directions. Madeira, Duke, New York, back to Duke for business school, and then finally getting married and settling in Vermont. Meanwhile, Kim had become a prominent figure in the Lexington, KY racehorse world. On a trip to Kentucky to visit Kim, I met a three-year-old— one of the last offspring from the European warm blood mares I knew and loved as a child. Something about that horse felt familiar, like a thread connecting past to present. In that moment, standing in the Kentucky air with years of distance behind me, I felt it all come rushing back— the early mornings, the quiet barns, the sense of purpose.
From Design...
As anyone involved in horse will attest, it’ s an all or nothing life, and I felt the strong pull of the barn. Soon, my life was riding almost every day, buying a horse( then multiples), horse showing, and building out a horse farm in Pawlet. My husband, Craig, will often say“ Daphne is a very rational person, until it comes to horses.”
To facilitate shipping multiple horses from the farm without help, I had a bag custom made in Argentina from a sketch and some cool waxed canvas fabric I had found. The bag was designed to be more portable than a wooden Tacktrunk and could easily be slung over a shoulder and carried into a barn while leading a horse, carrying a saddle, bridle, brushes, and personal gear. I called it my“ Tacktrunk Bag” and soon others wanted one, too. Thus, a new business began, quickly growing into a broad equestrian lifestyle accessories business called Oughton, with retailers like Orvis, SmartPak, and equestrian and lifestyle boutiques across the country.
Soon, two children were added to the mix, and it was fun, horsey chaos! I remember the summer when my oldest daughter, Anna, was turning one. I was showing at the Vermont Summer Festival horse show, selling my bags at a pop-up shop there, all the while juggling a oneyear-old at a horse show all day. It was there that Kent Farrington found my line and became interested in investing. We
To Reality.
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