How Solo Select Horses Came To Be
Solo Select Horses has become a household name in the equine industry, but who is the woman behind it all?
Melanie Smith has poured her life and soul into creating Solo Select and the many endeavors that they cover. Smith expands on how Solo Select started, her plans for the future, and most of all her love for horses.
Smith did not grow up on a ranch or in a rodeo family but after a trip to watch her first rodeo at five years old, seeing the rodeo queen and the horses compete, sparked a fire in her for these magnificent animals.
On her tenth birthday Smith saw an ad in the newspaper for the therapeutic riding center, Whispers Of Hope. This facility provided free therapy for kids with special needs but also gave the opportunity for kids who had a passion for horses but don't own horses or can't afford them. After convincing her parents, Smith spent every hour she could volunteering there.
Finally after years of volunteering and begging, Smith's parents bought her her very first horse.
"I remember getting on this gaited horse, running him across the wheat field and telling my mom that he was the one because he was so fast", said Smith,"You could've told me I was running Sherry Cervi's world champion barrel horse, I was going to win the world on him".
Smith got home and started expanding her knowledge on horse training with every opportunity she could. No, her gaited runaway didn't take her to the National Finals in barrel racing but he taught her a lot and opened the door to other opportunities including giving riding lessons and other horses after she sold him.
Melanie Smith, Solo Select Horses founder, along with the "bad boys", Finn and Fred
Veronika Equine Photography
"My dad told me my horses has to pay for himself and that's what spurred the business aspect of this", said Smith,"I started making graphics and advertising for hauling hay and my horse lessons".
Fast forward, Smith started riding with barrel racers and calf ropers which eventually led her to a job working for the Crumpler brothers in the cutting horse industry, loping horses for them.
Smith started taking their cutting horse rejects, cutters that aren't going to win the futurity but are still phenomenal horses, and turning them into barrel horses. Listing these cutting turned barrel horses online, at just the start of online sales, took off for Smith.
Doing all of this while in nursing school, Smith really had to split her time in between school and horses. After graduating and working for a year as an ER nurse Smith realized her passion was in the horse industry, so she took the risk and quit her job.
Focusing on the horse sales, training cutters on the barrel pattern and filling her pro-rodeo permit kept Smith busy. Her next endeavor was moving her horse sales to Facebook.
Using social media as a tool, Smith's online auctions and following grew.
2020 brought along not only the pandemic but social media cracking down on the sale of animals. Smith's profile was erased.
"I had to think of other ways to keep going, you can't rely on social media to run your business because they have control over it all, not you", said Smith.
Creating their website for online sales became their main focus. Having a sale every 45 days with around 100 horses in each sale.
Smith handpicks every sale horse that goes through each sale. Solo Select prepares each horse for the sale by sale fitting, getting X-rays, taking pictures and videos. They focus on being honest sellers that provide a stress free and simple buying process for customers to obtain high quality horses.
Smith has raised the bar for selling in the equine industry.
This past weekend at the Snaffle Bit Futurity and Western Bloodstock Sale, Solo Select's team, along with Southern Ranches, achieved the record-breaking sale of a yearling, Black Magic Woman, at $180,000.
Not only has Smith's online sales and sale horses put Solo Select on the map but her investment in reproduction.
Starting in 2024 Solo Select reproduction will be kicking off with ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, embryo transfer, their own recipient (surrogate) mares, and standing their own stallions.
Solo Select's stallions include- Metallic Cattack, Woody Be Tuff, The Darkk Side, and Pride And Joyy.
Trevor Brazile riding The Darkk Side and Miles Baker riding Pride And Joyy
Summer Searles with Solo Select
Previously Smith owned the stallion, Blackkout, who was the highest seller at the 2023 Pink Buckle sale.
Shifting her focus to the rope horse industry, Smith saw that their was a need for the horses to get recognition and attention. Not only the horses but the ropers as well deserved that attention and with the rope horse futurities starting it gave those talented riders, such as Trevor Brazile talented, another outlet after pro-rodeo.
"The rope horse industry is on a straight climb up" said Smith. "People will be breeding a rope hose mare to a rope horse sire, not just a cutting stud to a race bred mare to create a rope horse. Have actual rope horse bloodlines".
Solo Select has a whole has forced others in the equine industry to step up to the plate. Smith has built a team full of passionate, hard working individuals who take the upmost pride in their program. Even the "bad boys", Smith's two long-eared basset hounds, who are the first to greet you at the ranch.
Between marketing, matching stallions to mares, sale fitting yearlings (top seller at the Solo Select yearling sale was $122,000), and so much more.
Smith does not cut any corners and puts 100% in every aspect of Solo Select Horses. They have accomplished greatness already but there is no slowing down for them, the best is yet to come.
The Solo Select Horses Team
Summer Searles with Solo Select
Make sure to keep up with all of Solo Select's endeavors on their website and Facebook
