Strides Riding Academy secures $2.5M 504 loan to purchase 20-acre equestrian facility in Petaluma, CA
Capital Access Group (www.capitalaccess.com), a commercial real estate lender specializing in U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loans for growing businesses, recently provided Maggie Clancy, the owner of Strides Riding Academy, LLC, (http://www.stridesridingacademy.com), with $2,540,000 in financing to purchase a 20-acre, full-service equestrian facility located at 100 Lynch Road, Petaluma, California. The SBA 504 loan enabled Clancy to purchase the property and to add a boarding facility to generate additional revenue for the business, and to serve the needs of the local horse riding community.
Strides Riding Academy was founded by Maggie Clancy, whose approach to horse training is based on helping students build and enjoy relationships with their horses through trust and mutual respect. The business provides full-service riding and training programs for beginner students riding lesson-horses through advanced students competing on the national competition circuit. Strides’ services include year-round lessons, camps, clinics, and boarding services.
Prior to moving to the new facility, Clancy operated her business out of a leased space in Penngrove, California. Initially, she wasn’t ready to purchase the property at 100 Lynch Road, so she leased the property with the intent purchase.
“Cara (Rudy) from Capital Access was awesome,” said Maggie Clancy, Owner, Strides Riding Academy. “Initially, I reached out to her to find out what I needed to do to buy the property. Cara would check in regularly. She really stuck with it. I think most lenders would drop you if you didn’t have the numbers right away, but Cara was just amazing.”
Owning the property has made a big difference for Clancy and her business.
“For the business itself, ownership allows us to make the structural changes needed to improve the property,” said Clancy. “It also gives clients confidence bringing their horses here for boarding services, because they know we own the property and that we’re going to be here for the long-term.”
Since purchasing the property, Clancy and her team have made significant improvements, including putting in new footing in the four riding arenas, building new turnouts, knocking down old fencing, redoing the entry, and “painting everything,” according to Clancy.
Clancy says that she couldn’t have made the leap to ownership without the SBA 504 program and the service she received from Capital Access Group.
“The biggest advantage to the 504 loan was definitely the low down payment,” said Clancy. “The other advantage was being able to show that my business would support the purchase. Capital Access Group looked at my business plan, and their analysis went way beyond the numbers. This purchase would not have been possible with a conventional real estate loan.”
“We were so pleased to help Maggie purchase this property to grow her business,” said Cara Rudy, Vice President, Capital Access Group. “Maggie has an amazing record of success for someone so young — I believe she’s the youngest borrower I’ve ever worked. We look forward to hearing more great things about Maggie and Strides Riding Academy.”