Things to Do in Tomball

Sam Houston Race Park's multifunctional grounds crawl with up to 30,000 spectators reveling amid horseraces, concerts, and private events. Quarter horses, thoroughbreds, and arabians kick up dust as jockeys maneuver them around the course, cheered on by race fans placing bets based on their stats, the weather, and the size of the horse's toupee. Spectators can also watch and wager on races outside the park's grounds, as monitors air simulcasts of the big races, including the Arlington Classic Stakes and Los Angeles Handicap. In two restaurants under the supervision of executive chef Hugo Gomez, the racetrack treats guests to panoramic views of the competition as they dine on seafood, gourmet pastas, and brunch fare. Guests may also entertain up to 100 friends, employees, or colleagues in luxury suites equipped with a private bar and an in-room centaur butler.

Darolyn Butler spent her childhood riding near her family’s farm and ranch, exploring the countryside and sharpening the skills that would later serve her well during horse shows and barrel-racing competitions. After winning the title of Miss Rodeo Oklahoma, she went on to become Miss Ford Country, the cowgirl featured in ad campaigns for Ford Motor Company. College graduation brought numerous opportunities, but Darolyn always filled her spare time with shows and rodeos. Then she discovered endurance riding, a cross-country competitive sport with races that cover 50 or more miles. Over the years, she’s won several national championships and when she became a mother, Darolyn trained her two daughters in endurance, and they are now competitive riders as well.

When she isn't competing, Darolyn offers riding instruction and consultation services at Cypress Trails Equestrian Center. The ranch is open seven days a week and adjoins scenic and challenging trails, where students of all ages and skill levels can go on adventure rides aboard beautiful arabian, spanish-mustang, and appaloosa horses. Darolyn also boards horses, giving them access to plenty of pastureland, where they can roam freely or stand still in one spot staring at the ground and counting blades of grass.

As a child, potter and instructor Linda Munoz unearthed her passion for the arts during ballet, piano, guitar, and painting lessons. Motivated by her spiritual beliefs, she fleshed out her creative side into a career when she founded Lambda Pottery. Her studio showcases her original stoneware, largely crafted atop the potter's wheel, and houses pottery lessons designed to accommodate all ages. The classes take place once or twice a week for eight weeks and hone in on students' areas of interest. During each lesson, Linda incorporates basics such as molding clay into dishes, trimming and texturizing, and affixing handles or rubber ears onto vases.

At K2 Academy of Kids Sports, kids scurry around a 6,500-square-foot space filled with trampolines, balance beams, and rope swings spread beneath an overhead zipline. Accompanied by parents or legal-guardian holograms, children can roam free across the indoor terrain during open-play hours or join gymnastics, cheerleading, and tumbling classes, in which instructors tailor lesson plans to each age group with an emphasis on fun, collaborative learning. Gymnastics sessions encompass everything from basic rolls to intricate dance routines, whereas cheerleading skills progress from simple tumbles to the ultimate inspirational challenge—making Eeyore indifferent. Tumbling pupils master cartwheels before tackling cardio training and jumps, further honing their skills in workshops and clinics designed as intensive studies of each activity.

During the off-season, day camps, summer camps, and Playsmart—a childcare program molded around school hours—keep teensy feet distracted from toppling store-window displays of fragile "Kick Me" signs. Year-round, the S.O.A.R. program tweaks the traditional gamut of classes for athletes with special needs.

Owner Connie Broome envisions Vino Artino as a place "all about art, friends, and fun," a concept she solidifies through relaxing, hands-on classes. Sessions are led by artists with degrees from art and design schools across the South. As they swill any libations they wish to bring, pupils sit at tabletop easels and follow step-by-step instructions to re-create scenes appropriate for a girls' night out, a Mother's Day outing, or a hide-the-hole-in-the-living-room-wall party. Though each class is grounded in a particular painting, the studio urges artists to put their own stamp on the finished product by using different colors, adding fun flourishes, and choosing their own canvas size.

1960 Beads stocks a plethora of glamorous beads and baubles including Swarovski crystals, pearls, and semiprecious gemstones. Shoppers can peruse racks of beaded strands arranged by color and size. 1960 Beads’ workshops guide students and to create personalized accessories, from macramé to stone-pendant wire wrapping, that can ornament twin Chia pets in order tell them apart.