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Looking for apparel for an English riding equestrian and tack for a horse?

Check out Tack of the Town, a new business in Trace Station Shopping Center in Ridgeland.

Located at 500 Highway 51 North in Suite K, Tack of the Town specializes in attire equestrians wear for schooling and competitions such as hunter-jumper, eventing and dressage and gear for their horses.

Jessica and Charles Stafford of Hazlehurst opened the store on March 9. 

The store is situated between The Lash+Brow Gal Studio and the space that holds a sign advertising Jutamas Thai Restaurant as coming soon. Fleet Feet and Lost Pizza Co. are in the same center.

Jessica Stafford said her daughter’s interest in English riding helped them see the need for such a store in the metro area.

“Our daughter, Cassidy, rides and competes,” she said. “There are several English barns here, and everyone said the same thing, ‘There’s nowhere to shop here.’

‘We decided to open the store and see how it goes.”

The Staffords are also developing an equestrian center in Hazlehurst that will focus on eventing, an equestrian competition that includes the events of dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

“We’re hoping by summer time to have it up and running,” Stafford said of the center. An arena for dressage and show jumping has been built, she said.

The Staffords, who have been married for 20 years, met at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Charles Stafford is from Hazlehurst and Jessica Stafford is from Prentice.

They lived in northwest Arkansas for several years, where Charles Stafford had a business creating custom leather pieces such as gun holsters, belts, and portfolios. They returned to Mississippi about a year and a half ago when Jessica Stafford’s mother became ill.

The Staffords expected to open Tack of the Town later in the year but changed their plans after they found space available in Trace Station. 

“This location came up and they made us a deal that we couldn’t pass up,” Stafford said. “It all came together easily, and we moved forward.”

The location is ideal because there are many barns nearby and access is easy, she said.

The Staffords transformed the space by painting the walls gray, installing a floor that resembles reclaimed barn wood and putting up rustic fixtures, each detail fitting for the store.

Merchandise in the 1,700-square-foot store includes breeches and shirts for competition as well as more casual clothing for schooling, boots, boot socks, belts and helmets. There are even birthday cards for the horse enthusiast.

For horses, there are saddles, saddle pads in bright colors, bridles, halters, lead ropes, grooming supplies and treats.

“The saddles are on consignment,” Stafford said. “People have brought them to us to sell. People will get a new horse and get a new saddle or upgrade to a nicer saddle.”

Several shelves hold apparel and other merchandise that is on consignment and for sale. 

New merchandise arrives almost daily, Stafford said.

“We did this 100 percent debt free,” she said. “We’re paying out of pocket”

Word of mouth and Facebook have helped spread the news that the store is open, Stafford said. Store customers are mostly women, she said, explaining that English riding appeals more to women than men.

Tack of the Town is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

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