Sara Garcia, who stars in Ride, is dishing out what to expect from Hallmark's newest country-western series.

Sara Garcia Talks Hallmark Series 'Ride' & Returning to Theatre

Garcia plays Valeria in the show, which she says is the story of "independent women." Ride also touches on found family, and the powerful impact of a chosen support system.

"What really struck me was this story of these three independent women who are not bonded by blood but are chosen family, and they choose to stay together in amongst hardship and tragedy to save their their home," the actor tells Sonia Baghdady of Advocate Now. "And they're supported by these wonderful, loving men in their lives. And I just thought that that was a really beautiful story."

Western culture has always been heavily male-dominated, which Valeria and her friends often feel the brunt of. Garcia herself is no stranger to the struggle, but says that she's been uplifted in her career by the women around her, just as her character is.

"If it wasn't for these really strong, resilient female mentors in my life, I don't know if I would have stuck it out for as long as I have, but I'm very grateful to them," she shares. "And here I am now, and I'm hoping that I can pass that on to other young women who are trying to be actors as well."

The series also features Jake Foy, who plays openly queer character. Garcia says that, as a queer woman herself, she didn't want the focus to be on the sexuality of Foy's character, but that she wanted to see him not just accepted, but normalized.

"The world that we all created together collectively was that him being queer was just part of it, and we were all just so accepting of it," Garcia says. "And me being a queer woman, those are the types of stories that I want to be a part of. Those are the stories that I want to tell."

Though she's seasoned in theatre performances, Garcia is excited to have branched out into film and television. She shares that through all of the ups and downs of her career, the "key" is patience.

"Patience is key and not only on set, but also when the job entails a lot of nose, a lot of rejection, a lot of having to pick yourself up and keep going, keep knocking on those doors and never really giving up," she says. "That has been invaluable to me."

For more interviews like this, watch Advocate Now on The Advocate Channel.