Douglas Lakeview Stables, Sevierville

Barely able to walk on his own and many years away from becoming a reverend, a 3-year-old Jim Chambers rode a horse for the first time and was immediately enchanted. At 7, Chambers owned his own mare and paid for her necessities by selling rides for $0.15. Now, on his own ranch overlooking the tangled green of the Cherokee Valley, Chambers is still providing trail rides, campfire cookouts, and western horseback weddings. The Douglas Lakeview Stables crew leads trail rides every day, the Smoky Mountains cutting a rolling gray swath from the distant horizon. The adventures go on regardless of weather conditions, allowing riders to watch snowstorms unfurling over Lake Douglas or rain performing its natural role of ruining papier-mâché hats.