Deanna Stuckey

Early Days

Started riding when I was 13 years old at Kennedy Farms in South St. Louis County. My love and passion for horses was very evident. After my first lesson they put me in the adult class, and after 3 weeks I was riding in my first show.
I continued showing in local shows. (English and Jumping)
I joined the Girl Scout Mounted Troop at age 15. For fun I continued to do local showing. (English and Western along with Cross Country Jumping)

Employment History

At the age of 19, I drove carriages in Indianapolis. The opportunity to get back to St. Louis arose when I was offered and accepted a job driving carriages for St. Louis Carriage Company. (I continue, to this day, helping them out when they are short handed.)
I took a job as a certified nurse assistant. During this time I continued to buy horses, train them and sell them. I began trail riding heavily across Missouri and Illinois. A 30 mile ride was normal. I also cleaned stalls part time for St. Louis Carriage Company.
In 2002 started working for Greg Streeter at Greensfelder. My responsibilities included cleaning stalls, feeding and helping out where I could.
In 2004 took a hiatus for a year from Greensfelder to learn under Micala Kennedy, my old instructor. I maintained approximately 15 show horses. This included grooming, stamina/training on a daily basis, ordering feed, vet appointments and farriers for all of the horses, up to 50 head. I also gave a few lessons when asked.
2005 went back to Greensfelder cleaning stalls and feeding. I've always been known for my stalls which is not a big deal to most, but to an owner a clean dry stall is a must. Spending the time each day with each horse enables you learn their movements and their tendencies. This is key because it promotes early detection when something critical is going wrong. This helps the owner and the vet diagnose unforeseen problems.
In 2005 Greg decided to give up his contract at Greensfelder. I bid on the contract and won. I was in charge of all aspects of the property under STL County Parks and Recreation which included running the boarding barn, and leasing out the smaller barn. I also brought public trail riding back to the park which had been non existent for years. I ran 15 head of public guided trail horses by appointment, along with maintaining 39 stalls 6 days a week. I made vet and farrier appointments while maintaining the business. I was lucky to have a good network of friends that helped when they could and one full time employee.
In Oct 2006 I chose to give up Greensfelder with the news that I was expecting my 3rd child in April ‘07. I sadly end my contract on 12-31-06.
While at home I maintained a few horses that I kept from my trail ride string. I kept in touch with several of my boarders at GF, including Will and Rebecca. I still to this day get calls from boarders asking for advice on stables, purchasing a new horse, hauling their horses or medical situations. I loved my boarders and tried very hard to make their horse experience the best that I could.
After some time off with my new son Tristan, I chose to move to Will's new farm in Owensville in August 2007. It was the best thing I could do for my boys. The farm has allowed me to spend much more time with them. It seems hectic at times but here they can join me in daily farm activities. I currently handle all aspects of the farm ranging from working the horses on and off the farm, purchasing cattle, sheep, goats and selling beef. Manage the employees and projects of the farm. Taking care of the daily expenses and rolling accounts.