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Okay, let's get this blog started!
Brenda Haley is a horse loving, horse property selling Realtor who loves the area and has been here for more than 22 years. She lives in Canon City and I think I'll make this blog easy on me and easy on people who take the time to respond: I sent out questions to be answered and I'll paste them here!
www.horsestop.net
Location: Colorado Springs and Canon City areas, including Westcliffe and Pueblo
Business: Realtor specializing in selling and buying horse properties
How did you get started when?
Began in 2003. Realtors were paying me to put their ads on Horsestop so I thought, hey, I would love to be a Realtor and meet people and connect them with their new homes!
Why did you start your site and how long have you had it?
Horsestop has been around for 10 years now. I wanted to have a site that would help connect horse people up and down the front range. I used to pay for my time with advertisements from feed stores, etc but now it's totally free, it pays for itself when I connect with someone looking for a horse property.
How many views do you get and from where?
I average between 2200 and 4000 views per month, the slowest month is November, best is in April. I imagine it's people checking show information.
What do you enjoy best about selling horse properties to people?
I absolutely love meeting new people coming into the area. Several of my riding club members are folks I've sold houses to!
Are you a barrel racer, trail rider or what?
I specialize in dressage and am president of our local chapter, Arkansas Valley Dressage Association, or AVDA. We began offering "cowboy dressage" at our shows and get several reining horsemen from as far as Buena Vista coming to ride our tests in their western gear. It's a hoot and they usually beat us with better scores!
How many horses do you have?
Currently I have two, a Thoroughbred and an Arabian.
Do your kids compete in anything locally (horsewise)?
Canon City has a very active 4-H membership. We are trying to get them involved with our dressage club.
What has been the most memorable sale for you?
I sold a gorgeous home with 35 acres in the Westcliffe area to someone that became one of my best friends! She made it memorable and we are the ones that formed our club.
If there was a "dream sale" you could do (Robert Redford's ranch?) what would it be and why?
Actually it would be one that I have listed, in Penrose on 75 acres with a huge indoor arena, custom apartment and state of the art barn all under one roof! I would love to live there myself!
Local bests in your opinion (horse events, eating, etc)?
We have several good cafes; one began in Penrose, the Coyote Den. They now have branched out into Canon City, the community college, and Pueblo! We have the famous Blossom Festival the end of May with our annual Royal Gorge Rodeo; the town fills up with interesting people.
Colorado native or ?
I was born and raised in Maryland, which is horse country, racing, steeple chasing, and hunting. I moved to Colorado Springs when I was 12. I have lived in the same house in Canon City now for 22 years.
Any strange or fun stories of selling a property?
I was showing a house to a young man and he asked me why I parked my truck way out in the road, up the hill. I explained to him that if it didn't start that I could put it in neutral to get it rolling so I could jump start it. He thought that was so funny that he called the next day and said he was using me as his realtor because he needed a house and I needed a sale! We are friends to this day, he was just here for a party! (that's funny!)
Anything else I might not be thinking to ask!
Sure, if anyone is thinking of selling or buying an equine property in the future they should give me a call, also be sure to check out Horsestop to submit their free club information, events and classified ads.
