How a love for horses has transformed lives

Brenna Race, a Schwab employee out of St. Louis, was thrilled when she learned that Charles Schwab Foundation was offering a program that allowed employees to nominate nonprofits they cared about to receive grants. She immediately nominated Equine Assisted Therapy, a nonprofit dedicated to using horsemanship to enhance the quality and productivity of the lives of people with mental, physical, and psychological challenges. It’s an organization that she has seen have a profound impact on so many, including herself.

Brenna was one of those kids who asked for a pony every Christmas—she’s always loved horses. While she never got a pony, she did join a mounted Girl Scout troop, a special faction within the Girl Scouts focused on equestrian activities, where her lifelong bond with horses began. Riding gave Brenna comfort. It helped her manage her anxiety during her parents’ divorce, and as she became an adult, she went on to study equine science. After college, she ran her own stable for a while, but she needed a more reliable income. That’s when a riding friend from high school introduced her to a career in financial services which ultimately led her to Schwab and her current career as a leader in client service and support (CS&S). Through it all, her connection to horses helped her stay emotionally grounded and present.

“Horses are so in tune with their environment. If you’re anxious, they’ll sense it and get anxious too. And then you might end up in a tree!” Brenna says with a laugh.

Brenna discovered Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) in 2019 when she started as a volunteer, and she deepened her commitment to the organization not too long after, when she became a Certified Equine Therapy Instructor and part-time employee of EAT. The nonprofit supports students from the ages of 5 to 90 with a variety of physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges. Some students cannot walk unaided, and riding helps them build strength, using the same muscles that walking uses. EAT also has many students on the autism spectrum, providing exercise and experiences that focus on creating emotional connections with horses and on using fine motor skills and thought processing through games played while on horseback. 

“The beauty of the program is that for many of the students it doesn’t feel like therapy, it just feels like fun,” says Brenna.

Brenna has seen many incredible breakthroughs in her time at EAT. One student, a nine-year-old girl who had never spoken a word, shocked Brenna one day by responding to Brenna’s question about what ring color she wanted (Brenna says, you always speak to students at their capacity, even if you don’t expect a response back). When the girl responded by saying “blue” to her horse, Brenna says she almost had a heart attack, she was so shocked. In fact, it’s not uncommon for non-verbal or pre-verbal students to have speech breakthroughs like this at EAT. And she says that when they do, the students always speak to the horse, not the human.

When Brenna found out that her colleagues had voted for EAT and that Schwab was awarding the organization a $15,000 grant, she was thrilled. “Equine therapy is expensive,” explains Brenna. “Last year EAT spent over $100,000 just on horse maintenance.” 

And there’s many more costs including ongoing training, staff salaries, and barn repair, and EAT never turns away anyone that can’t afford to pay for therapy. The grant from Schwab will help EAT continue its work, and Brenna is thankful for the support her employer has shown for a cause that is so close to her heart.

“They are making a difference,” she says of Schwab. “And they are asking us to tell them how to do it.”

And now that the connection between Schwab and EAT has been made, Brenna is looking for opportunities to deepen it. This fall, she organized a group of Schwab employees to get involved with EAT’s big fundraiser, the Hoe Down for Hope. She’s also identifying opportunities to bring employees out to the barn for Schwab’s annual Volunteer Week in the Spring.

“Anytime anybody wants to come on out they are welcome,” says Brenna with a smile.

Seeing her students—people who are often overlooked or misunderstood—make progress and gain confidence has been rewarding for Brenna. With the support of Schwab, she has been able to share her passion for equine therapy with a larger community, bringing resources and awareness to an organization that has changed so many lives, including her own.