McCulloch Training Stables Moves to Texas

By: Brittany Bevis

An exciting move is in the works for McCulloch Training Stables, which is currently based out of Portland, Oregon. Shannon McCulloch Bacon and her husband, Tom, will be packing their bags and relocating Shannon’s training operation east to Pilot Point, Texas. They’ve also partnered with long-time friends and clients, Molly and Maria Salazar, on the property.

“Our new place is the former Equine Saltwater Therapy Ranch on Friendship Road in Pilot Point, Texas,” Shannon says. “We didn’t purchase the saltwater equipment and will just be running my training business, McCulloch Training Stables there. My sister, Erin McCulloch, will also be training out of there too.”

The well-appointed property includes 18 stalls, a 100 by 200 covered arena, and a smaller covered pen that will be home to a panel walker. There are also plenty of turnout paddocks.

“The property consists of two parcels,” she says. “Tom and I bought the house side, which includes the dog kennel. We will continue to operate the dog kennel and are excited to meet all our fellow pet owners in the area. We and Maria and Molly Salazar own the barn side of the property in a partnership. Maria won’t move full time to Texas, but she plans on going back and forth and will spend a couple weeks a month there.”

Shannon says they’ve been considering a move for quite some time. Both the weather conditions and the close proximity to major horse shows sealed the deal. And that’s not to mention the high quality of equine health care in the Pilot Point area being a selling point as well.

“Although both Tom and myself are from Oregon and love its natural beauty, the long, rainy winters contributed to our decision,” she says. “The long hauls to the big shows are also a factor that will be eliminated with the move. Most shows that we travel to from the new place will be no more than two days when we’re used to having to travel four days each way to the Congress. Think about that. That’s an entire week of just driving!”

“I’m also looking forward to working with the world class vets and farriers in the area. With the shorter distances to the shows, I will personally get about 20 days back a year that I would’ve spent hauling to the shows. I’m sure that I’ll find something fun to do with that free time.”

The move will take place at the end of April, so it’s just around the corner. The business model of MTS will remain the same, with one addition. Shannon’s sister, Erin, will be training out of the property as well and, given her specialization in bringing along young horses, Shannon is excited to incorporate this offering for her clientele.

“We can now offer a wider range of training that now include two-year-olds,” Shannon says. “I’ve been in a boarding barn situation for a number of years, and the facility isn’t conducive to breaking young horses, so I intentionally haven’t had any [of these younger horses] for awhile. Also, Erin also doesn’t go to as many shows as I do, so we can now provide a better service to our horses when I’m away at the shows. She will travel to some of the larger shows with us, but not a lot of the smaller ones.”

As far as traveling to shows is concerned, the central location of Pilot Point, Texas is ideal. “I’m looking forward to being centrally located, not only for the shows, but also for travel.  It’s easy to fly most anywhere from Dallas, and it will open up many more locations that would’ve taken way too long to travel to from Oregon. It’s going to be fun to pick fun destinations to explore. “

We wish Shannon and crew the best of luck with their new home. Welcome to horse country!