A Message from PTB Founder, Tracey Currey

PonyTail Bows has grown into everything I imagined it could become and more. Growth and success has to come from change and I have some big and very exciting news for you.

My good friend, and very respected business owner, Staci (Equestrian Team Apparel) has acquired PonyTail Bows. I am so excited for the future of the company. I know Staci will be able to grow the company and maintain its values since she has been part of the PTB Family for over 5 years. 

Wow, an interesting place to be. An end and a beginning at the same time. I knew this day would come but now that it is here, well it feels weird. I also know it is right. As hard as it is to say goodbye, it is time for me to honor everything I have learned, all the people I have met and go make an impact in a new arena. Every part of this journey has been worth it, I wouldn't change a thing.

I have looked forward to telling this story, the beginning, middle and end. Here we go.

It was fall 2013, I was driving to the barn racking my brain for a name for this bow company I had decided to start. Then, just like that, as I was talking to my Mom over the phone, I said "PonyTail Bows, that's it!"

My goodness the bows in the beginning! I always saved one or two sets over the years. They certainly changed in size and shape! I remember being so nervous to sell my first set. To take something you make and believe in, all of sudden it dawns on you, what if no one else likes it? It takes a ton of nerve and vulnerability to sell. To anyone that is willing to take a risk and start a company with their own product, you know what I mean.

My first sale and wholesale client was to Tack Boutique in Winter Garden FL. God bless Nora the owner who believed in me and loved the product! It was Spring 2014 when things really began to change and the bow line was picked up by GT Reid Equestrian Sales. For that to happen, a huge door closed in my life when my beloved Dressage partner "Z" died Feb 28 that same year. It was his in honor of his memory that pushed me to start selling wholesale and give the company everything I had.

So what I had in the beginning was a product I loved, and an idea to make a bow company the biggest and best it could be. I truly had no idea what God would really use the company for and how it would change every part of my life. That awareness came at my first Pony Finals. My 2 daughters even came with me to help!  What I learned was that the product was still not quite right. It was different and people really liked it but I knew I had to go back to design and work on creating a different size and shape. I also left Kentucky with a profound awareness of the amazing people that I had met and that all of that was because of the bows. 

Over the next years, my team and I accomplished all I had set out to do. We refined the product into a beautiful, durable bow set that although gorgeous, you literally could run over them with your car ( I really did that to test their strength and it worked! Lol) We grew the company into the largest producer of Equestrian bows in the nation with over 120 Retail accounts and thousands and thousands of bows sold!

I could not have been more proud. To this day, I love each and every bow we make, like they are these tiny little people with sass and everything. They have their own energy and love behind them and when they find their rider, my goodness they are like good luck charms! All of you PTB Bow girls out there know what I mean!

I would be remiss though, not to talk about the failures, the reality of how hard owning a business is and all the mistakes you will make and I made a ton. I had people lie to me, steal from me, steal the bow techniques I created, trusted the wrong people and spent way more money than I meant to. The most important part is once the sting of a mistake is over, you move on and always find the learning lesson from the failure. Isn't that what failing is for? The mistakes made me smarter and stronger. They tested my perseverance and through it all I gained a stronger identity about who I am. A woman of power, who is strong and will never, never give up.

The "Thank you list" is the most important part to this whole journey. I do believe God ordained this time in my life to meet everyone I have because they have all changed and inspired me. I wanted to become a better person because of you all.  I was blown away when I learned the stories of what others had gone through. I knew I had to do more, that is why everything I ever do for the rest of my life will always have a give back to help others. 

Here is my "Thank you list":

-To my husband of 21 years, you are an inspiration and I am honored to be with you. You supported every step of my journey and it all would never have been possible without you.

-To my girls, Ella Grace and Anna Kate. Thank you from even such a young age, for helping me by wearing bows, learning how to heat seal, sew, make product, even sell. Never complaining, always understanding and having my back. Wow, I am one lucky Mom

-To Suzanne Collard, my production manager and most incredible bow maker EVER. If you are wearing a PTB, it has more than likely been made by Suzanne. My right hand woman, we met at Panera for your interview and here we are 6 years later. Your "we've got this" statement is what has carried me through the years. She is a cancer survivor, a great friend and can seriously make a lot of amazing bows!

-To the amazing lady at Michaels who came in before her shift 7 years ago and showed me how to make my first bow. That day was the beginning.  

-To ALL my delegates, girls I love and am so proud of each and every one of you! To Jane and Linen and your Moms, thank you for walking into my booth that first Pony Finals. You all inspired the delegate program!

-To Bryn, Kristy and Elizabeth, the brains behind the website and marketing! Thank you for your support. Your talent is unmatched and you each gave greatness to PTB. You made everything I wanted the company to look and feel like possible!

-To Staci, a business woman I have so much respect for. You have more courage and work ethic than anyone I know. God crossed our paths all those years ago for this exact purpose today. PonyTail Bows has an incredible future under your leadership and I know it is going to be awesome!

-To Jerry and Sandra Reid, 2 of the kindest and supportive people I have ever met. Thank you for believing in me and my bows! Thank you for the lifetime of impact you have made on the equestrian community. I am so lucky to have known you both.

-To all the Retailers who carried our products, thank you for your support and believing in PonyTail Bows!

-To all the awesome business owners out there, you all have become friends, mentors and have inspired so many, including me. Thank you for having the guts to make your product and impact our community!

My last thank you is to the thousands of customers who supported PonyTail Bows over the years. Many calls and emails about questions and product turned into friendships. I have been touched and changed because of you all, not a day goes by that I am not humbly grateful.

Well, here we are. I am passing on the "Bow torch" to incredibly capable hands. Every part of PonyTail Bows has shaped me into who I am and I am ready for what's next. It will be awesome. 

Let's all remember what matters most. Start each day with gratitude, be humble, give others grace and make a difference in all you do!

Dress Up. Play Hard. Stand Out.

Tracey