---
title: "Starbucks Denies Drive-Thru Service to Horseback-Riding Birthday Girl"
description: "The barista refused to serve the galloping Frappuccino drinkers at an Arizona Starbucks."
date: "2018-03-06"
modified: "2018-03-06"
authors:
  - name: "Brian Beers"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/brian-beers"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19027/starbucks-denies-drive-thru-service-to-horseback-riding-birthday-girl"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Arizona"
  - "Coffee"
  - "drive-thru"
  - "horses"
  - "Starbucks"
---

# Starbucks Denies Drive-Thru Service to Horseback-Riding Birthday Girl

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/starbucks-drive-thru-window.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Nothing says "happy birthday" quite like hopping on your horse and taking it for a ride down to the local Starbucks for a delicious iced coffee drink. But for one Arizona teenager, the idea of picking up a Frappuccino on horseback was quickly reined in by a local barista.

[According to *ABC 15*](<https://www.abc15.com/news/national/anthem-family-on-horseback-denied-drive-thru-service-at-starbucks>) in Phoenix, Aspen Cline and her friend were hoping to score some cool drinks to celebrate Aspen's birthday. They headed to the local Starbucks with Aspen's parents, but instead of using a car to place their order at the coffee shop's drive-thru, they showed up riding horses.

Fairly unsurprisingly, the girls were told by an employee they could not be served.

https://twitter.com/_/status/970695761510809601

A birthday wish denied, Cline says she got the idea to ride in on her horse, Scout, from where else—the internet.

https://youtube.com/embed/Qa46VRrzoV4

"We weren't given a reason, just, we can't take your order," Aspen told an *ABC 15* reporter. "My friend and I were going to get \[Frappuccinos\] for us and a cup of whipped cream for the horses."

A Starbucks spokesperson reportedly told *ABC 15* that the drive-thru is officially for "cars only," while mentioning that this was due to safety reasons. However, the spokesperson did add that with some advanced notice, they could "find a way to serve all creatures."

Cline's mother said she was disappointed with Starbucks, and hoped to get a better horse-riding, coffee-ordering experience for Aspen in the future.

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