White Bridle Humane Society is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt, non-profit corporation that was founded in 2007 as a way to serve our community through equine programs.
In 2009, we launched an equine assisted recreational therapy program with our 8 miniature horses. The Autism Society provided scholarships for children with autism that year, and we began serving children with autism at The Las Colinas Equestrian Center.
In 2010, we partnered with Parks and Recreation in Grand Prairie and began working with autistic children in Grand Prairie and the surrounding cities at Mike Lewis Park (near the intersection of I-30 and 161 Toll Road in Grand Prairie). We provide a mobile program on Saturdays during nice weather 16 weeks out of the year.
The arena is uncovered, so we’re hot when it’s hot; cold when it is cold; and wet when it is wet. We love the location - but we need a covered arena, so we can provide therapy 40 weeks a year in all kinds of weather.
White Bridle Society
P. O. Box 177643 Irving, TX 75017-7643 972.740.0900
Who We Are:
In 2012, we hope to find a permanent location with a covered arena, so we can do our program full time and not have to transport horses and set up the obstacle course every time.
It takes 5 hours to transport the horses and set up and break down the obstacle course after therapy. So we only provide 4 hours of therapy a day; when we could be providing 9 hours of therapy a day in a permanent location with a covered arena.
We have trained horses to provide therapy for 100 children a week; and when our pony, Red Moon, has completed his cart driving training, we’ll be able to provide 128 therapy sessions a day; we only provide therapy for a small fraction of those numbers, because we’re doing a mobile program in an open air arena one day a week during good weather.
Our vision is that all of the children that we serve grow up to lead full lives, with jobs and the ability to live on their own or with little assistance. And our program is helping children achieve that goal; but we’re doing it on a very small scale for short periods of time every year.
Early diagnosis and intervention determines the life outcome for children with autism. We’ve found a way to bring an equine assisted therapy program into urban areas with horses that are the correct scale for little children. We can provide a large scale equine assisted therapy program for children in urban areas with the horses that we own right now. We just need a location to do it that’s centrally located.
The horses bring an element to the program that ensures its success. We could not do this program without them. And being in an urban area with teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of children makes our program immensely valuable. The testimonies of the parents about our children’s successes will attest to that.
The entire community benefits from our organization, because we’re making a positive impact in the lives of the children that we serve and their families. We provide the only therapy that some of our children receive outside of school; so finding a permanent location and enabling White Bridle to reach a larger segment of the population that needs our services makes sense for everyone.
Leanna Andrews, school teacher in Arlington ISD, working with Jacob.
Patti Chiles, school teacher in Irving ISD, celebrating an achievement with Danny.
Kate Conatser, school teacher in Irving ISD, working with Jacob and assisted by Meredith Chiles.
Rebekah Newman, GPISD Special
Education teacher, walks with Eduardo after finishing cart driving.
Heather Ballard, GPISD Special Education teaching assistant, works with Lupita on a puzzle.
Savannah Marten, 13 year old peer volunteer, working with Lupita on the obstacle course.
Brook Boleyn, Executive Director of White Bridle, teaching Osvaldo how to drive the cart.
The Arena at Las Colinas Equestrian Center is beautiful, and it protected us from the elements in all kinds of weather; but when the SMU Polo Club moved in, there was no longer room for us.
Linda Elliot, Past Rotary Governor D5810, takes the reins with Star pulling the cart.
Samantha Baker, 13 year old peer volunteer, gives Star a break from cart driving.
Bridget Martin, 15 year old peer volunteer, works with Jose on his hand-eye coordinations skills.
Kristen Tjerlund, IT Specialist at American Airlines, side walks while Brook drives Edmundo’s sister, Ashley, in the cart with Trinity driving.
Our Story