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Riverview's prairie ranger

There aren't a lot of open fields left in Riverview, but Lynn Fletcher spends his days at Fletcher's Tack Shop living like a cowboy, and that's just fine with him.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published February 25, 2005

RIVERVIEW - Lynn Fletcher keeps photographs of his favorite horses beneath a glass-covered desk in his tack shop. A few are pictured with their owners.

After 25 years selling horse gear, he has earned the right to be selective.

"I think I know more good horses than I know good people," Fletcher said. "I can get goose bumps talking about a good horse."

The owner of Fletcher's Tack Shop believes that horse people are the best kind of folks. He takes care of their animals to keep the bills paid - and keep living like a cowboy in a region where housing developments have pushed out ranches.

Fletcher's Tack Shop is a throwback to the days when horses dominated the open fields on U.S. 301 in Riverview. This is no frilly show barn. Here, trail riders can gallop across 130 acres. At the tack shop, they can find all their gear, from saddles to bridles to ropes.

"We're kind of a laid-back place," Fletcher said, explaining that he caters "to the people that just want to go out and enjoy the horses."

Fletcher's barn features a lighted arena and round pen for roping contests. On the fourth Saturday of each month, he lets the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Mounted Posse use the arena at no charge to put on a free show for children.

For $280 per month, Fletcher also offers full boarding services. He feeds, rides and cleans the stalls, so owners don't have to do it . Fletcher's stalls generally are full to capacity with about 25 horses. It helps that his prices are about half those at other barns, he noted.

About half of his business comes from the tack shop - where he sells hard-to-find items like braided, ranch ropes. Fletcher leases the land that his barn, arenas and tack shop sit on. Even in good times, the money would be better with another career. But a cowboy needs horses and the outdoors to survive.

Half a century ago, Fletcher moved to Florida with his family. His father shipped cattle. At the time, the state had more cattle than any other state east of the Mississippi River, Fletcher said.

Times were changing by the time he was old enough to do ranch work with a cow crew.

" 'Bout starved to death," said Fletcher, recalling the more than dozen years that he worked on ranches. "So I figured I ought to go find something else to do."

His tack shop would become an institution in south Hillsborough County. Out-of-town customers came to him for gear that they couldn't find anywhere else.

Fletcher, who lives on-site, rarely works less than 12-hour days - six days a week. For help with the daily work, he has two part-time employees and a fluffy Papillon named Tater.

"People who have known me for years, many of them cannot imagine me having a dog like this," said Fletcher, who prefers working dogs to show breeds. But a customer dropped off Tater, and the man found a new best friend. "We have a little difference of opinion as to who owns who."

At 64, Fletcher wishes that he could slow down at the barn. He has a house to build in Sumter County. Eventually, Fletcher plans to open a second barn and tack shop in Webster, near the flea market on land that he owns.

"I don't expect to retire. I can't afford it for one thing. And I don't particularly want to," he said. "I still live to ride."

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

ADDRESS: 14015 U.S. 301, Riverview.

PHONE: 634-8379.

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Boarding stalls are open 24 hours each day.

PRICES: Tack shop sells everything from tack cleaning sponges for 75 cents to saddles that can cost as much $1,200. Full boarding services for horses run $280 per month.

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:34:05]