Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pamela Pikul. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Pamela, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Posh Performance Horses is home to a 48 stall equestrian facility located on 17.5 beautiful, open, grassy pastures in ever growing Lee’s Summit, Mo with easy access to highway 50 and 7. This great equestrian location has a well known history for the past 50 years for horse boarding, equestrian shows and lessons to name a few. It is a regular equestrian staple for those in the surrounding areas or as an overnight hotel for those passing through on their way to the larger horse show destinations.

Posh Performance Horses recently acquired this great facility and we are excited to share our growth with the community. POSH is uniquely different from the industry standard on a number of important factors, from our name, to our mission, methods, and mentoring styles, but most importantly treatment and awareness of the horse as a whole.
Recognizing that mental and emotional health are equally as important as physical and nutritional.
Recognizing the signs and symptoms relating to pain/injury/refusal and resolving these issues, not just covering them up and forcing them through for our own benefits.
Recognizing the importance of consistent and patient training methods that take growth rates and mental preparedness into consideration prior to working.
Recognizing the importance of making work time, fun for the horse so they look forward to their time under saddle.
Recognizing that the individual needs of a horse must be considered for the longevity and maturity to understand the “asks” that come with learning.
Recognizing that there are better ways of communicating with all horses.

Times and expectations are notably changing and Posh Performance Horses is excited to be at the forefront of better ways, better communication and better connections for both the horse and their owners. Our catch phrase is, “Doing it right” and our horses reflect that exactly. POSH is teaching and creating happy, healthy partnerships of horse and rider, confident and ready for anything, with a love to work and show through a trustful relationship of their partner doing right by each other.

Our Name:

Our name and most importantly, we, the POSH owners are unique ourselves to the industry standard. POSH is an acronym for the four women owners; (Pam, Olivia, Samantha, Hannah) that created, labor daily and share their knowledge and love that is Posh Performance Horses. We are not your typical women and yes, we are all related but equal and dedicated partners in the business. Each of us offers our own special skills and talents. Pam is the barn “fix it” gal and financial bookkeeper. Olivia is our social media guru and barn organizer, Sam is our amazingly talented trainer and overall go to person and Hannah is our tech support and contract wizard. We four, have spent our lives; 99 years collectively, continually learning about what we love; the horse.

Our passion for horses motivated our lifetime of continued learning and daily experience to date. We worked for boarding barns as very young children for beginner riding lessons on a 12 hand pony named Dixie. We labored basic horse care; handling/grooming/worming and mucking stalls. We joined an exceptional 4H club (from ages 8 to 18) where we received first hand training in everything horse from the most knowledgeable people in their fields. The knowledge gained from working side by side with the best farriers, vets, dentists, breeders and trainers in multiple disciplines for 10+ years is unmeasurable. We attended and participated in tours/clinics/trivia/observing professionals in action at barn care appointments, clinical surgeries, and emergency farm visits. We studied and practiced everything about the horse for the national horse bowl competitions. Increasing our knowledge and understanding to the point of discussion from beginner basic topics such as understanding and identifying grasses and legumes, tack/equipment, different disciplines, terminology, color, breeds/origin to the extensive; reproduction, nutrition, digestive systems, recognizing and understanding diseases, parasites and injury, all the way down to dissecting a real horse hoof with a top notch farrier learning the importance of health and balance both inside and out and everything in between.

Our love and passion flourished into the show pen as well, at the early ages of 5,7 and 10 years old, on a flashy little paint horse named Cowboy and an 11 hand Shetland pony named Puzzle. If we weren’t showing we were working at shows as the ring steward, announcer, gate handler or scribe, and let me tell you these youngsters performed as experienced adults. As we got older, we began judging classes at state competitions and continued showing with a great group of knowledgeable world champion exhibitors and trainers that openly shared their years of invaluable experience with us (for which we are eternally grateful). At age 12,after years of building a notable reputation, we were highly sought after to work local barns with 25+ horses for our quality care, exceptional knowledge, patient handling and attention to detail.

We eventually started a successful business taking care of farm animals. We were exceptional in our quality care and knowledge, we offered peace of mind for the owners while they were away. They trusted our care and received a personal nightly update including pictures so they could rest, relax and enjoy their time apart. We worked for both large and small farms and the elite veterinarian’s personal homes and animals. All of these great years of first hand knowledge and experience has carried over into who we are today, making us exceptionally qualified to recognize early detection signs including general health, mental, emotional or lameness concerns.

