Kalen McKelvey’s love of horses began at a very early age. But it wasn’t until she moved to Montana from New Hampshire that she was able to purchase her first horse. She met Jake, a native of Cut Bank and a fellow animal lover, and they were married in April 2017. When Kalen had a dream of starting a business in the horse industry, Jake was on board! Kalen worked with Small Business Advisor Rich Gannon to build the business. “We got the ball rolling and Rich gave me a really good checklist on what needed to be done to get the business started. Rich was a great resource . It was a great experience.”
Sunshine Stables opened in the spring of 2020. The community support and response for boarding services was tremendous. With a customer waiting list Kalen decided it was time to expand Kalen contacted GFDA’s Vice President of Lending Jill Kohles. Kalen secured a GAP loan through GFDA to finance the expansion. “When it was time connected me with Jill to secure the financing it was a great experience and enabled us to add six more paddocks to expand operations. Without GFDA Sunshine Stables would not be what it is today. GFDA helped make my dream a reality.”
