The Trinity Farm Experience

Trinity Farm, located in Lakeland, Tennessee, was “started on one load of sand,” says Poppy Doyle, the owner of the farm. Before starting Trinity Farm, she had been teaching riding lessons at another location for about 10 years. She and her husband William Doyle found the property and decided to buy it. “The property is close enough to the city but it is also far enough away that you can get a little breath of fresh air from the city traffic.” When they bought the property Poppy was originally planning to quit giving lessons and just become an amateur rider but her plans changed. She ended up helping some people in the nearby community out with her new property. They informed her that their barn was closing down so she extended the invitation and took in five of their clients. Since she did not have a facility set up yet she started teaching lessons again in her backyard on a lunge line... and one load of sand. Trinity Farm has a somewhat large team of people that assist in running the farm. They have anywhere between 60-80 lessons a week for people of all ages. They also offer camps for anyone ranging from little kids to adults. They have summer camps for kids no matter their experience level as well as team building opportunities for companies.

Trinity Farm offers summer camps mainly geared toward ages 5-12 but other ages are welcome, just be sure to call ahead. They offer four different weeks during the summer, week one is May 27th- 31st, week two is June 10th- 14th, week three is June 24th- 28th (this week is also the advanced rider camp) and finally week four is held July 8th- 12th. One great thing about their camps is that therapeutic riding is available during the camps if needed. If your child has a disability and likes horses, then one of these camps might be a great fit for them. During the camps, they will have riding and horsemanship lessons, daily arts and crafts, and water activities if the weather is right. The campers will learn about horse health, grooming and basic care of a horse, the use and care of tack, basic horsemanship, and equine safety and etiquette. For these camps, you can register online on their website found below.

If your company is looking for a way to add teamwork while also helping your employees to relax then you might be interested in Trinity Farm team building. They offer sessions tailored to your company's needs to stimulate personal growth and development for each participant. The sessions will be customized to meet the needs of each group to focus on the identified strengths and weaknesses. They have two hour, half day, or full day experiences. These experiences could involve working together to catch a horse in a field or riding through an obstacle course and many other options. You will get to learn about leadership, body language, effective communication, group cooperation, confidence, and self-esteem.

Trinity Farm is proud to partner with the University of Memphis to offer Horseback Riding as a PE course (PHED 1361- 2 credit hours). The course runs for 13 weeks, covers basic grooming, tacking and untacking and equitation. It is designed for a wide range of students from beginners who have never ridden to advanced riders. With SureHands Lift, they are able to offer the course regardless of mobility difficulties. Students must be enrolled at the University of Memphis.

Trinity Farm also offers therapeutic riding. Therapeutic riding started in the 50s in Europe when an Olympian, Lisa Hartel, was told she would never be able to ride again, so she defied all odds and became a medalist at the Olympics. Therapeutic riding teaches riding skills to people with disabilities. It influences not just their physical health, but their emotional and mental well being. Even when they are not being taught riding skills, the social environment of the barn and the calm nature of the horses themselves help them regain confidence, calm fears and sometimes it just works magic. Trinity Farm has worked with people who have cerebral palsy, autism, downs syndrome, and they also work with paraplegics and quadriplegics as well as people with anxiety. Jenna Mcnair is the person who mainly works with this program, she is path certified as well. One thing that she loves is getting to see the horses work their magic and see how the horses make life better for people. Another thing she gets to experience in this program is to see how people come in as shy individuals and by the time they are done they have grown to become confident and skilled. She has parents come up to her and say, “Wow, I never believed my child could do this.” Her work makes a huge impact on people. Jenna loves her job because she gets to help people and be around horses all day.

For more information on their programs visit their website www.trinityfarmtn.com or call  (901) 867-8682