Arkansas Equine Sales and Terry’s Tack
Owners: Terry and Rodney Kankey
Location: Highway 62, just east of Viola, Ark.
Company History: Terry and her husband, Rodney, have been in the Viola area for 23 years. She runs Terry’s Tack and he is owner/auctioneer for Arkansas Equine Sales. Together they run three horse auctions a month.
The first Saturday of the month will find the Kankeys at Glenwood, Ark., southwest of Hot Springs, Ark. The second Saturday they’re at Ratcliff, Ark., about 30 miles east of Fort Smith, Ark. Mountain Grove, Mo., is the location for the third auction, held on the second Thursday in each month. This particular sale has been in Rodney’s family for years.
Products and Services: “If you need tack, Terry’s Tack is the place to be,” might be one of the first things a customer hears upon entering Terry’s store. It’s filled to the rafters with saddles, blankets, bridles, halters and anything else imaginable to outfit a horse. New and used, hand-tooled or economy-type saddles are everywhere.
“There’s not a lot of tack distributors in the area. It’s a long way to Little Rock and it’s a long way to Springfield, Mo. A lot of people don’t know we’re here, but (we rely on) a lot of word of mouth.”
About their two businesses Terry said, “We rent the barns, we furnish the horses, we take outside horses from people, we sell the tack and we sell horses at auction.”
How do you serve your customers?
Terry and Rodney really know horses. They train some, and own their own as well. Included in the training is two days’ worth of riding lessons for the owner before the horse is taken home. The Kankeys want to make sure that the owner doesn’t encounter any problems.
At her tack store, Terry asks questions and makes sure that each customer gets the most appropriate item to fit his or her needs and budget. “I don’t send you home not knowing how to take care of your saddle or how it’s supposed to be fitted to your horse… I hate for my customers to come in here and spend money they don’t need to spend. It makes me more money at the time, but it’s not good for my business because it won’t keep my customers coming back.”
Inside the store is a saddle tree. The customer can put the saddle being considered on it and try it out. The tree moves like a horse, rocks, and the customer can adjust the stirrups and everything to fit. Terry is able to determine the best fit for each person.
Tell me about your combined experience in the horse industry:
The couple keeps about 60 head of horses to sell on about 250 acres of land. They also have a few family horses, but like Terry says, a horse trader is a horse trader, and anything’s for sale.
When it comes to the equine industry, Rodney believes the horse market is in an “adjustment phase.” “The horse market is cyclical, like everything else. Now it’s adjusting.” Rodney also said he believes we may have chosen the wrong national animal – he would have chosen a horse or a mule. “If it wasn’t for them, America wouldn’t have developed into the country it is today.”
By Jack and Pam Fortner