Our Mission

Our Mission is simple and unique to the industry as well, but we are hoping it becomes the new standard. It makes us smile when we witness surrounding barns watching and imitating our model of care. We strive to provide what every horse and owner deserves; the best care in all aspects; physical, mental and emotional health which is generally not even a consideration in the industry to date.
Originally from St. Louis, we moved to Kansas City in 2013 and started looking for a barn where our horses would be happy and well cared for. Whether it be no turnout, not enough shavings, limited hay, lack of knowledgeable caretakers, angry neighboring horses and injuries or refusal to administer medication and supplements, we struggled to find a place that catered to our horses the way we wanted them cared for. We searched for an environment that allowed us to go home worry free knowing our horses were in capable hands with quality care, but unfortunately we weren’t able to find this.

We started POSH, to meet our own high expectations of quality care for every horse and owner alike. We strive to meet all the needs of the horse, well beyond the exceptional basic care of ample shavings, fresh daily water, excess quality brome hay, Nutrena feed, daily outdoor grazing time in grassy pastures with small, compatible turn out groups. We strive to meet the horses mental/emotional health and happiness as well. Oftentimes this is more important to a horse’s health and yet completely overlooked in our society’s standards. Specifically we provide calm and consistent handling, proper physical, mental and emotional health as well as stimulation and confidence building in a stress free and trusted environment. We recognize and specialize in breaking out babies and rehabilitating the horses that have received inconsistent or aggressive handling, training/daily care that can break their trust, mental stability and confidence. On top of it all, we offer real time pictures or videos of each horse during the day or as a night check on our private messenger group providing smiles and stress free rest and relaxation while apart, so the owners know that what we say is what we do and it shows in the calm, happiness of the horses directly.

Our Methods:

Our methods meet and center around our mission and our desire to provide the best for the whole horse so they can live their life, happy, healthy, confident in all environments and free of pain. People tend to push and perform on horses regardless of illness, injury, insecurities or pain. Oftentimes the knowledge or experience to recognize and understand signs and symptoms are lacking and other times, the horse just comes secondary to the owner/ trainer’s time, needs, and personal agenda.

POSH treats all horses like the true athletes they are. To compete at top level, you and your horse must be physically, mentally and emotionally at peak performance. All three are equally important and missing even one diminishes the outcome . When you have invested the time with the right foods and consistent exercise program to build the muscles to carry and perform but mentally/emotionally you are unavailable, fearful or unwilling, then your performance as a team is again constricted. The same goes if you are mentally and emotionally ready, but your body/muscle is not strong enough to perform, you receive the same effect. Often times signs and symptoms are overlooked or instead of resolving the problem, the issue receives a “band-aid” to get them in the pen to ride through the pain, fear or injury without a second thought.

We work side by side with the top chiropractors, farriers and veterinarians to continue growing, learning and understanding so we can continue to perform at top levels without causing pain, injury or insecurity with our hard working partners, our horses.

Our methods, work to meet the individual needs of each horse and rider where they are at the time. We look closely to provide a quality foundation, filling gaps as needed for horses and riders just starting with us or continuing, so they are confidently skilled to succeed in whatever they want to do without needing a trainer by their side every step of the way. We work to set both the horse and rider up for success by providing the information and hands on direction as much as needed. We want to make sure they are competent and comfortably understand the what’s, why’s and how-to’s without rushing them through their horse experiences, so if they are on a trail ride or in the show pen they will confidently know what and how to handle anything that comes their way.

We recognize the many different ways that horse’s try to express how they are feeling and what problems they may be having. We actively share this information with our boarders/ lesson students and work on healing the issues so they can perform at their best and feel good doing it, which shows so much more than you realize. Everyone in our program, from beginner basics to expert level, learn the importance of putting eyes on a horse and recognizing illness, injury or issues during the grooming process, prior to riding that need to be addressed. If you know what to look for you will be able to recognize some of the more common, obvious tell tale signs needing your attention and prevent negative behaviors under saddle that others may overlook or not recognize to be problems. Biting, flinching, swinging back during saddling/cinching, head bobbing/head shaking at the walk ,trot or canter, ribbyness, swollen sheath, heat or swelling in leg/hock, active lameness, pawing, excessive sweating without cause, stomping, swishing tails, refusal to pick up feet, ears set back and apart, dull coat, lack of energy, cribbing, hay dunking, rubbing tails, spookiness, even the way they carry their ears and headset when relaxing, resting their legs, to the way they carry themselves under saddle, are all signs that are often overlooked or dismissed. Talk to your vet, research, ask a knowledgeable equestrian, you can learn so much. Often times horses are labeled as “problems” or “difficult” or “dangerous” but sometimes it is nothing more than pain being overlooked. Be willing to look, listen, recognize and address the issues with empathy. Pay attention when your horse is telling you loud and clear that there is a problem. Be available to look deeper and put yourself in their shoes . Imagine if you have a pinched nerve in your back and it’s really painful. What would you do if your rider is on your back kicking and cursing and pushing you forward thinking you’re just refusing due to laziness? The signs are always there if you look. Things can get ugly fast if your not attentive to your horse and it never needs to be if you are knowledgeable and aware.

