A Life Built Around Animals
My name is Deanna, and I've spent my life and livelihood with animals. I've been riding since I was 13 in South County Missouri, and that early love for horses set the course for everything that followed.
Over the years, I built my own stables and ran a public rental string at Greensfelder Park Stables, located behind Six Flags in Eureka, Missouri. That meant managing a string of trail horses for the public — selecting calm, reliable mounts, keeping them sound and well-conditioned, and making sure every family that came through had a safe, memorable ride. You learn fast which horses can handle a nervous first-timer versus an experienced rider, and you learn to read both the animals and the people.
Shire Gate Farms
From there, I made the move to ride and manage horses at the Witherspoon Farm, called Shire Gate Farms in Owensville, Missouri, where I spent 8 years running nearly every aspect of the operation.
The horse program alone was a full-time job. I kept up to 14 horses legged up at any given time — meaning fit, conditioned, and ready to ride. That's daily turnout, hoof care schedules with the farrier, monitoring for lameness or injury, managing feed programs for each individual horse based on their workload and body condition, and knowing when something was off before it became a problem. I did all the hauling — to the vet, to shows, to new pastures. A truck and trailer were always hitched up and ready to go.
But the horses were just the beginning. I helped the owner procure additional acreage to expand the farm, then started and maintained a cow-calf operation from the ground up. That meant selecting breeding stock, managing the bull, monitoring heat cycles, assisting with calving when needed — including middle-of-the-night births in freezing weather — and making sure every calf got colostrum in that critical first window. I purchased cattle at auction, evaluated bloodlines and conformation, hauled animals to slaughter facilities, and managed the farm's direct-to-customer beef sales from order to delivery.
I also procured goats and hogs for breeding programs on the property. Each species has its own reproductive timeline, nutritional demands, and management challenges. Goats kid differently than cows calve. Hogs farrow differently than either. Managing multiple species at once teaches you to think in systems — how one operation's schedule affects another, how to prioritize when three things need attention at the same time.
Beyond the animals, I coordinated with builders, excavators, veterinarians, and multiple vet hospitals. I maintained the five homes on the property, handled party planning and hosting for the owner's guests, and kept the entire operation running. It was all-hands, all-hours, and I loved every minute of it. But the time came to part ways for myself and my three children.
What the Farm Taught Me
After a six-month hiatus, I decided to work for the USPS. I loved my customers, but an injury on the job made it impossible to continue as a City Letter Carrier.
But those years on the farm never left me. I learned to read an animal's body language before they show obvious signs of distress. I learned how to manage nutrition for a pregnant mother differently at each trimester. I learned genetic planning — which pairings produce the healthiest, strongest offspring, and which bloodlines to avoid. I learned neonatal care: how to intervene when a birth goes wrong, how to tube-feed a baby that won't nurse, how to keep a weak newborn alive through its first critical 48 hours. And I learned that the animals who are handled with patience and consistency from day one grow into the most confident, trusting adults.
Every single one of those skills translates directly to what I do now. The genetics are smaller. The species is different. But the principles — careful selection, attentive care, relentless dedication — are exactly the same.
