Exploring Life & Business with Lauren Handley of LMH Equestrian, LLC @GB’s Stable

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Handley.

Hi Lauren, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I primarily grew up in Georgia, and fell in love with horses as soon as I knew what a horse was. I began riding around 5 or 6, and kept up with it through grade school, just on the local circuits. I attended UWG as a dual enrolled student in high school, and was gifted the opportunity to train with my first “upper-level” professional – Holly Hugo-Vidal. After graduating high school I went on to UGA, where I spent three years completing a finance degree with a couple minors. I competed on the IHSA hunt seat team there, while also holding a job at the stable. After graduation, I went on the road as a groom to work for Irish nations rider Darragh Kerins, while I continued to interview for what I thought were “real-world” jobs (I had Wall Street in my sights). We traveled up the east coast to NY, hitting some really neat landmarks like the American Gold Cup in North Salem, NY and the Longines Global Champions Tour on Governors Island, NY. While based in NY, I would take the Metro line into Manhattan (this was before Zoom became as popular) to interview for financial roles, and in October 2019 I moved to Hoboken, NJ to start my financial career in Midtown. I spent two years on sell-side at an equity research shop, and then two years on the buy-side at a hedge fund, always on healthcare teams. I quickly missed the horses, and began teaching on the weekends at a few different stables in NJ. Eventually I purchased Bouncer from my UGA trainer, and brought him up north with me. While I always enjoyed my team and the content of the work at the hedge fund, the office lifestyle started to wear on me, and I began looking for a different opportunity that would allow me to utilize the knowledge I had built up from years and years of working with horses and riding. A few different routes peaked my interest, but what stood out about the opportunity at GB’s here in Smyrna was the freedom to try and develop a program that aligned with my values, while having a support system that followed a structure I was more accustomed to from the financial world than the equestrian world, which is very hard if not impossible to come by. I moved back down to GA in December of 2023, where I then dug in and worked on building the foundations. High quality and dedicated horse care. Transparent billing. Invested and deliberate teaching styles. And an inclusive and friendly community. Two and a half years later, we’ve transformed into a yard that I believe our boarders and students are proud to call home. Our horses are healthy, fit, and happy. Our boarders look forward to seeing each other after work and school, no matter the age or riding discipline. And we offer a caliber of training that allows students to also go compete, and win, on the A level circuit if they so desire, without losing the friendly and supportive atmosphere at home. We’ve come a long way so far and I’m proud of the foundation we’ve set up, but I’m even more excited of what’s to come.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The first leap into being your own boss/running a business was a tough one. I left the safety net of benefits, a 401k, heck a solidified salary. I didn’t waste any time – I drove down from NY the afternoon of my last day at the hedge fund, and started working at the stable a day and a half later. I was remotely already doing the books two weeks prior. The drive of knowing you have to hustle is inspiring, but a little terrifying for those first few months. I was fortunate there was already at least a boarding structure in place to offer some sort of revenue stream to get me by while I started to kick start my lesson and training side.
Now, the struggles are a little different. I am responsible for a team, and I make sure that they are always taken care of before myself. I will feel the lean seasons before they do. For example, when it rains for two weeks and no one can train or lesson, the horses will eat more hay, use more bedding, and need extra staff attention because they are stuck inside. All of a sudden my costs went up a thousand for the month on top of fixed costs, and we lost a few thousand in income. What may have seemed like just a really unfortunate storm was a massive blow to my books, and that is something that is just Mother Nature and out of our control. We aim to hedge those occurrences, and I get a little smarter each year with finding ways to generate revenue that’s less reliant on factors outside of my control, but with horses there will always be something that keeps you on your toes. As long as I continue to look at it as a fun challenge, then we’re good!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a boarding, training, and lesson facility based in Smyrna, GA. GB’s Stable has been around for 77 years, and sits on 104 acres – which includes the lake (GB’s Lake) and riding trails. LMH Equestrian was established in December 2023, and brought in to manage the boarding operations and spearhead the training and lesson program. Boarders span all disciplines from hunters, to dressage, to trail riders, to western pleasure, but our Head Trainer specializes in hunters, equitation, and jumpers. Both boarders and independent students of any level are able to utilize training services that are tailored to their individual goals, whether that be to compete, to become a more confident rider, to develop a green horse, or to simply advance their skills in the saddle. Outside of the riding program, the care team at GB’s offers unparalleled attention to detail and customization for every horse on property, fostering a community of gratitude and trust among staff and boarders.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I was born in Seffner, FL (outside of Tampa), and our neighborhood backed up to a strawberry field. I was likely one of the last generations to say they could go outside to play, come home at dinner, and there were few worries or cares. I’d ride my bike out behind our house – there was a path with the field on one side, and the Spanish moss trees on the other. If you went down far enough, there was one tree that had enough moss and low hanging branches to make it seem like an enclosed room once you walked underneath it. I would park my bike at the base of tree, go through the moss into my little oasis, and pretend it was all kinds of things – one day it was the space of my very own restaurant and I was running around greeting guests. The next day the space was a stable and that was home base before racing around the strawberry field. I am fond of those memories, and the simplicity of being creative when there was not a need to be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: LMHEquestrian
• Facebook: LMH Equestrian, LLC
• Other: Facebook – GB’s Stable

Image Credits
Valentina Castano