| BIG things have been happening at Big Dee’s this year. After roughly 16 years, a new addition and couple remodels, we have simply run out of room at our current location. Many already know, but those that don’t, Big Dee’s is moving! WooHoo! I had the pleasure of touring the new building last week and I have to say “impressive” just doesn’t do it justice.
 Our new showroom is going to be huge. By huge, I mean 15,780 sqft HUGE! To put that into perspective that other horse-crazy people like myself can relate too, we could set up a 10 stall barn (12′ x 14′ stalls) with tack room and 12 foot center aisle, plus an attached Olympic-sized dressage arena and still have space left over! For those that do not measure spaces by how many horses one can fit, here is another more traditional perspective, our new showroom is almost double the size of our existing showroom. All the extra space will allow us to expand our current equine offerings, plus we have plans to increase our dog & pet supplies! There have even been talks about bringing in horse feed and dog/cat foods!
 Additionally, our warehouse is going from roughly 39,000 sqft to nearly 60,000 sqft! Yes, I think I can confidently say, our company is experiencing a fantastic growth period!
Speaking of expanding our lines, another huge development at Big Dee’s is our latest acquisition, The Paddock Saddlery! On a personal note, this is really exciting for me because The Paddock Saddlery is where I got my start in equine retail! In 2011, after 25 years of building a reputation as being the tack shop to go to for fine English tack and apparel, The Paddock Saddlery’s owners wanted to retire from traditional retail so they closed the full service English retail shop and opened a small Chagrin Falls shop that focused on specialty and custom services including saddle fitting and custom boots.
At that time the owner, Lisa Gorretta, also opened a consulting firm to serve private clients and Equine businesses. With a busy schedule working with USDF and USEF and a demand from Paddock Saddlery customers to once again expand her retail services, Lisa started considering that it might be easier to operate out of another tack shop rather than keep a store front herself.
Meanwhile, back at Big Dee’s, after polling over 500 people in a recent store survey, one common point was made apparent to us, our Dressage and Sport Horse customers wanted a better selection.
Talk about a win-win solution!
 We are very excited to expand our Dressage and Sport Horse offerings! Lisa will help us select products and equipment that Dressage, Hunter/Jumpers, and Eventers need and want. PLUS, she be offering her knowledge and expertise to our customers too!Some new services that stem from this acquisition include saddle-fitting custom and semi-custom boots by Cavallo, Dehner, Konig, and Vogel. Most saddle-fitting professionals work for a specific manufacturers and only focus on fitting that manufacturer’s saddles, whereas, Lisa’s extensive experience in saddle-fitting encompasses many different brands of english saddles. What does this mean for our customers? It means Lisa will be able to help you find whatever brand best fits you and your horse! It also means, Happy horse – happy rider! Now that is something to smile happily about!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! I know, hard to believe, but it is true! 🙂
Does this sound familiar? Have you ever been “stuck” in a rut with your horse’s progression and your trainer or a friend suggest that perhaps your horse needs a different bit? Often times, an expensive bit too, BUT you decide to “risk” it because the current bit definitely is not working. You find the bit at a local tack shop or online, buy it and after a ride (or two or three), you find that your horse is definitely not happy with the change! You can’t take the bit back because your horse has already had it in their mouth, so now you’re stuck with a bit you can’t use and you’re out some money.
Well I can tell you based on the box of bits I’ve collected over the years, it has happened to me far too many times. Well, we are about to take the “risk” out of bit purchasing! Lisa has a pretty thorough knowledge of legal and illegal bits in USEF and FEI level competitions, so she will help us establish a “Test Bit Center” with Herm Sprenger and Myler Bits. For those unfamiliar with “Test Bit Centers,” what this means is Big Dee’s will offer customers a “trial period” to see if the bit works for your horse. This way customers can be confident in their future bit purchases! The program is nothing short of “Awesome!”
Between our move and our newest acquisition, we’ve been super busy and very excited about the new services we will be able to offer! We hope our customers will help give Lisa a warm “Welcome” to Big Dee’s in January 2014. Stay tuned for the Grand opening of our new building to be announced soon! For your future reference, Big Dee’s Tack & Vet Supplies new address will be 9440 ST RT 14, Streetsboro, Ohio 44241.
And remember, Big Dee’s will be moving to the new building sometime in late February following a HUGE Moving Sale on January 30 thru February 1, 2014! We hope to see you at the sale!
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