Long noted for their excellent performances on the calendars, Trapper Keepers, and airbrushed T-shirts of pre-teen girls across America, horses may also be capable of carrying passengers on woodsy thrill rides. Test-drive a more capable companion than your neighbor's Mustang with today's Groupon: for $20, you get one private riding lesson (a $40 value) at Fisherville Farms in Eads, about 40 minutes from downtown Memphis. The stables are open Monday through Saturday for private lessons. Get up to two Groupons to double your horse-mounted learning.

Located on 20 tranquil acres, family-owned Fisherville Farms offers horseback-riding lessons for beginning and intermediate equestrians, ages six and up. Single, private horsecursions are about 60 minutes long and include a crash course in proper grooming and saddling techniques, in addition to riding instruction. Because Fisherville Farms' headed horsemen and women are schooled in both Western and English riding styles, students have the option of learning either as they walk, trot, and gallop over the facility's sprawling trails and rings. Originating in the traditions of Spanish conquistadors, Western riding involves a bigger saddle and one-handed rein technique, whereas English riding traditionally employs a smaller, flatter saddle, horseback tea brewing, and the donning of fashion-forward jodhpurs. As evidence of their commitment to equestrian safety, Fisherville Farms provides riders with helmets and, pending federal approval, full suits of medieval plate armor for biweekly jousting tournaments.