Saddlery shop closing its doors

By Sandra J. Pennecke

Correspondent

Churchland

Thirty years ago Barbara Jordan was dissatisfied with the lack of tack stores in the area, so she opened her own.

Once a staple to horseback riders and aficionados throughout the area, The Quiet Shoppe Saddlery is preparing to close its doors forever. They are marking down everything in the store from riding clothes and equipment to gifts and antiques, in anticipation of the business's final weeks.

"We anticipate closing our doors in the fall sometime and plan to donate our horse and riding equipment to Equi-Kids," said Jordan. The store, at 3935 Poplar Hill Road in Churchland, is still jam packed with oil paintings, antique furniture, books, saddles, bridles, riding apparel and helmets, boots, britches, jackets and more.

She and her husband, Stanley H. Jordan, opened the shop in September 1978 in a 100-year-old house next door to the farm they bought on Portsmouth Boulevard in Chesapeake that was once Quiet Acres Home for the Aged.

"At the time it was just a quiet two-lane road leading to Suffolk," said Barbara Jordan, 74, "After 13 years, Route 664 was opened and exit 11A to Suffolk came through the shop. The state purchased the property, and we moved from the country to our current urban location."

The main reason for the store stemmed from their daughter, Cindy Walker's, love of horses.

"There was no place around here to buy nice riding clothes and quality items," recalled Barbara Jordan, "Now people come from as far away as Richmond, Williamsburg and North Carolina, and we've sold all over the world through our Web site."

Walker, a rider since the age of 8, participated in horse shows throughout the state and brought her horse, Barnowl with her to the former Southern Seminary College in Buena Vista before returning home to open Quiet Acres Farm, a riding school she operated for 20 years.

A graduate of Western Branch High School, Walker works alongside her mother in the shop and occasionally judges shows.

Stanley Jordan, 80, retired from his business, Credit Auto Sales on Airline Boulevard in Portsmouth, several years ago, and his wife is ready to join him in retirement.

"It's time," said Barbara Jordan who has outfitted first, second and now starting on third generations of riders.

It's time for the Jordans to ride off into the sunset and for the faithful horse community to rely on another supplier.

For customers such as Robin Bates and her 19-year-old daughter, Caroline, of Norfolk, that brings a time of sadness. Caroline, who started riding at the age of 9, owns a Paint Horse named Rose.

"I've been coming in the shop since before Caroline was born," said Robin Bates. "This is the most convenient tack shop to come to, and we've always been able to find what we wanted here. We're going to miss it."

Sandra J. Pennecke, pennecke@cox.net