Build a Thriving Practice and a Stronger Marriage
April 11–14, 2027 · Rancho de los Caballeros, Wickenburg, AZ · Limited to 15 Couples
Tax Strategy & Estate Planning | Role Clarity & Decision Frameworks | 8 Hours RACE-Approved CE
A three-day working retreat for veterinary couples who want shared vision, financial clarity, and the tools to make sure building something together brings you closer — not further apart.
YOUR HOSTS
Christine & Neil Staten
We've been building Adobe Veterinary Center together for over twenty years. From a solo ambulatory mixed animal practice to a two-location, 11-doctor, 53-team-member practice in Tucson, Arizona — and we still practice in it every single week.
We didn't just build a practice. We built a life. Using the legitimate benefits of tax law and intentional financial planning, we've created real wealth, genuine flexibility, and a family legacy through our practice.
We didn't figure this out alone. We sought out financial advisors, tax strategists, and estate planners who helped us build a structure that actually protected what we were working so hard to create. We attended marriage retreats and communication workshops that made us better partners at home and at work. We were intentional about getting the right help from the right people at the right time.
This retreat is us handing you what took us years to assemble.
20+ Years Building Together · 53 Team Members · 11 Veterinarians · 2 Locations
“Private veterinary practices are one of the greatest gifts a family can give to a community. We employ people. We care for animals. We serve families. And when we run our businesses well, we become people who can give generously to the causes and communities we love. That is worth protecting. That is worth building intentionally.”
You're Running on Fumes and Running the Practice at the Same Time
THE REALITY NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
You're both the first ones in and the last ones out, and somewhere in between you're supposed to also be partners, parents, bosses, bookkeepers, and visionaries. The overwhelm is real — and it is relentless.
You're afraid to let go. This practice is your baby. You built it together. The idea of trusting someone else with it, delegating the things only the two of you have always done, feels riskier than just doing it yourselves. So you do it yourselves. Every time.
You're asking the hard questions together in the quiet moments. Was this the right call? Is there actually a light at the end of this tunnel? Are we ever going to turn a real profit? Is this life good for our family — or are we missing something we can't get back?
The financial pressure sits differently when there is no outside income as a cushion. The practice either works or it doesn't — and you both feel that weight every single day.
And then you drive home together. And you're supposed to just switch it off.
Emotionally
Financially
The stress doesn't stay at the clinic. It rides home with you, sits at the dinner table with you, and sometimes slides into bed between you. There's guilt about the hours, resentment that can build when roles aren't clear, and a quiet fear that the thing you built together might be costing you the relationship that made it worth building in the first place.
When both of you are all-in on one practice with no outside income as a cushion, every slow month feels personal. Every large expense feels like a threat. Financial decisions become emotional ones, and emotional decisions become financial ones — and suddenly you're not just disagreeing about money, you're disagreeing about everything.
What Happens When Two Capable People Pull in Slightly Different Directions
THE COST OF STAYING THE SAME
Dave Ramsey tells a story about Belgian draft horses. A single horse can pull 8,000 pounds. Put two together and they can pull 24,000 pounds — three times as much. But here is the part that matters for you: when those two horses are trained together, working in the same direction with clarity and trust, they can pull 32,000 pounds. Nearly four times what either could do alone.
That is what is at stake when you leave this problem unsolved.
Two capable, hardworking, deeply committed people — pulling in slightly different directions, carrying resentment they haven't named, unclear on who owns what decision — can only pull so much. The practice stays stuck. The goals stay out of reach. The freedom and flexibility and financial reward you went into this for keeps feeling like it's just one more year away.
The energy you bring home from the practice shapes everything inside your house. Your kids feel it. Your marriage feels it. The team at the clinic feels it too — because a couple who lead together with clarity and joy create that same culture for everyone around them.
Another year without clarity and alignment doesn't stay neutral. The best time to tend to something you love is before it needs repair. Your marriage will outlast your time at that practice by decades. It deserves the same intentional investment you give your business.
Real Agreements, Not Just Inspiration
THE REALITY NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Tax Strategy
How to legally keep tens — or hundreds — of thousands of dollars working for your family instead of disappearing to taxes, taught by an expert who understands the veterinary practice owner specifically.
You will leave this retreat with a shared vision, a defined role structure, a communication framework you've actually practiced, and a financial roadmap built specifically for a couple running a private veterinary practice together. Not concepts. Not homework. Real agreements you made together, in the room, with guidance and time to do it right.
Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, and the structures that make sure what you're building actually passes to the people you're building it for — not to probate.
Role Clarity &
Decision Making
A working framework for defining who owns what in your practice so that disagreements have a clean resolution and neither of you is guessing.
Communication Within
a Working marriage
Practical tools for giving and receiving feedback with the person you love and lead alongside every day.
The Venn Diagram
of Your Life
An honest look at how your roles as owners, employees, and family members overlap — and how every decision you make affects the people in each circle. Understanding this changes how you lead and how you love.
Practice Building &
Legacy Planning
Growth, revenue, and building on what you've already created — so the business continues to rise to meet the life and legacy you're designing together.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 retreat SPONSORS!
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Arrive: Sun Nov 1, 2026
Depart: Wed Nov 4, 2026
Nightly rates (per room, per night):
Single: $380 (one guest)
Double: $322 per guest
Inclusions: Your nightly rate includes all meals and all activities, including horseback riding, shooting, archery, e-biking, and more.
How to book: after your retreat registration is approved, call White Stallion Guest Ranch to secure your room under the “Veterinary MBA Live Retreat” room block: 1-520-297-0252 (option 1).
Want more time? Consider adding a day or two before/after—you won’t regret it.
Due to the all inclusive nature of the ranch, all registrants must secure a room for three nights (arriving 11/1 and departing 11/4) at the White Stallion Guest Ranch.
Once your retreat registration has been approved, you must call White Stallion Guest Ranch yourself, and secure your accommodations under the Veterinary MBA Live Retreat room block. 1-520-297-0252 option 1 -
This retreat will more than pay for itself in a matter of weeks. The truth is, you’re not just investing in a weekend away… you’re investing in a stronger practice, a lighter load, and a better quality of life.
This retreat is designed to give you:8 hours of RACE-approved business CE you can immediately apply to your practice
Clarity on your next steps so you stop second-guessing and start leading with confidence
A trusted circle of peers who understand the unique challenges of running a clinic
Space to recharge so you return home energized, not drained
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In order to fully register you must:
Submit your non-refundable retreat registration payment
Complete the registration form
Reserve your room at White Stallion Guest Ranch with a non-refundable deposit (call 1-520-297-0252, option 1)
Due to the ranch’s all-inclusive model, all registrants must secure a room for the full stay (Nov 1-4).
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Your ticket is $1,197 and it covers everything you need for a transformational experience. Here’s what you get:
All retreat workshops & sessions: 8 hours of RACE-approved business CE that’s practical, actionable, and designed for practice owners like you.
Professional headshots: walk away with updated images you’ll actually want to use.
Peer networking: connect with other like-minded owners and managers who “get it.”
Meals + ranch activities: riding, shooting, archery, e-biking, and more (all included with your room rate.)
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Spa services
Riding lessons
Professional branding photo sessions