The Ranch Life Takes Over a Woodlands Hotel, Giving Vital Equine Therapy a Needed Boost — That’s Inspiration

Who says you cannot bring the ranch into a hotel? Inspiration Ranch’s Denim and Diamonds Gala fully embraced the ranch life, mechanical bull rides and all, turning The Woodlands Waterway Marriott into a true cowboy land.

Chaired by Amerigo’s Grille’s Tina Kosh Goodson, the night honored the restaurant, Mike and Carol Watford and former Inspiration Ranch board member Robert Marlow. For the ranch, the gala is the single most important fundraiser of the year. Funds raised go to support Inspiration’s mission of offering equine-assisted therapeutic riding for individuals with special needs and equine-assisted mental health services to the community at large and victims of sex trafficking, domestic abuse and those with severe emotional trauma.

“Our most recent audit reflected that every time we put a rider on a horse, it costs us $250,” Inspiration Ranch board president MG Tindall noted. “On average, a family pays $40 once scholarships are factored in, and that’s a $210 gap that we have to cover for every single ride that happens. So here’s the math: 50 additional riders riding on an average of 42 weeks a year is 2100 rides.

“At $210 a ride, that’s $441,000.”

In other words, every dollar raised on this night counts.

The services available at Inspiration Ranch are expanding too.

“Our mental health and learning program is growing,” Tindall said. “This summer, we partnered with Hearts with Hope Foundation to bring equine-assisted services to at-risk girls in foster care. And we’re now pursuing credentialing to offer court-ordered supervision visits, while launching two new caregiving support groups this October for parents and toddlers with teenagers alike.”

Parent Christina Espinoza, who has twin daughters that ride at Inspiration Ranch, has seen the difference this horse therapy provides.

“We as parents, while they get to have fun, we get the peace of mind that it is doing something extra for them that is very different than any other therapy that they will receive,” Espinoza said “You can’t get what they’re doing in a clinic. It is that unique. These sessions bring joy and development, and for us a peace of mind. . .

“You get the opportunity to be a part of another family’s answer to prayer, another spark that gives hope, another child that believes they too get to have something special in their life, that they matter. That they are more than their disability, and it is not what defines them.”

Ranch Lifters

Tindall also honored former board member Robert Marlow, who died earlier this year.

“Bob Marlow was one of our founding board members, and I know that many of you in the room knew him, so it won’t surprise when I say what a privilege it was to know him and to work alongside of him,” Tindall said.

Marlow’s wife and daughter were on hand and talked about what Inspiration Ranch meant to him.

Community partner Amerigo’s Grille is another longtime Inspiration Ranch supporter which has made a multi-generational impact.

“From the very beginning, they’ve been more than a restaurant in our community,” Tindall said. “They’ve been a steadfast, generous and deeply embedded partner in the lives of The Woodlands. Beyond the walls of their restaurant, they have quietly and consistently given their time, resources and heart to organizations across our area for three decades.

“Amerigo’s Grille has generously hosted our VIP reception ahead of our annual gala for the past 15 years-a sustained gift of time, space and resources that has helped make our biggest fundraising night of the year possible year after year. This kind of consistent, unglamorous commitment, showing up for the same cause every single year, embodies the leadership and the sacrifice that the Koch family has built into Amerigo’s Grill.

“In 2016, Nancy Kosh joined our board of directors and later our advisory board. This past year, her daughter Tina joined our board as well.”

Woodlands residents Mike and Carol Watford were also recognized for their dedication. These two are hands-on supporters of Inspiration Ranch.

“Carol’s connection to Inspiration Ranch is deeply personal,” Tindall revealed. “In 2018, she set up out to become a Path International certified therapeutic riding instructor, spending countless hours at the ranch both before and after COVID, learning the work from the ground up before she ever sat on our board.

“That kind of hands-on commitment, showing up in the barn and in the arena alongside our staff and volunteers and families, speaks the same dedication that has carried her throughout the decade of advocacy for children around the world. Mike’s support has been just as steadfast.”

PC Seen: Michelle Little, Elijah White and Dr. Diana Wandix-White, Denny and Marty McGuire, Mike Schmidt, Shelley and Brandy Goodson, Jennifer and Shawn Skobel, Lauren and Lenny Gonzales, and Crystal Sledd.