Many Southlake families with little riding boots in the back of their closets have one woman to thank for countless hours of outdoor fun: Ride With Pride owner and Amy’s Wish With Wings executive director Doreen Bruton.
What started as a high school side gig has grown to become one of Southlake’s longest legacies. Over the past 40 years, Doreen has built a career out of teaching kids not only how to ride but also how to care for others.
FINDING HER REINS
Doreen grew up passionate about horses. At age 5, she continuously asked her dad to buy her a pony she could ride around their Southlake property.
“I just loved horses,” Doreen says. “My grandfather was in the World War I cavalry, so I guess I got it from that line. I just had blinders on, and that’s all I wanted to do.”
After wearing him down, he came home with a $25 pony named Lady, who was not the friendliest pet, but Doreen was ecstatic to have a horse of her own.
“Lady should have deterred me, but she made me the rider I am today,” she says.
Doreen spent her childhood in 4-H and caring for various animals. In 1980, the Carroll High School junior aspired to rodeo, so she started teaching classes to the neighborhood kids for $5 an hour — because it cost $10 to rodeo — under the name Ride With Pride.
After quickly growing her business from 25 riders a week to 100, Doreen was hooked. Her parents were very supportive of her budding business. Her dad even built her a barn on the 6-acre property on West Highland Street, which Ride With Pride still uses today.
“So many people who still come out to our property say, ‘We didn’t know that this was here,’” Doreen says. “It’s a beautiful place that feels serene, tranquil.”
Once Doreen graduated from Carroll, she enrolled at Texas Tech University. But she came home on the weekends to continue teaching riding lessons. She soon realized that her business was booming, and she needed to move back to Southlake to fully invest her time in teaching.
On top of weekly classes, Doreen started to host Ride With Pride summer programs for local kids. Campers would ride, complete crafts and play games as well as help around the barn with chores like cleaning the stalls and learning how to care for the farm’s animals.
Former Ride With Pride student-turned-instructor and current volunteer Sheri Sutton grew up taking lessons in the ’80s. What started as an after-school activity transformed her life, so she knows how important these classes are for students.
“Kids who come out and ride feel like they’re a valuable part of the community that’s out there,” Sheri says. “It also teaches them responsibility. You learn to care for something besides yourself, and our kids learn a lot of empathy.”
Sheri left Ride With Pride as an instructor to pursue her education degree, but after having kids of her own years later, it was only natural they attended Ride With Pride camps. Sheri says her daughter Abbie immediately connected to the program.
“I never pushed her, but she just gravitated toward it like I did,” Sheri says. “It was heartwarming to see she had such a positive experience with Ride With Pride, just like me.”
At a young age, Abbie experienced selective mutism, so the classes helped boost her confidence and find a place where she could open up.
“I had a lot of fears when I was little,” Abbie says. “This was the only thing I felt comfortable doing.”
Once Abbie turned 14, she also started working at the barn for Doreen, helping her clean out stalls and see after the horses. After progressing through the ranks over the years, the 20-year-old now acts as an instructor and teaches 3- to 5-year-olds.
“Doreen’s barn was instrumental in helping Abbie find her voice,” Sheri says. “It has been fun to see her build friendships out there like I did.”
ADDING AMY’S WISH
Sheri and Abbie act as one example of Ride With Pride’s legacy. But they are not the only ones who have relied on the school over the years.
Amy Stefanko also started taking classes with Doreen at a young age. But after being diagnosed with leukemia before turning 5 and suffering from life-threatening medical emergencies like a brain aneurysm and several strokes, Amy had to stop taking classes.
While she was in Cook Children’s transitional care unit, Amy’s care team introduced her to therapeutic horse riding, which reminded Amy of her time with Ride With Pride. Equine therapy provides both physical benefits like building core strength and moving different parts of the body — because a horse’s gait closely resembles a human’s — as well as mental and emotional benefits like reducing stress, increasing problem-solving skills and boosting self-esteem.
“It was one of those stimulus things that helped her progress and helped her feel better,” Amy’s dad Ed says.
After returning home, the Stefankos would run into Doreen around Southlake, and Amy would continue to ask when she could come back and ride. Doreen first had to say no because Ride With Pride was not equipped with the right certifications to offer therapeutic horse riding.
