In the fall of 2021, Sarah Williams stood in a bare field across the road from the stables she’d spent more than a decade operating, deciding whether everything she’d worked for in Centreville was about to end.
Sarah had run Millstone Stables since 2010, leasing the equestrian portion of the property and operating with the blessing of its owners. It had become a trusted name for horse boarding and riding lessons over those eleven years. When that property sold, Sarah and her husband, Greg, were left with two options, neither of them easy:
“We either had to sell all the horses and just be done, or we had to find the financing and build,” Sarah says.
In the end, they decided to build.
Sarah led 11 horses directly across the road to a property that, at the time, offered little more than open grass and a small shelter. What stands there today, nearly every structure on the property, went up within a matter of months. By winter, a new barn and two shelters were complete, with financing and support from CBDC Hants-Kings.
Today, Millstone Stables is home to 16 horses (12 boarders and four of Sarah’s own) and the facility has reached its capacity. Sarah teaches a steady roster of riding students, most within a 20-minute drive, while boarders make the trip from as far as Halifax and Stewiacke.
Most remarkably, next to none of this growth came from advertising. Millstone Stables grew through word of mouth alone—a strong reputation grounded in consistent equine care and skilled instruction.
She’s quick to credit Greg as central to that success. Sarah runs the business and teaches every lesson herself; alongside his own work, Greg keeps the property running and the grounds in shape. And, he adds, he is extremely proud of what Sarah has achieved.
But the story stretches even further: Sarah and Greg’s connection to the CBDC network goes back roughly 25 years, to when they ran a farm and worked with horses in Yarmouth. That earlier experience stayed with them, so when Sarah needed support to rebuild, looking up the nearest CBDC was an easy call.
Of course they had shopped around and talked to traditional lenders, but they found little support for their vision. CBDC Hants-Kings saw it differently, recognizing Sarah’s track record, backing her as a woman entrepreneur, and helping turn that empty field into a sustainable, community-rooted business.
“We simply wouldn’t exist,” Sarah says. “There wouldn’t be a Millstone Stables without CBDC Hants-Kings.”
She singles out Senior Business Advisor Andre Gaudet with particular thanks:
“I tell everyone—all my friends who are starting a business—talk to Andre, because he is phenomenal,” she says. “He’s the best, and he’ll walk you through it.”
As for future plans, an indoor arena is still on the table, but Sarah and Greg are weighing it carefully against the costs of further growth. For now, Sarah remains focused on what matters most: the horses, the riders, and the community that helped make it all possible.