It’s midwinter in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Are your horses wallowing in mud? Living in muddy, wet paddocks is unhealthy and unpleasant for your animals, a problem for the environment, and a real pain for you. Let’s face it, pushing a wheelbarrow and picking manure out of a boot-pulling, slick, smelly mess is just about impossible. And when it freezes? It’s dangerous for you and your critters.
Versatile Excavating to the rescue! This Washington State excavating company is owned by Mitchel Hensley and Holly Warren. Versatile Excavating specializes in mud-free paddocks, outdoor riding arenas, gravel driveways, tracks, trails, parking areas and many other excavator related services. They also build block retaining walls and excel in brush cutting with an excavator mounted flail mower.
30 Years of Experience
Right out of high school, Hensley started running Bobcats, learning all the tricks it took to be successful in the industry. Together, Hensley and Warren found a real need for excavating services for both homeowners and businesses. The need was especially great in the equine community with mud management, round pens, parking areas, brush cutting, and trail building. Versatile Excavating is currently licensed to work in Washington and Idaho and will soon be available in Oregon.
Versatile Excavating provides mud management systems for equine and livestock owners that eliminate the hassles associated with mud, including grid systems like Eco GreenGrid. They work year-round so you don’t have to deal with the mud for another winter. They also offer financing.
A Love for Country Living
Hensley and Warren are especially proud of all the different ways they can save homeowners the hassle of back-breaking work and provide solutions to keep animals free of mud and the multiple health issues that comes with it. They love meeting new people every day and take joy in knowing they are going to make a positive change in the lives of their clients and their animals.
A frustrating part of the excavating business is that raw material costs are going up and so the work can be costly for the owner. “We are always reassured that we’re building a fool-proof system. When we complete a project and see the owners’ joyful reactions it’s priceless,” says Hensley. “Having past customers continue to call us back for more projects is a great experience.”
With a family of three girls and two boys that grew up in the equine world, Hensley and Warren know (and have experienced) what animals and owners need to be healthy and happy in their environment. Warren and her family have assisted with rounding up cows and riding horses and mules for over 20 years. The girls have competed in multiple events in the rodeo setting.
Both Hensley and Warren have a love for the country life. “It’s is all we’ve known, which helps our company connect with our clients on an equal level,” says Warren.
For more information about services offered by Versatile Excavating call Mitchel Hensley at 360-903-4473 or email [email protected]. For more photos of projects and the latest updates, find Versatile Excavating on Facebook www.facebook.com/Versatile-Excavating-114014487007599
See this article in the 2021 February online edition:
Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor.
Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United.
Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.
