A year ago, Monica Millan-Barbera moved out of her Trophy Club home, quit her international marketing job with Bell Helicopter and bought a five-acre ranch in Pilot Point to spend more time with her black mustang, Bruno.

“I was tired of the corporate world,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘What do I want to do?’”

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Monica Millan-Barbera saddles up her black mustang, Bruno, at Black Mustang Ranch.

Millan-Barbera’s lifelong passion for horses started when she was a young girl growing up in Northern Spain. Her initial business plan, a full horse boarding facility, broadened with the addition of trail rides.

“People came out asking for rides,” she said.

Millan-Barbera named the ranch after her black mustang, who was born in captivity from a wild mare.

Adding corrals and horses, she set up several different types of trail ride packages, which run through the Jordan and Isle du Bois units at Ray Roberts Lake State Park. 

Her ranch, which sits north of the 20-mile Ray Roberts Lake/Lewisville Lake Greenbelt Corridor, adds an additional eight miles to the trail.

Covering a varied terrain from sandy loam to stony hills and lakeshores, Millan-Barbera’s expeditions give the rider a full horseback riding experience along with her knowledge of the area trails.

“Texas soil is very odd and you have to know where to step,” she said, adding that the weight of a 1,000-pound horse on sandy, soft spots in a varied soil can make things tricky.

Offering many options and riding levels for the horse excursions, Millan-Barbera said she is dedicated to satisfying both beginners and more advanced riders.

“I wanted to do something different from other riding stables,” she said.

Longer excursions begin from the Jordan unit at Lantana Lodge and vary from a two-and-a-half-hour picnic package — which includes dining on the beach — to a four-hour wilderness exploration package.

Experienced riders have the option to ride solo, once Millan-Barbera assesses their riding skills. She then issues riders a “solo card” to ride without a guide.

“They like to treat the horse like it is hers or his,” she said.

Claire Heaukaulani of Colleyville first visited Black Mustang Ranch with her husband and two sons a year ago, and they’ve since been back four times. She said they all learned more than just riding.

“We help brush and saddle the horses before we ride,” she said. “Monica told us so much about the trails, the history — she pointed out trees and different animal tracks,” Heaukaulani said.

They especially like that they have earned their solo pass so they can come and ride by themselves.

“My son learned to post with her patient instruction, and we had the freedom to actually control the horses on the trail ride and not ride nose-to-nose like other places,” she said.

Millan-Barbera said she be­lieves in creating a memorable experience for her visitors filled with whimsy and lore from the Old West.

From birthday parties complete with roasting marshmallows over a fire pit, dunking for apples, sack races and singing trail songs to future plans for overnight campouts in a planned bunkhouse, Millan-Barbera said she wants to bring families together and celebrate traditional values.

“Kids are more oriented to computers,” she said. “I’m trying to bring back the old ways of having fun.”

Millan-Barbera has two different summer horse camps planned in June. The weeklong camps will cater to two age groups: one for ages 7 to 9 and another for ages 10 to 14.

“My Summer Horse Camps” begin with each child choosing which horse they want to care for during the entire week — including feeding, grooming and learning how to tack.

Along with the boarded horses living at Millan-Barbera’s ranch is Diego, a cocoa-colored llama she inherited with the purchase of the ranch, and her dogs — Boxer, a German shepherd, and Buddy, an Australian shepherd, who are the gentle guardians of the property.

Dwaine Lawson, owner and operator of Pilot Point Carriage Co., boards his Clydesdale horse, Sherman, at Black Mustang Ranch for the full-service facilities and convenience. Lawson gives carriage rides led by Sherman from the ranch, taking passengers on a mile-and-a-half path to downtown Pilot Point and back.

“This is perfect because I don’t have to trailer anywhere,” he said.

Lawson, who retired from Veri­zon, rescued the Clydesdale from a downtown Austin street carriage service after he’d been used for years for high volumes of rides.

“We have retired together,” Lawson said of himself and his horse.

Millan-Barbera is using her degree in computer programming and extensive experience in public relations to market Black Mustang Ranch abroad. By posting her business Web site on several international servers, she’s attracted business from around Texas, the country and the world.

After fulfilling a New Year’s resolution to gain her American citizenship two years ago, Millan-Barbera now holds dual citizenship in Spain and the U.S.

“I’m also thinking of ways to promote Texas internationally,” she said, adding that she visits her family in Spain once a year.

Recently she accommodated a group of 19 German exchange students on a trail ride, and has since received requests from people who want to send their kids for extended stays once she gets her bunkhouse built.

Millan-Barbera, whose mornings begins every day at 7 a.m. for horse feedings and stall cleanings, calls each animal by name as she saddles them for the next scheduled ride.

“I’m just playing here with my horses,” she said. “I found a good niche here.”

RANDENA HULSTRAND can be reached at 940-566-6845. Her e-mail address is rhulstrand@dentonrc.com.

Black Mustang Ranch

Where: 9375 Jack Gray Road, Pilot Point

Phone: 817-915-8455

Web: www.blackmustangranch.com

My Summer Horse Camp

What: Each child will choose a horse to care for the entire week, learning to feed, groom and perform the basics of tack and riding at Black Mustang Ranch.

When: June 16-20, ages 7 to 9, and June 23-27, ages 10 to 14

Times: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day