Sitting next to trails and thousands of acres that make Benbrook Lake is the oasis of Benbrook Stables, said owner Molly Thomson.
Far from roads and urban development, the public can enjoy the lakefront and wildlife viewing the stables offers, from observing native bluebonnets to deer and other animals.
“We have a special place that a lot of places just don’t have,” Thomson said. “There’s nothing to see except trees and streams and fields. It’s just beautiful.”
Since the 1950s, Benbrook Stables has specialized in a plethora of equestrian services, including lessons, trail rides, boarding, training and events.
Thomson’s business is also highly involved with the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Benbrook Stables provides its horses to the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate for the annual event’s grand entry. Business staff volunteer at several of the rodeo’s committees.
Thomson and her husband consider Benbrook Stables the Fort Worth area’s premier boarding and trail riding facility.
Contact information:
Website: Benbrook Stables
Phone: 817-249-1001
Email: benbrookstablesftw@gmail.com
Facebook: Benbrook Stables
Instagram: @benbrookstables
TikTok: @benbrookstables
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nicole Lopez: Tell me about Benbrook Stables. How did it come to be?
Molly Thomson: The stables themselves have been here since the early 1950s. The site has provided horseback riding, boarding and lessons ever since. I personally brought my horses here in the 1970s. I loved the place and always loved being out here. So to get to come back and buy it in the 1980s was just a dream. It had fallen into complete disrepair; it was really bad and completely run down. My husband and I purchased it, and we have revitalized it into the premier boarding and trail riding facility in Fort Worth.
Lopez: How wide does the property span?
Thomson: We’re on just under 100 acres. It was kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but now everything has grown all around the stables. We’re kind of an oasis just right in the middle of Benbrook, where you can really come and get away and feel like you know you’re out in Texas countryside, but you’re really just 15-20 minutes from downtown Fort Worth.
Lopez: What sets Benbrook Stables apart from other stable businesses?
Thomson: It’s our location, basically. When you ride at the Stockyards, they don’t do lessons. They don’t have camps for kids. They don’t have advanced riding lessons for adults.
We just provide a lot more services. So if you do ride at the Stockyards, you kind of get on and you’re still riding through the city. Plus, the added services that we provide. If you have your own horses, you can come out. If you need help with those horses, we provide counselors, instructors and trainers. We’re full service.
Lopez: What’s the busiest time of year for your business?
Thomson: We are busy all year round. In the fall, we do amazing fall rides. We can ride a little bit longer in the day because it’s cooler for the horses. In the spring, we’re super busy with all of our kid camps — same with summer.
People come from all over the world to ride with us in the winter. We thought we were going to slow down in the winter — it’s too cold. But people love it. People from Texas say “It’s too cold for me to ride,” but people from Michigan say, “This is nothing. Let’s go ride.”
If we were to slow down at all, it’s during the August heat.
Lopez: Do your hours of operation change during August due to the heat?
Thomson: We’re still open the same hours. We just add a couple of early morning rides to beat the heat.
Lopez: Anything else you want your customers to know about Benbrook Stables?
Thomson: We have incredibly gentle horses that first-time riders can get on. We give each rider really good instruction beforehand. We never want to be that nose-to-tail trail guide where all the horses are just following each other and you can’t turn them or do anything.
People are really surprised when the horses are so well behaved and not just follow-the-leader horses.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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Great Job Nicole Lopez & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.
