Get to Know Beckie Cantrell – Ocala Broker Associate with Showcase Properties

You don’t have to start out as a horse crazy kid to end up in a horse-focused career as an adult. Just ask Beckie Cantrell.

Born and raised in Deland, Florida, Beckie and her twin sister, Bobbie, grew up in a family where agriculture was front and center.

“I was not a horse kid at all, but I was always into ag. My family had a little farm. I raised show steers and was in FFA,” says Beckie.

With that background, it seemed logical to pursue a career in agriculture. Beckie graduated from the University of Florida in 1992 with a degree in Agriculture Education.

After graduation, she was hired as a high school ag teacher in Lakeland but with her head for numbers, it didn’t take long for her to change gears.

“I had worked in banking part time all through college and really liked it. When I realized I didn’t want to keep teaching, I found a job doing commercial lending for Thoroughbred farms and properties, which is how I met Hugh Dailey. I worked under him as an ag lender at two different banks,” says Beckie, whose banking career prompted her move to Ocala in 1994.

Beckie might not have grown up riding, but the whole horse story changed after she moved to Ocala and met her future husband, Kent Cantrell, DVM.

“When Kent graduated vet school in 1996, he wanted to do cattle, but he really liked the Thoroughbreds when he did an internship here in Ocala. He became a partner at Ocala Equine Hospital when it began in 1997, the same year we got married,” she notes.

The couple wasted no time getting into the horse industry themselves. At Nature Coast Thoroughbreds, their farm in Anthony, Kent and Beckie started raising Thoroughbreds and began pinhooking with friends.

“We spent many years pinhooking with Beth Bayer and Brett Brinkman and owned some mares with them. We pinhooked through 2019 and since then, we’ve just been breeding our mares and selling those foals,” says Beckie, who is on the board of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA).

Along with the Thoroughbreds, Kent’s passion is competing in field trials across the Southeast with his pointers and Tennessee Walkers.

Their daughter Reece was born in 2001.

“Reece is a very good rider; she showed ponies for a while and used to do field trials with her dad,” says Beckie, who enjoyed the years when she opted to stay home taking care of Reece and the farm.

After Reece went to college, Beckie found herself ready for a different career. During 17 years in commercial lending, she’d built relationships with people in all aspects of the real estate world, so that’s where she decided to focus.

“My years on the lending side of things taught me much of what a REALTOR® has to know. There are many similarities between agricultural lending and real estate. Some transactions can be very complex. At the end of the day, it all comes down to knowing what needs to be done to help the client and finalize the deal,” she says.

Having long known Hugh and Valerie Dailey because of her banking work, Showcase was a natural fit when Beckie was seeking a brokerage to work with after earning her sales associate license in 2022.

“After I got my sales license, I worked two years and then took the course to become a broker associate. Valerie encourages everyone to get their broker associate license if they want to. We’re also required to do significant continuing education every two years. The more education you have, the more beneficial this is for your clients, whether they’re sellers or buyers,” says Beckie.

Although she will happily sell a house in town, Beckie knows the local agriculture and equine industry inside out and specializes in those properties. People she knew from her many years in banking often turn to her when it’s time to sell their farms, and she appreciates those connections.

On the farm, Beckie continues to be very hands-on with their own six horses. She’s the one responsible for daily care and feeding chores, holding for the farrier, etc. For their Thoroughbred broodmares, she does the pedigree research and plans the breeding. Sometimes she’ll saddle up and trail ride one of the Tennessee Walkers with Kent, but she doesn’t compete in field trials.

Thanks to her background, Beckie understands where her clients are coming from–whether they’re raising cattle, breeding Thoroughbreds, or active in other aspects of the horse industry.

“The ag people are my people. I know that community and having been here since 1994, I know this area. What I love is helping people–whether it’s getting their farm sold or finding the right place. I feel honored being able to help them,” she says.

– by Cynthia McFarland

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