ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 18, 1996 TAG: 9606180074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE ROANOKE VALLEY Horse Show isn't much of a vacation for Danny and Nancy Troutman, who continue to run Meadow Wood Stables in Roanoke County.
Who do you suppose faces a tougher week at the Roanoke Valley Horse Show, an exhibitor who trucks his string of steeds 100 miles from their home barn to the Salem Civic Center or one who faces no more than a 15-minute drive from stable to air-conditioned indoor show ring?
In the case of Danny and Nancy Troutman of Meadow Wood Stables in Roanoke County, they'd probably have been better off if they hadn't been quite so local.
``It isn't easy to go to a show and also try to run a barn at the same time,'' said Danny Troutman, who manages the farm while wife Nancy handles the horses.
For the Troutmans, the type of horse is the American saddlebred and they train and exhibit them in an average of 14 shows a year all over Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. The ones away from home are simpler to manage because all that is required is to make sure the stables are well-decorated (saddlebred folks are sticklers for a tastefully turned-out barn), the horses are comfortable, and horse and rider arrive at the competition well-groomed (both horse and rider) and on time.
The logistical situation for the Troutmans this week is somewhat more complex than that. Not only are they managing 12 stalls in the tent complex at the civic center, but they also have their own farm, complete with a 41-stall barn to worry about.
The horses who board and train at Meadow Wood Stables don't require any less attention just because the Troutmans have a horse show in Salem to worry about.
The Troutmans, who say their age is ``early 40's,'' have been in business 13 years, both as a married couple and as saddlebred trainers. He's from North Carolina and the town of Troutman, which is near Statesville. She's from Roanoke County, really right there at Meadow Wood, where she's lived since she was a girl.
Not surprisingly, they met at a horse show.
The farm had been in her family. The late Thurman Crowder, her father, had bought it from a man who had been a railroad vice president. When the Crowders retired, they sold the farm to the Troutmans.
The Troutmans have been very busy ever since. At any given time, there are 50 or so horses in the barn to train and board. And there is always somebody standing by for a lesson. So many of those come the Troutman's way that they can't handle them all. Lesley Amrhein teaches lessons at night at the Troutman's facility.
``You have to stay busy in this part of the business,'' Nancy said. ``There are so many expenses that you have to do a high quantity of business just to cover it all.''
This, of course, may well be the busiest time of the year. After the barn was set up at the civic center Sunday, the Troutmans staged a cookout for their 30 or so regular clients that quickly expanded the original guest list.
``As long as we still had food, we weren't going to turn away anybody hungry,'' Danny Troutman said.
More guests will be coming for a big party after the show concludes Saturday night.
``When you show locally like this, a lot of friends and neighbors come to see you,'' Danny Troutman said. ``They want you to do well and you want to do well for them. But it doesn't always work out that way.''
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN Staff Danny and Nancy Troutman will beby CNBshowing saddlebreds at the Roanoke Valley Horse Show this week.
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