Mentoring:

We understand that knowledge is power and we love to share our knowledge with anyone and everyone that wants to continue their equestrian education. We understand clearly that one method does not work the same for every horse, so even though knowledge from books and videos are great, every horse and rider is actively differently, has different issues, behaviors and triggers as well as energy levels and motivation. Like people, what works for some doesn’t work for all. Issues among horses present differently from horse to horse, as no two are alike. Life experiences create insecurities and behaviors. We recognize the issues, break the barriers whether it’s with the horse or rider or both, provide the information to understand and move forward with confidence and knowledge.

We recognize the importance of creating mentally and emotionally stronger horses with a self confidence and love to do their job. We provide daily confidence builders for our horses, in low impact ways such as: open face stalls to interact at their level of comfort and build upon it, obstacles in the arena during turn out time to experience at their speed and level of maturity such as tarps, obstacles, snow caps and being able to watch other events and riders. We also turn out in different pastures for different views and experiences as well as interacting with different neighboring herds.

Our training methods are as unique as we are. We recognize that all horses are not the same, each has its own insecurities and issues from previous life experiences and each are looked at independently including mental, physical and emotional levels. Like kindergarteners, some are more advanced physically, but not mentally or vice versa. Some need to wait another year for emotional maturity before they can handle the atmosphere and training. Some are still small, tiny in size or timid and need to blossom before education can be comprehended. We work at the horse’s speed and maturity, not forcing more than they can manage and allowing their minds and bodies the time and understanding to learn these new skills with the love to learn, and a sound mind and body for a lifetime of longevity.

Sam is our trainer and she is amazingly knowledgeable and talented. She teaches calm, consistent handling and clear communication between the horse and rider. She sets the horse and rider up for success by making sure the beginner basics are correct, meaning you are able to use the proper body position, understand and use the different parts of your body and legs independently as needed, and have enough muscle to carry yourself, the same as the horse is expected to do for you. You will hear her say, “Always look at yourself, the rider first and foremost before correction.” Not always, but more often than not, riders are correcting the horse for the mixed signals given from the rider, such as their body position is leaning forward and they are pulling back to stop, simple miscommunications from the rider but when you are aware you can look to yourself, make the correction and continue to build a trusting relationship with your horse. She teaches an understanding of the horse, how it moves, and how to use its muscles correctly so the horse can build the appropriate muscles to move and carry itself correctly with ease and without injury. Her expectations for the horse and rider are the same, to be in top physical and mental shape to ride at your best and highest ability. She has a three part system of Ask, Tell, Demand, which allows for the horse and rider to understand each other clearly and offers the horse the option to think things through and make the right decision. Often times trainers give limited information or maybe explain in unfamiliar terms that make no sense, so voice concerns and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you don’t understand. We realize that every rider is on their own journey of learning, accept yourself and others where they are, offer kind words of understanding if you can relate to where they are, or motivational words when they are hitting a wall and struggling to get beyond it. Don’t be critical or try to tear them down. Lift them up and make a new friend in the horse world. Sam shares all her knowledge with her clients through hands-on direction in calm, patient lessons. She wants the rider to have the confidence to go out and be successful on their own in whatever they choose to do that day, without needing to rely on the trainer.

To build a better relationship and memorable journey, t’s always important to remember these tips and tricks:

Understand your horse and their needs. Be aware and be attentive. Remember swishing tails, pawing, flinching, biting are all signs that something is wrong or painful (see comments above). Put your horse first not last. Their health and happiness should never be secondary to your desire to ride, show or compete. We know it’s hard to do, when you have invested the months of patient training into your horse and team for the huge upcoming show and they come down lame or an issue arises, but Do The Right Thing by your horse. It’s never worth drugging them up and pushing them through the pain.

Work steady and put in the time to practice and build self confidence in yourself and your riding skills as well as taking the time to build the same self confidence in your horse. They will happily thank you for it and be a better and more willing partner in everything you do together.

Continue working on areas of weakness, muscle memory and difficult tasks take time to master. Work out off the horse so you as a rider are also in top physical and mental shape to match your partner.

If you’re showing, remember to judge yourself against your last ride and not the ribbon received. There will be plenty of times the ribbon won’t match the ride. It is the judges prerogative, your best ride ever may be overlooked in a huge class of world champion horses and riders and on the flip side you may have stumbled or broke gait in the corner and the judge missed it and placed you first.

