Ms. Franks is a certified instructor and has been teaching for over 32 years. Extensive English and Western Discipline training has been the focus of her horsemanship for 46 years. Dedicated to horse and rider development, Franks has coached students to Olympic Young Rider levels. Franks is also an NRHA money and trophy earner and has numerous AQHA points in all around divisions. Growing up, she was very active in 4H showing horses and show cattle and continues to support this wonderful organization. Franks has owned and showned several NRHA champions including Shining Marshall and Pepantari during her reining experiences and had the families first NRHA Furity Finalist in 2000.

In addition to her work inside the arena, Trish also competes and trains clients in competitive trailriding and endurance. She currently holds a guide's license in the state of New Mexico and has trail ridden with many clinicians over the last 20 years across the United States and Canada.

Affiliations include: AQHA, NRHA, FRHA, ISHA, USEF, OVRHA, USHJA, QPOA, APHA, POA, MTHJA, and PHBA. Franks currently owns NRHA champions Shining Marshall and Pepantari.

In addition to equine related activities, Franks owns and operates a catering business serving lunch to local pre-schools. Franks has two children, Martin and Brittany, and is married to architect Paul Wright.

Brittany Franks is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of MTSU in criminal justice and is currently in law school. She is a professional horsewoman affiliated with the NRHA, AQHA, USEF, and the MTHJA. Brittany has 18 years of horse experience with accomplishments in the following:
• Multiple championships in the hunter/jumper arena
• Pony Club member for 11 years
• Mulitple AQHA and NRHA championships nationally and internationally
• Tied for 1st place in the Young Rider Division of the USEF in 2002 for Young Rider World medal standings
• Finished Top Ten NRHA standings 2000 and 2002
• Top Ten All American Quarter Horse Congress 2000
• Fourth Place at the Festival of Champions in the Young Rider Medal Finals at Gladstone, New Jersey
• Brittany has had the opportunity to ride and train with the world's best reining instructors. She has also trained with Debbie Atkinson in 3-day eventing
• Camp counselor for Natchez Bend Farm's Critter Keepers, a popular farm animal camp for 6 years
She is also responsible for the nutritional and veterinary guidelines for the horses at Natchez Bend. In addition to her duties at Natchez Bend, Brittany currently attends law school in Nashville.

Jaclyn Clark has been riding huntseat and dressage since 1995. Originally from Minnesota, she competed regionally on the "A" circuit in equitation and operated her own lesson and boarding facility in the suburbs of Minneapolis. After moving to Nashville in 2004 to attend the music business program at Belmont University, she continued her passion as a musician and songwriter and even co-wrote a #1 on the national and international charts.

Jaclyn has been with Natchez Bend since 2008 and enjoys instilling students with a hard work ethic, good sportsmanship and a team player attitude. She specializes in equitation and dressage instruction and enjoys training project horses for re-sale.

She currently resides in downtown Nashville with her husband and fellow musician, Joshua.

Martha Emeson has been riding and showing horses for over 40 years.  Her youth activities included 4-H, United States Pony Club, and Maryland State Junior Quarter Horse Association.  As a junior rider she competed in hunters, jumpers, combined training, and dressage, and as an adult in hunters and dressage.  She has shown at local and recognized shows.  Martha has a strong background in stable management, and even has some experience with Western, fox hunting, polo and polocrosse.  She has been teaching professionally, on a part-time basis, since 2008. 

Martha is a practicing attorney, and is married with one child (who rides!).  She currently owns two horses--her retired show hunter, which she trained, and a mare she bred, raised, and trains in dressage. 

Her educational background includes a J.D. (with high honors) from the University of Tennessee College of Law at Knoxville and a B.A. from Lake Erie College, where she participated in the riding program and her coursework included classes from the Equestrian Studies curriculum. 

Lisa Nilson is currently living in Nashville from Tucson, Arizona. She has been an animal care technician, caring for animals used in biomedical research, while attending the University of Arizona. She has executed cognitive studies using rats and monkeys as a research specialist for the Department of Neurology. Her primary tasks in her position were to train monkeys to play a series of computer games and to ensure their psychological and physical well-being throughout research projects. After several years in biomedical research, Nilson stopped working with animals and went to work in the information technology industry. She is currently employed by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

She has two horses, Harley and Maverick, and spends after hours and weekends assisting other staff in caring for the boarding and training facility at Natchez Bend.

Martin Franks graduated with honors in the Masters Program of Architecture at the University of Kentucky and is currently employed by Hart-Freeland-Roberts, Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2006 he graduated from the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in animal science. To Martin's credit, he has NRHA earnings of over $5,000 and multiple bronze winners for 3 and 4 year old western reining horses. He has trained with professionals such as Woody Taylor, Shawn Flarida, Clint Haverty and Mark Turner. Horses that have been finished by Franks have successfully gone into other disciplines such as dressage. They have won at training and 1st levels.

Martin trains the familie's prospects and currently resides in Georgetown, KY with his wife, Ashleigh, who is an accomplished rider and Contracts Manager for Spendthrift TB Farm in Lexington Kentucky.

Affiliations are AQHA, NRHA, OVRHA, PBHA, PHA & USEF and ASDF.

Eduardo Mendez • barn manager

Gustavo Mendez • barn assistant