We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lori Maney Lentini a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lori, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

My stepmom, Karen Juckas opened our horseback riding stable in 1965 and ran it until she died in 2020. Her and my dad were known locally as Prominet people in the horse business in New York. I rode growing up but had not ridden much since i was 14, I’m now 62. I never dreamed of owning a horse farm or even riding again. But then…….

In May of 2020 my dad passed away and three weeks later Karen joined him in heaven. She left her estate and the farm to her daughter who lived in California. Her daughter ran it for a few months then put it up for sale. Karen had talked my entire life about wanting to leave her farmland and all 117 acres as a land preserve.

Because of Covid we couldn’t have a funeral for Karen, but several months later we had a memorial service outside on the farm. My, Nephew, Brian who lived in Lake Placid came down (Karen was his grandma and my dad had mostly raised him). After the ceremony he came back to my house and spent the night. We opened a bottle of wine and shared memories and discussed the fact that her daughter told us she had a cash offer from a buyer who was probably going to develop the land. We knew Karen would hate this! We opened another bottle. When it was finished, Brian looked at me and said here is an idea – you cash in your retirement plan, and I will go home and sell my house and business, and we will make an offer and keep Karen and dad’s legacy alive. The next morning over coffee, Brian looked at me and asked so are you in?

So, we did it. We secured a mortgage and proudly took over the stables in October of 2021. Everything was great and going according to the plan. Just a few months later, On February 2, 2022, Brian was in a cataphoric accident and became a quadriplegic. We were devasted, this is the kind of thing your worst nightmares are made of. The plan had been for him to run the farm, train the horses and take care of the daily chores and oversight. I was going to continue working and help on weekends and manage our social media foot print.

This was our most unexpected problem. As he was in Helen Hayes after major back and neck surgery a plan was needed to care for him, support his rehabilitation and somehow keep the stables running. It was more of a daily piecing things together with the help of friends and getting Brians’ daily advise on how to care for the horses and run the farm. He was in extreme pain and fighting hard to recover and move anything, even a finger. He needed total care and could not feed himself, answer his phone or move in any way.

But he began to beat the odds and worked hard in physical therapy. He gained some movement in his right side and was able to sit in a wheelchair strapped in. His progress continued and we kept the stables open doing the best we could. Several months later he came home with an electric wheelchair and his mom moved in to help care for him. At least he was on site and every morning gave us direction on how to get things done and how to care for the horses to run the stables as he continued his therapy. I left my full-time job as a vice president of a nonprofit mental health agency.

Today, he walks and rides horses and does the chores each day. Slower and with difficulty but he does it. He has constant nerve pain and is weaker than he was and tires more easily. But I challenge you find someone who works more hours in a day with more heart and determination than Brain.

We were raised by Karen and Dad (his grandfather) with a work ethic and a sense that anything is possible if you stick together and don’t give up. Our plan and success was is built on this value system and belief. If we can’t accomplish what we had hoped in a day, we do what is possible in that moment.

Today, at the stables there are numerous projects and Maintenace issues we are behind on due to both manpower and financial difficulty as we have needed to spend more in payroll over the past several years to make up for what Brian was planning on getting done in our business plan.

Brian and I both enjoy what we do and are committed to building our dream and legacy forward. We have learned that pace and flexibility are important in running a business and although we aren’t where we thought we would be – we are better every day and blessed with people in our lives who support us emotionally and by chipping in and volunteering at the stables.

In the end we would say problems are solved by having perseverance, grace, patience, loyalty to each other and our mission and just plain grit.

Lori, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Brian and I were born into the horse industry, we were raised on a small horse farm in Goshen, NY by my dad, Don who was a genuine cowboy. I was honestly not interested in horses growing up or for most of my adult life. My nephew, Brian on the other hand is as close to a carbon copy of my dad as you can get. He learned everything he could about horses from his grandfather, worked on a Dude Rach as a teenager and has owned horses his entire life. Brian has a deep upstanding and love for horses. He rides and trains horses, cow sorts and team pens. He has a connection with these beautiful animals that is hard to explain without seeing it.

We were raised to value the ability to introduce people to the sport of horseback riding as an affordable opportunity. We are a family run down to earth farm that welcomes beginners and people who have never been on a horse. We love introducing people of all ages to the sport and seeing the smiles on their faces during and after their first ride. Safey is important to us, and we ensure our horses are well trained, calm and experienced with new riders. Before your ride we orientate customers on how to ride and give them detailed instructions. All rides are led by a trained and experienced trail guide.

We are located about an hour North of NYC. We offer a large lawn with fire pits, a free petting zoo, pony rides pony and trial ride parties, photo shoots and specialty rides which includes a picnic ride and a date night ride. We also offer lessons, boarding, have a riding team and host Cow Sorting competitions. Stop by and visit us and meet our beautiful horses.

Juckas Riding Stables, 1204 Pine Bush, Ny 12566 www.juckasstables.com

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We love our customers and the best way to grow clientele is ensure they feel valued and treated with respect all while taking their concerns and sometimes fears of trying something new seriously. Most important to us is our mission for then to have fun and connect with their horse.

Once this happens, we offer to take pictures of them and their horse and ask them to follow us and tag their picture on social media. We also invite customers to leave reviews. Referrals and return customers are the foundation of our client base. In the past year we have built our Instagram following from a few thousand to over 10 thousand and growing. This is a great way to show what we do, who we are and engage with folks who are customers and those who are thinking about trying our services.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We were lucky to have taken over a business that was in our family and had a great reputation. We have built on that foundation and expanded the services we offer, hours we are open and customized riding opportunities.

Our reputation is built everyday one customer at a time. We know this and ensure our employees also value the importance of our reputation. As a service business it is essential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juckasstables.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juckasridingstables/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juckasridingstables
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/juckas-riding-stables-pine-bush