(birds chirping) (bright music) (upbeat country music) The Eberspacher sisters have been riding horses almost as long as they've been alive.

How old were you when you started riding?

I was five.

I was six.

I was three.

-So you were the baby.

-Yep.

When you got started.

So, and then after that, pretty quickly traveling the country in competitions, and showing horses and things like that.

Who's the best?

Oh, should we have a ride off?

Oh.

(laughing) We could do that right here, right now, right?

I think instead, we'll go inside, but we'll see some trophies, and maybe we can just see who won the most stuff, so.

That should tell alot.

Emily follow me.

We're gonna talk about 2014.

-Mm-hmm.

-So there was a Saturday in May, really big day for you, friends and family here.

It was your high school graduation party, everybody at the house having a good time.

The next day, Sunday, tell me a little bit about what happened.

Yeah, we were, just got done celebrating that day before.

It was about 24 hours different, like time difference.

And we were looking outside, and it was just getting green, it was getting dark, storms were in the area, and that's when a tornado was heading our way.

My dad's like, "You know what?

"I think we should get inside."

-Yeah.

-And right after that, that's when it hit.

Yeah.

So that was an EF-3 tornado that hit the Eberspacher farm that day.

(gentle piano music) It destroyed the indoor arena, the barn, damaged a lot of other buildings.

Fortunately the house where the family took shelter was spared.

Emily, what happened to the horses that were here?

Unfortunately we had two that we lost in the storm.

There were several that needed immediate medical attention.

They got that, and they actually recovered really, really well.

Overall, we ended up a lot better than we probably could have.

Yeah, so fortunate in a way, so.

Yes, absolutely.

So the family rebuilt, they rebuilt the, the big arena, they rebuilt the barn, they built this little building on the front basically to do laundry and have a bathroom to use, right?

Yep.

And then next fall you start college at UNL.

-Mm-hmm.

-You're a hospitality major with an animal science minor, and an Engler entrepreneurship minor.

Seems like it kind of set you up for possibly a pretty good business idea.

Yes, absolutely.

It was like the ultimate trio.

I was able to combine my three passions, you know, and make a business, and it ultimately, everything happens for a reason, and it really actually allowed us to open the doors to people and horses.

Yeah.

And with that, Triple E Equine was born, and we're gonna take a look inside.

(inspirational music) So think of this as like a hotel for horses, and people traveling with them.

(inspirational music continues) And throughout you're just gonna see a celebration of all their passion, and all their success with different horse competitions.

(simulated cheering and applause) So that little add-on building they created, they actually turned it into a two-room bunkhouse.

And did some interesting things with recycled materials.

So a lot of the stuff in the kitchen here, is from the Habitat for Humanity Restore, which looks really nice, and also saved them some money.

And this window was actually a part of the door to the house.

And it got damaged a little bit by the tornado.

So they took that, put it in here, and created this great window looking out onto the arena, which is where we're going next.

(uptempo synth music) (horse neighing) So, by the way, you know, a lot of times in "What If..." stories, I like to kind of do things and participate.

So, should I ride a horse?

Umm... (cat meows) I don't know.

It's probably not a good idea.

I haven't been on a horse since like junior high summer camp, so I think we'll skip that part.

(horse neighing) (uptempo music) So, neat thing about all this, it's all connected.

So somebody staying in the bunkhouse overnight, can come out and check out their horses anytime, and see how they're doing.

Those are the Carrolls from North Carolina.

We're gonna chat with them in just a second.

(uptempo synth music) (dog panting) (uptempo synth music) So the three sisters are all still involved in the business.

Emily, who got things started, got married and moved to north central Nebraska.

But she still does a lot of marketing, the website, social media, takes pictures of the facility, which is actually a really good fit.

'Cause Emily is a photography entrepreneur.

(uptempo music continues) Hanah and Sarah have taken over the day-to-day operations of things, and they've actually added to the business.

Hanah trains horses.

Hi, Leroy.

(chuckling) Tell me a little bit about what sort of an initial thing you do to sort of start working with a horse.

So when we get a new horse in, we'll take 'em to the round pen, kinda see what groundwork that they know, and make sure they know basic cues, but make sure they're gentle and tame, and ready to start riding.

Okay.

And you told me once that you've learned a lot about yourself from working with horses.

Talk about that.

I have.

I mean, again, it's something that's gonna teach you a lot of patience.

It's very challenging, but it really, it does teach you a lot.

And I think it makes you a better person in the long run.

Yeah.

Well I think I've sort of made a friend.

I don't know.

Sarah.

Sarah raises mini donkeys.

-Yes.

-Who doesn't love mini donkeys, right?

What is a mini donkey business?

-What do you do?

-Yeah, so we raised a couple babies each year.

We work with them, and then we sell 'em after they're weaned.

And this is a little bit of a throwback to what you did as kids when you had mini ponies, and you raised them and sold them as well.

What did you learn about entrepreneurship from doing that at such a young age?

Yeah, so just working with different people.

Like Hanah said, each horse is different, each donkey's different.

So it's really fun to find the right fit for the new owner with the donkeys that we have and everything like that.

I want a mini donkey.

(laughing) Yes.

You should get one.

Yes.

Alright, we're gonna go look at big horses now.

So this is a busy time of year.

There's a lot of horse competitions happening all over the country.

A lot of people traveling.

Place is busy here.

These are the Carrolls.

The Carrolls are traveling here from North Carolina on their way to Wyoming for the National High School Rodeo finals.

Cadee is a barrel racer.

-Yeah.

-Tell me about your horses.

This is Beau.

He's six.

He's my backup barrel horse.

That's Run.

He's nine, and he's my main horse that qualified me.

You like them?

-Yeah.

-They're good horses?

-Yeah.

-Tell me a little bit, Brandi, about the importance of having this place.

It's good to know that you have a place that you can stop and relax, and you can rest, and your horses can also rest.

Especially after being on the road for 10 or 12 hours.

Yeah.

And you've been here before?

Yes.

This second time coming through.

And we really enjoy staying here with the girls.

What do you like about what they do here?

It's so comfortable.

They're very welcoming, and they let you come in, and it's easy to get rest.

easy for our horses to relax and get rest, and then we move on to Wyoming.

Make you wanna start a horse business someday?

-Maybe.

-Maybe.

-Yeah.

-Well good luck in Wyoming.

-Thank you.

-Hope you do well.

Yes.

(gentle guitar music) Since the Eberspacher sisters started the business in late 2015, they've had customers from 49 states and Canada.

And as a matter of fact, if somebody shows up from Rhode Island, the whole map is full.

They really got off to a good start because of all their connections in the horse industry.

And, on a weekend like this, you know, it's gonna be busy.

There's gonna be trailers hooked up out here.

Matter of fact, there's other families that are headed to that same high school rodeo championships of Wyoming.

-(gentle guitar music) -(dog barking) So the Eberspachers have a history with entrepreneurship.

It starts with Curt and Angie.

In addition to running the family farm and such, Angie also helps out with Triple E. Curt created some of this from a damage center pivot, like some of these pipes right here.

So, very creative stuff going on here.

It just kind of shows how this whole story is about making good from something bad.

-Right?

-Yep.

Tell me a little bit about, is this where you, you always want to be now?

Is this your future?

I think so, yeah.

I've loved doing it so far, and I'd love to keep doing it.

It really is.

It's just doing what we love.

Yeah.

And Scarlet takes over someday maybe?

Maybe.

She likes ponies.

Ha.

So Emily, does this happen without the tornado?

I don't think it does.

I think God had a plan, and I think we're doing it.

(gentle guitar music continues) (swooshing sound effect) (star logo dinging)