Back Nine Farms and Stables The emphasis is on Western riding by Nancy Brannon If you’re looking for western riding and instruction in the Jackson, Tennessee area, check out Back 9 Farms, located at 4260 Spring Creek Road in Lavinia, Tennessee. Located near the corner where Carroll County borders Madison and Henderson counties, the stable is within short driving distances from Jackson, Milan, Huntington, and Medina. It has been in operation for about two years and is owned by Linda Simons. The stable offers a variety of amenities for horses and students that includes full boarding in the 28-stall barn and pasture turnout; trail riding, barrels and poles competition, and horsemanship learning opportunities. There is a Cover-All indoor arena that allows riding activities through all seasons and weather. The farm’s 75 acres, with access to surrounding properties, allows ample room for trail riding. In the summer, the stable offers six weeks of camps that have a variety of activities from riding lessons, games on horseback, and trail riding. Throughout the year on school holidays there are “mini-camps” for vacationing students. “We had our most successful mini-camp ever December 29,” said owner Linda Simons. Program director LeeAnn Johnson has developed a lesson level system that takes students from beginning levels of horsemanship and riding to more advanced levels. Johnson said, “The structured levels require both knowledge about the horse and riding skills. Beginning levels learn about parts of the horse, tack, and feed, while more advanced levels are required to observe a farrier and a number of hours of trail riding experience.” As students work their way up the levels, “they are awarded ribbons, then medals and trophies,” she reported. Johnson is a French teacher at Milan High School, so her formal teaching career influences the way she teaches riding and horsemanship. She has work books with plenty of illustrations for the students that help them better learn about horses and all that goes with riding and taking care of them. Living on a farm and being in the horse business is a “dream come true” for owner Linda Simons. “My husband’s family is from this area and we traditionally came to family reunions for 30 years. My father-in law was raised on a farm in Medina, Tennessee. We knew we would eventually retire here, but circumstances allowed us to buy a farm here 15 years earlier than we expected. My husband’s uncle found the land. We looked at it, loved it, and bought it about 5 years ago,” Simons recalled. Linda sees each new day as a wonderful opportunity to do what she has wanted to do all her life. “I am from New Jersey where there was really no place to keep a horse. I could rent a horse to ride, but it was way too expensive there to get started in the horse business,” she explained. “I’ve ridden all my life, but I wanted to take formal lessons. I found they were not what I expected them to be” so she has devised her own lesson program. “You have to have a lesson plan!” she emphasized. “I taught Sunday School for 11 years” where she learned the importance of lesson plans. “So I wrote a lesson manual because I found that even the American Riders Instructors Association didn’t have anything like this. Parents can see what has been introduced to the students and what has been learned is checked off. The lessons can be geared toward a child or adult. It works well and the parents like it.” The emphasis is on Western riding - pleasure, barrel racing, pole bending, and trails. Simon’s business has expanded so that she now has three instructors, including an advanced trainer Annette Reese, who holds two world titles in barrels and a degree in Equine Science. For more information see http://www.back9farms.com or call 731-783-1203.