Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebeca, Eddie and Becky Lamas.
Rebeca, Eddie and Becky, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We come from a family of equestrians! Becky’s Dad relied on horses growing up in everyday life. Eddie’s mom competed internationally in show jumping. Becky is a USDF dressage instructor. Our daughter Isabel competes in dressage and our daughter Francis competes in show jumping. In addition our nephew, Louie Reyes, works cattle and competes in ranch style rodeos. So for us you could say horses are in our genes, our blood, our hearts and in our souls.
How did we get started? A good Friend, Javi Mirabal, approached us about starting Equestrian Life when his girls caught the “riding bug”. He was instrumental in getting it all started. Unfortunately, given the demands of his young family and full time job, he couldn’t continue with us but remains a strong supporter of us, the company and the idea.
The idea behind Equestrian Life Outfitters is to provide custom apparel to outfit
equestrian teams. We outfit both the horses and riders in various disciplines. A team can be a club team, school team, barn team or just an individual horse and rider.
Our daughters advise us on the apparel and designs we carry. The equestrian sport has been a strong, positive force in the forging of our daughter’s characters. It has made them confident, strong, and disciplined. They have learned to overcome obstacles and learned sympathy and empathy for their four legged companions, the horses! Since the sport has given so much to our family we wanted to give back.
We are honored to sponsor the Florida International University (FIU) Equestrian team. A team founded by Analise Duglasch, a personal friend of our family who tragically passed away three years ago. We also sponsor a barrel racing rider, a show jumper, a dressage rider and support the Interscholastic Equestrian Association for middle school and high school riders.
Equestrian Life is meant to promote the culture, pride and spirit that lives in the hearts of all equestrians, regardless of discipline. We hope that our apparel allows each equestrian to show the love and pride of their equestrian discipline. Despite the discipline, we are all tied by the love and awe of that amazing animal, the horse.
Has it been a smooth road?
I like to say we are still steep on the learning curve. Still learning about this multi-billion dollar industry. The biggest challenge was when a storm blew away our mobile tent unit in Venice, Florida this summer. We had to regroup and where back the following week.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Equestrian Life Outfitters story. Tell us more about the business.
We specialize in custom out fitting teams. We choose shirts, saddle pads, bonnets etc. along with fabrics, embroidering, Swarovski crystals, ribbons and creative designs to incorporate our client’s logo into custom functional merchandise for horse and rider. We want their custom outfitting to stand out and not look like anyone else out there while representing the “feel” of their team.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
This is a tricky industry. You could say it is a luxury. As long as the economy remains steady and strong we foresee the industry to continue to grow. There are new top notch show facilities popping up in Tyon, N.C., Ocala and other places. Our sport is really in its infancy compared to our European Counterparts who have been around much longer and have a firmer equestrian culture. However, this also means we have room to grow.
Contact Info:
- Address: 25025 sw 202 Ave
Homestead, Fl. 33031 - Website: www.equestrianlife.org
- Phone: 305-248-8808
- Email: equestrianlifeoutfitters@gmail.com
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