I’m so surprised this hasn’t come up yet…
https://newcanaanite.com/beval-saddlery-in-new-canaan-to-close-67787
Growing up as a kid in NE (well part of the time) I used to lay in bed and dream of going to Beval in CT and the Dover store in MA. Sad that so many of my childhood tack shops are closed or closing
I could be completely wrong, but I thought Beval had been sold in the not too distant past? Lots of consumers have complained that the quality of the leather goods has gone downhill. Such a shame if it is true.
I heard this on another thread but when I asked about the other stores no one responded. I feel the same way, NONE of the original tack shops I grew up with exist anymore, although we have others to take their place its not the same, especially since Dover opened a shop in my town. I do agree the quality of Beval strap goods has gone downhill.
The NJ location is not looking good either. Corporate did not pay the rent and the landlord came and changed the locks. Supposedly they are opening back up as there was a sign on the door saying “temporarily closed”.
Unfortunately this is the new Normal, Online click and ship Has become the retail experience of choice , and with that comes cost cutting in order to compete … Quality is no longer the priority , in order to compete with the world wide web Manufactures cut cost , Brick and motors cut corners and in the end the consumer will be left with no choice because they made it … the majority choose cheap and fast and now they got it … Just saying
Such a shame. I lived in New Canaan for many years and I was in there every chance I got. 
Sad, but they went in a bizarre direction the past few years. The CT store looked like a Dover but was stuffed to the gills with $$$$, the highest of the high end products.
I’ve been in the New Canaan store countless times, though not in the last few years. From a Facebook discussion, it sounds like maybe the one in North Salem is the only one now? I don’t remember the previous name of that tack shop before it turned into another Beval.
I vaguely remember seeing something that suggested they would keep the North Salem shop but close the CT location, but that was quite a while ago. I remember being sad as the CT shop always seemed to me to be the “real” Beval for some reason; it just had a different ambiance to it. Sad to hear it is closed
Salem Saddlery
Oh, yeah, The New Canaan store seemed like Tack shop qua tack shop. So glad I got to experience it… including their custom leather and tailoring department. I used to send people there, labeling it “the mother ship.”
Apparently, however, Bevals was not fun to do business with. Perhaps the wholesaler from whom I heard this was referring to the Gladstone, NJ store, but apparently one could expect to be cursed at when negotiating a wholesale relationship with them.
And you can’t be Bevals and then let leather quality deteriorate. IMO, access to high-end stuff was always the reason to go to Bevals. I was in there a minute after the 2008 crash and you could see some bare shelves. That’s when you knew the country was in trouble: When Bevals was tightening its belt.
So sorry to see them go.
I’ve been to the North Salem one and the New Canaan one in the last year. The North Salem one isn’t fancy, but it has all the stuff you’d want a local tack shop to have - bell boots, fly spray, green spot remover, etc. Last time I was in the New Canaan one - maybe 6 months ago - it seemed more like a casual clothing store than a tack shop. The sparse racks were all non-show clothes. Practically no horse stuff at all.
That’s right. Thanks!
I heard they were in a workout (financial) last year. Sounds like things are still rocky.
Which came first? Gladstone or New Canaan?
I believe Gladstone was first and, therefore, properly the Mother Ship. The Beval family was from New Jersey… built the tack store out of their garage… like the Hewlett Packard of tack… before Hewlett Packard had a garage in Palo Alto.
Yanno, I think more economists should use Bevals as the true and accurate indicator of America’s economic health. For various reasons, and with various people who are actually qualified to say so, I don’t think the economy is as fundamentally healthy as the stock market would indicate. You can look at levels of corporate debt, consumer debt or student loan debt/percentages of those loans in default.
Or you could go to Bevals, New Canaan and see how things look.
That’s an interesting way to look at it. :lol:
It does strike me as a bit sad to think of Beval closed in Gladstone, and the USET headquarters up the street surrounded by a golf course where the cross country jumps used to be.
Bevals originally started in Bernardsville, NJ I believe in the early 60’s. They moved several times through the years until ending up in the current building in Gladstone.
NOOO! Bevals is one of my most favorite parts of visiting my sister in CT. Now, I pretty much have no reason to visit (well, sort of, ha ha). She used to live in the Columbus OH area and Equus Now was my go to place when visiting. Maybe I’ll luck out and she’ll head back that way eventually. Bevals not being in New Canaan just makes me sad.
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