Central Wyoming College Graduate Seeks Start-Up
Funding for Equine Training

“My business would be nowhere near what it is today without WWBC.”

Shelby Gray is the owner and trainer at Goose Bar Training, LLC, a western horse training business in the northwest part of Wyoming. While horses have always been part of her life, she didn’t consider they could become her career until she moved out to Western Wyoming in 2016 to work on a ranch. Her business, Goose Bar Training, became a reality in 2024 thanks to business counseling and a microloan from the Wyoming Women’s Business Center.

“Starting a business requires many resources, most of which are financial. Receiving funding from [the] WWBC allowed me to purchase supplies, tools and inventory. Without this funding, it would have been extremely difficult to find the funding needed to keep my business growing.” 

Shelby has been teaching riding and working with horses for nearly ten years. She led trail rides and taught arena riding while working on a ranch near Riverton, Wyoming. Soon after, Ms. Gray moved to Wyoming to pursue formal certification from Central Wyoming College in equine sciences and management. Shelby noted that her business supports the local community in her area, saying “Horses are a significant part of Wyoming’s history and way of life and I think it’s important to help future generations of Wyomingites become involved with the equine industry. By training and selling horses, I hope to provide ranchers with horses who can help make their jobs more efficient.” 

In May of 2023, Shelby graduated with highest honors from Central Wyoming College with degrees in Equine Science and Equine Management. Soon after, she began working on a business plan for Goose Bar Training, and sought assistance from the Wyoming Women’s Business Center. Her mission with the business is “to train and sell quarter horses that are eager to please, dependable and versatile in all aspects of the western discipline.” However, running a business was something she was less familiar with. Shelby worked with the staff at the Wyoming Women’s Business Center to successfully complete the “Financing Your Dream” program and benefitted from one-on-one business counseling. These two programs combined to allow her to finance her business with the WWBC microlending program.

“WWBC has given me the support, guidance and expertise needed in every step of getting my business to where it is today. When I first decided to start up my own business I was so overwhelmed with how to move forward,” Shelby said. “There were so many aspects of starting up a business that I was unfamiliar with. But I did some research online for resources out there to help small business owners get started and I came across the WWBC. Since day one everyone has been so willing to help.”