The Paddock Grand Re-Opening is Saturday

Riders throughout New England were cheered by the news that the Paddock Inc., a family-owned, fully stocked English riding tack shop on Rose Hill Road, is once again open for business. A special Grand Re-opening Celebration will take place today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Refreshments will be served at the all-day event, which will feature give-aways and raffles, vendor demos, free gifts with purchases, a visit from Country Radio Station WCTY and so much more.  

The store, which specializes in English, hunter jumper and dressage merchandise, is one of the largest tack shops in New England. It carries just about everything one could want for both horse and rider, including: halters, bridals, saddles, riding jackets, crops, gloves, boots and riding apparel. Plus, blankets, buckets, supplements, wraps, brushes, tasty gourmet horse treats and novelty horse gifts for that special rider or horse lover in your life.

The Paddock has been closed since November when it was ravaged by a major electrical fire. The innards of the 1930s dairy barn, which is home to the shop, were completely destroyed, along with the vast inventory. Although the outside looked intact, damage to the inside was estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The fire departments of Ledyard and Preston were wonderful and the town officials from both towns have been very supportive during our rebuild,” said co-owner Karen Parkinson.

Reconstruction on the inside of the building, which had been completely revamped in 2006, began in January of 2011. The entire structure was gutted from floor to ceiling and redone. Parkinson said, “Thankfully, most stages of the rebuild went smoothly. We are so lucky to have had such a wonderful insurance company and work crew. Everyone has been great and they got the job done quickly and professionally.”

Parkinson is originally from Iowa and has been on her farm on Rose Hill Road for the past 30 years with her family.  “We are so glad everything is finally finished and we can open our doors again to our customers,” she said.  “They have all been so supportive and loyal and we hope everyone comes out for the grand re-opening and enjoys the day.”