But after listening to Amy’s wishes, Doreen pursued the correct certification so Amy could return. In 2011 with a PATH certification in hand, Doreen founded Amy’s Wish With Wings, a 501(c)(3) focused on providing equine-assisted activities for children with special needs.
Amy, along with a handful of other students, came out every Saturday for their sessions, where they would ride, play games and lend a helping hand.
“It’s something she looks forward to every week,” Ed says. “It gives her an activity and she just loves being around horses.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy’s Wish With Wings was up to 50 students. Whether these aspiring riders are living with autism, cerebral palsy or are vision impaired, Doreen works with them to help them find success. The nonprofit operates thanks to the support of dedicated staff members, donors and volunteers, who do everything from prepping the horses and acting as side walkers (the wings) to setting up games for the students.
“Amy has a lot of pride that it’s named after her,” Ed says. “From starting out with an, ‘OK you can ride with me’ and seeing the huge impact it's had, it brings tears to my eyes to see these children and young adults progress.”
Doreen says she’s watched students make immense strides over the past 10 years.
“I’ve seen miracles,” Doreen says. “I’ve seen two children get out of wheelchairs after a year of working with them. I’ve seen children speak their first words. It gives me chills every time I think about it.”
Each student comes in with different objectives, but Doreen and the Ride With Pride team help them set goals and work toward overcoming obstacles.
“Life is hard, and it’s really hard when your body doesn’t do what you want it to or if you feel you are different,” Sheri says. “But here, it’s a neutral ground. A horse gives you unconditional love. There are no questions asked. And when our kids verbalize goals and do it, they have such a tremendous sense of accomplishment.”
Doreen strives to provide constant encouragement for her students.
“Doreen is the first one to say, ‘That’s the best I’ve seen [Amy] ride,’” Ed says. “She’s always looking at the positive things.”
TROTTING TOWARD THE FUTURE
Similar to other extracurricular activities and summer camps, Ride With Pride shut down its services once COVID-19 hit in 2020.
“It gave the horses a nice vacation — everyone got to rest,” Doreen says.
But now, Doreen says she’s busier than ever, with summer programs filling up with both regular students and newcomers eager to get out and try a new activity.
“It’s the best kept secret in Southlake,” Doreen says. “But now I guess the secret is out.”
On top of the summer camps, Ride With Pride is also prepping for its annual fundraiser, Bobbyfest. The event, which was first held six years ago, usually takes place in the spring, but the 2021 event will be hosted at The Marq on October 9. While the event is set to entertain thanks to its live music, food trucks and silent auction items, Doreen says it will also ensure that the nonprofit can survive another year.
Despite the 24/7 labor and time commitment, Doreen is not slowing down anytime soon.
“That’s why you don’t see too many big cowgirls — because they work so hard,” Doreen says. “My goal is to make it to 50 years, and my hope and dream is that someone takes it and carries it on for another 50 years.”
Thankfully her son Grady also has a passion for the work.
“He’s such a good instructor; he’s so patient and kind,” Doreen says.
Through it all, Doreen says watching both the Ride With Pride and Amy’s Wish With Wings students keeps her going.
“Seeing the smiles on their faces when they get on the horse for the first time or accomplish a goal they’ve been working on makes it worth it,” she says.
As both a Ride With Pride instructor and an Amy’s Wish With Wings volunteer, Abbie has seen countless students’ faces light up during lessons.
“We give kids the ability to get outside and relax and know there’s nothing to worry about,” Abbie says. “They can just have fun.”
After spending a year locked up inside with extended screen time, Sheri knows summer camp participants will walk away with more than riding skills.
“It’s really a place where you can step back in time into that farm life,” Sheri says. “So many of our kids, especially with COVID, spent time on electronics, and here it’s all about being outside and in the sunshine. Kids can see you can put your phone away and still have a good time.”
Through the past four decades, Doreen has seen riding schools close and Southlake continue to bring in new development opportunities, making Ride With Pride an anomaly. So Doreen believes the program’s prosperity is more valuable than its history.
“Southlake needs this place more in the future than in the past,” Doreen says. “We are getting covered up in concrete. There’s only a few places like mine left.”
Thankfully despite the exciting opportunities continuing to come into town, Southlake still has this hidden gem to call its own.