Marion business crafts show horse specialties
Workshop produces custom parts for buggies
He found a very specialized career. “I grew up as an ornery boy riding bikes building go carts and forts and model cars,” recalled Ron Garver. “I wanted to be a fireman growing up, but I was always hanging around my dad working and fixing things.”
Today, Garver owns and runs American Show Cart.
“American Show Cart is a small manufacturing workshop that produces cushions, covers, dashes, dust aprons, wheels and other custom parts used exclusively on show buggies for show horses,” Garver said. “We service the Hackney pony, Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian and Walking Horse clientele. Our customers include Carson Pressley, William Shatner, the Remington Firearms family, the Wrigley Chewing Gum family, and several other well-known customers.”
“I have one employee,” he continued, “and we ship to all U.S. states as well as Canada, Australia and South Africa. We have some equipment and tools from the 1800s that are still used daily, including a one-of-a-kind (literally the last one on earth) Elliott dash and fender stitching machine. The work we do is top quality stitch work, and we always joke that we stop at perfect.”
“We sell about 75% of our products through horse tack dealers who go to the shows and trade shows and about 25% direct to customers,” Garver added. “We do some local custom work from timeto-time as well as some local contract jobs. Our advertising budget is very low as people who need these products know where we are.”
Garver, 51, grew up in Marion and graduated from Marion Harding High School in 1990.
Trim and upholstery for horse-drawn show buggies
“My business is actually trim and upholstery for horse drawn show buggies and carts,” he said. “I got interested because my dad worked at Houghton
Sulky, and I grew up roaming the shop and always had it in the back of my mind I wanted to learn a trade and not just work a job. So, I graduated on a Sunday and went to work at Houghton on Monday.”
Garver worked as an apprenticeship for over five years to learn the patterns and sewing, and he worked at a few other shops running obsolete or one-of-a-kind machines, “jobs nobody else wanted to learn, but I always continued to do the show cart work, he said.
“I started American Show Cart to continue to provide top quality soft goods for the equine industry because all the other vendors were closing down,” Garver added.
Don Baker used to own Houghton Sulky Company in Marion and now owns Show Horse Carts in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I’ve known Ron for at least 25 years,” Baker said. “Ron worked for me at Houghton. He always did good work and continues to do so. I continue to buy products from Ron. It’s good quality and prices are good.”
“I’m happy with where all this has taken me,” Garver responded. “I enjoy taking a roll of fabric or raw materials and making something the customer needs. Every day is different, and you never know what the next phone call will be for.”