunity for all it was worth.
I buckled down and worked hard, filling that 2,400 square feet with supplies, machines and employees. I dropped all my outside vendors and only sold the unique products that we made in our shop. I expanded our product line to include a wide range of leather goods with a continued focus on uniqueness, durability and function.
In 2017, I took the next step and purchased a 2,800 square foot shop on a piece of land outside of Stephenville. It was fixer upper...four insulated walls on a slab of concrete with a roof and that’s it. No power, no water, not even a driveway to access it from the road.
Not one to back down from a challenge (do you see a theme here?), I took on the project because I could see the potential. After drilling a well, stringing power to the site, installing lights and running water inside the building and doing everything thing else necessary for habitation, we moved in after returning from the NFR at the end of 2017. My business finally has a permanent home.
I’m glad I had the experience of scaling my business, but I realized something very important in that process: I’m a maker, not a corporate girlie. And that’s okay. I’ve gone back to being a one-woman-show with occasional part time help. I consider myself semi-retired now, meaning I work on my own terms. I make whatever sounds cool. I push the envelope a little more. I take a break when necessary. I deal with fewer deadlines. I say “no” more. I’m taking the time to expand my skill set so I can add some cool new stuff to the product line. I’m also setting up vendor booths at events again and enjoy seeing the smiling faces of my wonderful customers who love my stuff as much as I do.
I'm a farm girl from Oregon who gave it a shot. Dream big and go for it.
❤️ Heather
