Community working to save beloved horse stables shut down during coronavirus outbreak

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Members of a Cobb County community are coming together to try to save one of metro Atlanta's oldest and most popular riding stables.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was in Cobb County, where the East Cobb Stables has been in the community since 1959.

The stables have a reputation for making sure being able to ride is affordable for every child, no matter his or her economic situation.

Now, the coronavirus pandemic has forced the business to close, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.

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Amy Conway and her husband, Sean Conway, bought the farm on Johnson Ferry Road in 1997. Now, the family-owned business is being forced to close its doors for the first time in the Conway’s over 20 years of ownership.

“We shut down on the 17th of March,” Amy Conway said. “When we shut down, we basically shut down our livelihood.”

The Conways said it couldn’t have come at a worse time because the stable makes most of its money during the summer months.

“The biggest source of income in the summer is the summer camp, and there’s no way we can recapture that,” Conway said.

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Now, the community is coming together.

Cathy Cerny is a longtime supporter of East Cobb Stables. Her daughter grew up around the barn, rode horses there and even became a horse trainer before graduating from medical school. She’s now a doctor in the U.S. Army.

"It's such a gem in the community," Cerny said. "Being around horses definitely teaches you responsibility."

Cerny launched a GoFundMe page to try to drum up funds for the stables.

Cerny, like so many other supporters, is doing what she can to help out friends who have helped her family create lifelong memories.

"We've met so many families and watched so many children grow up here," Cerny said. "You can't put a price on that."

The community has already raised nearly $1,000, but it has a lot of work to do.

If you want to help, CLICK HERE.

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