POSH is improving partnerships and understanding with their hands on training program and creating true happiness within the horse and owner independently and together.
Some of our greatest compliments come from our boarders and strangers alike while touring our facility, or at shows when they recognize and announce how happy our horses are or that they have never been in a barn of 31 horses that are so happy, calm and quiet, peacefully coexisting with compatible neighbors. We can’t help but smile, achieving this goal daily and knowing that POSH is making a difference in their time with us and the knowledge they will carry to others beyond our facility is priceless.
That old saying is true, “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” and we are excited to be a part of raising the industry standard to a greater level of knowledgeable care and better treatment for all horses.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

It was a high stress time and the clock was ticking too fast for our liking.

We had purchased a 52 stall equestrian facility that had been vacant and pretty run down for almost two years prior to our ownership.

Me and my three daughters had all pitched in as the new owners/laborers and caretakers making the repairs and creating our brand/reputation that we had spent our lifetime building.

My oldest daughter Sam is the barn trainer and we had several boarding horses move in over the last year and quite a few that were invited to join the POSH equestrian show team.

We brought our older 4 horse trailer with living quarters with us and it had been our transportation to all the shows throughout our first year. It was a very successful first year out making a name for POSH on the show circuit. Even though we did great earning several world champion titles the trailer was not pulling it weight by any means.

Even though we did routine maintenance before and after trips, the trailer was not making the long distance trips without stranding us in one direction or the other.

Knowing that the biggest show of the season was approaching quickly, we had to make a decision as to whether we would invest more money to repair the old trailer or sell and invest triple in a new trailer. It was a risky decision but we went for the new trailer that would be large enough to transport all the horses we would be showing instead of making double trips to get everyone there.

We decided to sell ours so we would have something to put toward the new one. It sold quickly and the search was one.

We were looking for an 8 horse trailer with living quarters since the majority of shows were weeks longs but with the market the way it was with the economy, their were virtually no used horse trailers that were the size we needed. We realized we were now in quite the dilemma. We were two weeks out from the Worlds Show with 7 horses going to show and everywhere we looked there was nothing or if one popped up it was sold by the time we called.

We finally found one about 4 hours away and we finished our barn chores and jumped in the truck hopeful that this would work for us. We arrived around 7pm as the sun was setting. It was beat up and being used as a storage unit filled to the top with beds and furniture. It was a six horse but we were desperate enough that if it hadn’t been so rough we would have helped them unload it and taken it home. We drove back that same night and got in after midnight.

We found another the very next day and we were even more excited than the previous trailer.
This one was 8 hours one direction but we finished all the barn and hit the road again. Another failure. We drove through the night feeling exhausted and more nervous than ever We had already paid thousands of dollars for all the stalls and classes for our string of show horses attending. Time was ticking away and we were no closer than we were previously.

We reached out to new trailer builders since 8 horse trailers were very difficult to find. Even that was months out and more than we could afford to pay or finance with the new barn and all the improvements. We were supposed to be leaving in just two days and we still had nothing. We started reaching out to people we knew to see if anyone knew of anyone that had a trailer that was available We were sweating bullets literally discussing other options, if we couldn’t make it to the show all the money would be forfeited.

Long story short, we found a lady six hours away that had three trailers she was selling two were six horse trailers and one was an 8 horse. We made the trip. The 8 horse was a stock trailer so it wasn’t what we were looking for to represent our show team or our barn, but the six horse one was almost brand new Gorgeous.

We realized it was way out of our price range and we got ready to get in our truck and leave, but then I thought it never hurts to ask. We have made many deals that others would have thought crazy and unbelievable and yet they worked and went through all because we took the chance.

So we explained our ordeal and offered $1900 to rent the trailer for the next two weeks while we were at world’s.
She accepted and we gave her the cash, a picture of our driver’s license, copy of our insurance and a picture of ourselves

We hooked up and drove away, literally laughing in complete disbelief that a perfect stranger would allow anyone to drive off with their brand new $120,000 trailer.

Of course we are honest and trustworthy. We checked in by text when we arrived in Tulsa OK and let them know when we were heading back. After spending weeks in the trailer we decided we would like to buy it, so we made another deal when we returned, we asked if we could make monthly payments of $1500 for the next 10 months and then we would get a loan in February for the balance of the loan.

Again she agreed and now we own a beautiful trailer all for making the ask.

We found one more

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

Yes we bought the barn this last month, closing the lease purchase option.

It was a long process.

Contact Info:

• Website: poshperformancehorses.com
• Instagram: @poshperformance
• Facebook: POSH Performance Horses
• Linkedin: n/a
• Twitter: n/a
• Youtube: n/a
• Yelp: n/a
• Other: n/a

Image Credits
Kayla Rose Artistry