What do you call a family that works together , plays together and enjoys each other ’ s company ?
Stark raving glad .
Mance and Linda Stark grew up in a tiny town in Louisiana called Merriville – just north of Lake Charles . They fell in love while still in high school and married young — he was 17 and she was 15 .
Odds were against them staying together past their second anniversary , even then teenagers had a tough row to hoe .
But the Starks beat the odds . They stayed together , had four children , and raised a strong , loving family supported by Mance ’ s horse training business . He trained cutting horses so it ’ s only logical that they wound up in Parker County , “ The Cuttin ’ Capital of the World .”
The Stark family legacy is based on love of family , love of land and a shared fascination with horses .
So it makes an odd kind of sense that their daughter , Tara Stark would venture into a career in real estate .
“ All I had ever done was horses ,” Tara said . “ My first job was on the King Ranch . I showed cutting horses . I was in charge of their yearlings , fitting them for their annual production sale . I was in charge of Mr San Peppy , keeping him groomed and exercised and shaved . I was to oversee his care in general .”
Tara enjoyed following in her dad ’ s footsteps into the fascinating Cutting Horse world .
Then that all came to a screeching halt .
“ I haven ’ t competed in more than 10 years because of my real estate becoming my main focus and making that career work . I had ridden horses all my life .”
Tara went through a divorce and she needed to establish a career quickly .
“ When you get divorced at age 40 , your life changes ,” Tara said .
Tara Stark
“ You do what you have to do .”
Tara was looking for ideas so she drove around Parker County . “ I realized the value of land in this area .”
Two weeks later she was in real estate school .
“ When I divorced , I took my maiden name back , so I have the Stark name .” she said .
Tara was something of an overnight success in her real estate career . Partly because she had a horsewoman ’ s love of land so selling farms and ranches came naturally to her . It also didn ’ t hurt that she brought a horsewoman ’ s work ethic with her into the business . The harder she worked , the luckier she became .
In time , Tara ’ s younger brother Lanham Stark , 11 years her junior , followed her into the real estate business . That was five years ago .
“ Our family is very close ,” Tara said . “ The reason he ( Lanham ) has done so well in that industry is his integrity and his honesty . That ’ s what has made us successful in our business as well .”
All four of the Stark siblings live in Parker County .
“ My dad had a love of horses that drew him into the equestrian world here from Louisiana ,” Tara said . “ He trained horses and worked for ranches his whole life .”
Mance Stark went to work for the NCHA presiding over the Judges ’ Monitoring Department . He had retired a decade earlier and he and Linda moved back to Merriville . He quit riding and bought a video business .
In 2013 , Mance Stark was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame .
“ He went back to riding , retired from his second career and in 2014 , we moved them back to Weatherford ,” Tara said .
Now the whole Stark family lives in Parker County and Tara ’ s daughter Lauren Glass , 25 , has followed Tara into the real estate business .
“ I ’ ve had my license for a year , graduated from Aledo High School ,”
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