ABOUT
We provide top-notch care for your Memphis horse in a friendly, fun, and safe environment.  As a low-key, quiet, small Memphis, TN area horse boarding facility vs a traditional “show barn,” we want both happy horses and happy people at our farm. We are proud of the unique, supportive, environment that we have to offer at our convenient Collierville location! Quality and customizable horse care, safe, responsible, horsemanship practices, along with good sportsmanship are at the heart of this facility. We share our love of horses in an environment that adheres to good family values, respect for horses, each other, and the farm.  We appreciate and welcome the value of different equestrian disciplines and do not have a “one-size-fits-all” outlook on horsemanship. We actively support our local and national horse community, trainers, horse professionals, and equestrian outreach programs. ​

 STAFF
Manager of Operations and Coach: Ashlee Pigford
As manager of Meadowthorpe Farm  and as the founder and Coach of the Memphis Youth Equestrian Team,  my goal is to encourage more adults and kids in the Memphis, TN area to experience horses, and to provide a place for you to do so affordably! Meadowthorpe Farm is a unique setting, grounded in heart... Horses and people are more than just business to us!

I enjoy project horses and take pride in taking the time needed for solid and safe training.  My special passion is caring for cast-away horses and unveiling their hidden value/worth and sharing this with others. I am proud to have never purchased a fully trained, push-button, show-ready, horse.  Which is one reason I'm a big supporter of reputable horse rescue organizations, Local Horse Shows, Off the Track Rescue, Thoroughbred (OTTB) rehab/retraining programs, Interscholastic Equestrian Association youth programs (IEA), and Horse Trainer's with a soft-spot for rescuing, retraining, and  re-homing horses in need and kill-pen rescues. It's a special experience to match a horse in need with the right person for them! 
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Another passion of mine is for working with kids having learning disabilities and special needs. Although I've worked primarily with Adult Learners in corporate settings over the past 20 years as an Instructional Designer and  Corporate Training Manager,  I started out as an Elementary School and Special Education teacher. I've continued this passion through teaching children, including autistic, special needs, and kids with learning disabilities about horses. (sensory, dyslexia, nonverbal processing disorders, executive functioning, ADHD).

I am putting my corporate experience developing Training Programs to use for adults in 2020 by launching a series of workshops available to individuals and corporate teams focused on leadership, communication, and team-building skills to help improve relationships and outcomes. These are ideal for those who understand that the key to  success and achieving more effective results starts with improving team dynamics, communication skills, and improving inefficient processes. My farm workshops using horses, combined with my corporate Learning and Development and Project Management expertise, will teach professionals and  business teams common-sense approaches and methods for achieving more success in the workplace. These lessons will provide a rare mix of both life and executive coaching, combined with a focus on  business coaching through  examining  business metrics such as your key performance indicators (KPI's). We will teach you how to better examine your data and metrics and "ask the right questions" challenging your business and teams' so that you can be open to adapting to change and learning new methods to help improve business functions- which is necessary to remain relevant in today's current competitive and rapidly changing business climate.

I understand the value horses bring to busy adults, who like me, enjoy the therapeutic winding down time that horses offer. Although riding competitively is fun and rewarding, I get that sometimes adults just need to enjoy horses as an outlet to relax from the day-to-day stresses that life often brings. Our current boarders are welcome to enjoy their horses without pressure to participate in rigid weekly lessons and competitions in order to board here.  That being said, we do encourage and welcome new clients to schedule lessons with us whenever you desire. 

" I train because I LOVE to teach and I love being around other people that love horses as much as I do.  Watching the progression from whatever stage the new student is to seeing them have personal victories or win at horse shows is so much fun for me!  Pairing a person with a horse is also one thing I think I am good at.  I am a nurturer at heart, so teaching and bonding with my students is what drives me the most.  I want them to be happy and self-confident! "

Coach: Leslie Gattuso
Leslie moved to the Memphis area in 1971 from Virginia Beach where her love for horses began. She asked for a horse every Christmas and had a teacher who encouraged her horse passion even more through introducing her to the Misty of Chincoteague horse book series. She actually got to attend Pony Penning Day as a child and see the wild ponies swim across the channel! Her daddy took her to the Germantown Charity Horse Show after moving to the area, and that was it...her parent's enrolled her in riding lessons.

​She grew up riding at Hugh Frank Smith's having the kind of childhood that kid's don't often have anymore... ALL day spent at the barn, trail riding for hours, no cell phones, playing with friends and grooming horses! The barn was her home away from home, playground, and her favorite place to be growing up.

Her horses included small junior, Instant Replay, and Concorde, her large junior. She rode with trainer's Margie Clark, Phoebe Sheets, Suzy Young, and occasionally Melanie Smith. She has ridden in clinics taught by George Morris and Tad Coffin and has met Joe Fargis, Conrad Homfeld, and other famous horse riders. In high school, Leslie moved to Jerome Robertson Stables to compete with the out of town circuit. The kids she met from both farms, remain great friends of her's today!

Leslie stopped riding for awhile as an adult and got back into it when taking her daughter to riding lessons while pregnant with her son. From that point on, she's owned three (3) more horses. (Spanky, AnnaRiva, and Dusty Miller), she's competed locally and out of town, and she's trained students. Leslie is a full-time restaurant manager and has been training part-time for 20 years. She's worked at her own farm, Hunter's Edge Stables, Saybrook Farm, and Shady Creek Farm. Leslie's goal is to influence her students to be self-confident, happy, responsible horse-owners!
" I want them to work hard and know how to take care of their own horses just like I had to do growing up!"

Owner: Ken Ranks 
​Ken is the owner of both Clear Image Pools and Meadowthorpe Farm. He has owned, operated, and leased out the facility for 12+ years. He owned a horse growing up and never lost his love of them. Ken takes great pride in his farm and keeping the facility in tip-top shape. He oversees all day-to- day-repair and maintenance. This farm is truly a family affair, which carries over into his vision for this facility.