Patricia "Pat" A. Seeley passed away two days ago following a long and courageous battle with cancer. She ran the Tack Shop. I don't care what role her late husband Ron had, Pat ran the Tack Shop. She was a woman of firm opinions, firm commitments and firmer beliefs. Sometimes we joke about people and their beliefs. "It was Pat's way or the Highway"! Well, to run a multi-million dollar business in good and down times takes a special hand. Pat had that iron hand.
I have known Pat since "Hector was a Pup" so to speak. I was dealing at the "Tack Shop" before the building was even built, or before the additions were put onto the building. We went down the stone steps into the basement of the house to pick up a halter that Ron had repaired. Ron wasn't the one who greeted me, it was Pat. Ron was off at the Cleveland Zoo where he was employed for so many years. The Tack Shop was like "Topsy"...it grew and grew and grew.
I remember one Halloween in Valley City. The kids were little, Nathan and Sarah dressed up like Star Wars characters and I dressed like a hooker/stripper/vampire/witch with long fishnet stockings. We participated in the Halloween walk through downtown Valley City and stopped by the Tack Shop. Pat was hosting candy for the Trick or Treaters, and Vodka Shots for the grownups. She did like her Vodka! We all used to joke "If you were married to Ron, you would like Vodka too"! She wasn't a drinker, but every once in awhile the vodka seemed like a good idea!
Pat never said no to a good fund raising cause. She participated in all local Horse Shows by way of donating a prize or sponsoring a class or taking out an ad. Her life revolved around the Shop, her girls and her grandchildren. She and I would have a special moment each year when Christmas came around. She looked forward to my Christmas letters, and she and I would share special thoughts with one another at Christmas. "Got your Christmas letter, I loved it" she would say.
I remember a hasty visit I made to the Shop which was just down the hill on Rt. 303 from our house and Pat and I were deep in conversation when a gentleman walked through the Shop door and said "Is there a Pat or Judy here"? My daughter Sarah, age 4 had left home to walk down Rt. 303 to the Tack Shop. (I had gone to the shop and left her home with her father and brother.) The gentleman had stopped his car on the road and picked Sarah up on Rt. 303 thereby avoiding a potentially nasty and fatal accident. "Where are you going little girl"? he said. "Mom left me home with Dad and I wanted to go see Pat at the Tack Shop too"!
Sarah and I have been travelling to "see Pat" ever since!
God's speed dear friend, God's speed!
From the basement of the Seeley home built in 1857 to a 14,000-square-foot retail establishment: That’s the story of one of the area’s most unique businesses, Valley Tack at 6780 Center Road, Valley City.
In 1963, the late Ron Seeley happened to meet a man who was an expert at tooling leather. Ron, who worked at the Cleveland Zoo, was great at repairing anything, according to his wife, Pat.
“Ron’s grandfather used to have horses,” Pat said, so they decided to buy a specialized sewing machine together and begin repairing equestrian equipment. That was 1963.
“One day he asked me to write to a company to see if they would send us some halters to sell because some were beyond repair,” Pat said. “I thought that he was crazy — who would come to our basement to buy a halter?”
As he went to work each day, it was up to Pat to be the customer service representative. She was also busy raising three girls in a rural area where they had to be driven everywhere.
But it worked. Soon he had to expand the basement operation — twice. Behind the house were garages and a barn. In 1972, Ron remodeled the front part of the barn and the business moved there and inventory grew. More additions to the barn, including the boot loft, and incorporating the garages would follow until a large store dedicated to everything equestrian and even some other animal care products, is what shoppers will now see.
While none of their daughters was interested in the business where they sometimes worked, their granddaughter, Tiffany Maat, was. After Ron passed away and Pat became ill, it was Tiffany who took over the management of the store that everyone finds interesting, whether they’re involved in horses or not.
Specialized rooms and hallways filled with merchandise are a feast for shoppers’ eyes. In the far rear of the building is the 4,000-square-foot saddle room — dozens upon dozens of saddles (new and used-on consignment) are available for every kind of riding. “We let the customers take the saddle home to see how it fits on their horse,” Pat said. “And we have a good saddle fitter.”
Of course you can find bridles, halters, girths and everything to fit out your horse. “We sell a lot of trail riding gear,” she added, “but still cater to every rider from 4-H kids to western, English, saddle seat and hunter-jumper.”
And if you don’t see what you want, just ask — Valley Tack will order it for you.
You won't see Pat or Ron, but you will know that they are still there!
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