A Special Place

Jim Aikman preserves 88 acres of his Hide-

A-Way Farms through the Central Indiana

Land Trust

By Shawndra Miller

»Jim Aikman remembers the rst night hespent at what was to become Hide-A-WayFarms. It was the winter of 1939, and he wasjust a boy. His parents had purchased 71 acresfor $6,000 — rolling hills that straddle thecounty line between Marion and Johnsoncounties. With its woods and pasture, andBuck Creek owing through it, the farm wouldsoon become his playground, and eventuallyhis passion. But that night, all he knew wasthat it was cold.

“We slept in a corner of the old original house,and the replace was the only source of heat,”the 87-year-old remembers, indicating the150-year-old farmhouse, now expanded. Thehouse was so unsound at that point that thewinter came roaring inside. “Mother and Dadand I got up the next morning and shook thesnow off the blankets.”

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Aikman would grow up to work in a familybusiness that marketed food serviceequipment to nursing homes, restaurants andhospitals. But in the decades since thatintroduction to the place, Aikman’s rst lovewas always the farm. Going to school innearby Acton and Franklin, and later toIndiana University, he knew where he wantedto spend his time. He started training horsesin 1950 and 14 years later would move backto the farm permanently, swapping houseswith his folks.

By then the Aikmans’ land had expandedbeyond the original 71 acres, becoming ahorse farm specializing in AmericanSaddlebred breeding, training and showing.Starting in the early 1970s Aikman ownedstud stallions, which serviced brood maresfrom all over the country. Meanwhile hetrained and showed 24 world champions,mostly weanlings (about 5 months old) andyearlings.

His operation was successful enough tobecome a training site for others showingAmerican Saddlebreds, and he produced a fewDVDs and wrote a booklet on best practices.His success led to some high-pro le clients.Asked who his most famous trainee was, hesays modestly, “Well, I taught (Star Trek actor)Bill Shatner.”

More recently, from his bungalow of ce — asite that used to hold the family chicken house— in 2003 Aikman organized the All AmericanCup, a stallion show and auction that’s beengoing strong ever since.

On a breezy May afternoon, he sits on thebungalow porch with longtime friend JohnHale and reminisces. Inside the of ce, framedphotographs bear testimony to Hide-A-Way’smany victories in the arena. One shows Haleand Aikman working a colt together in thering.

“In that eld right there, three special horsesare buried,” Aikman says, gesturing to thepasture where a few yearlings are visible. In

its heyday, Hide-A-Way’s hooved occupancywould have numbered closer to 30. Adjoiningthe bungalow is a barn, but it isn’t the originalstructure. In 1988 the barn caught on rewhen it was struck by lightning, and a world-renowned stallion named Wild Country died,along with three of his weanlings.

Then there was Fire y Supreme. That was theprize stallion whose rst and last breaths werewitnessed by Aikman — the horse he names ashis favorite of all. There at his birth, Aikmanrecognized a future champion. The stallion notonly won prizes himself, but sired manychampion “futurity colts” — weanlings andyearlings that drew accolades in the ring.

The night of the stallion’s death, Aikmanremembers, “It was 20 degrees below zero. Iwalked in to see how he was doing, and hedropped dead right in front of me. He’dinhaled some cold air.”

The barn today houses a new foal, only a fewdays old, and her mother, a chestnut broodmare. The two men walk over to check on theduo and watch the white-legged lly cavortalong next to the mare in the eld adjoiningtheir ample stall. “John, if we can catch her,”the sharp-eyed Aikman says of the mare, “she’sgot a halter over her ear.” A strap of the halterhas pulled forward, looping in front of themare’s ear.

Hale walks toward the horse, who dancesaway with the high step of a showgirl, heryoung one tight at her side. The two menslowly encircle her until she reaches a cornerof the paddock, where Hale can reach up and

ip the halter back into position behind herear.

The mare’s name is Call Me Grand, and theyoung one’s name has yet to announce itself.Aikman likes to wait until he sees a foal’spersonality before naming it. “Sometimes theyname themselves,” he says, “by the funnythings they do.” He recalls a colt he christenedBlazing Fire, because “he was always just ablaze when he showed off.”

The level of mindful care that he’s alwaysoffered his horses — training with a gentlehand, making their show preparations morelike playtime than work for the colts — Aikmanextends to the land itself. He made a moveearly this year to dedicate 88 acres to aconservation easement in an agreement withCentral Indiana Land Trust.

The nonpro t organization works to preservenatural areas in central Indiana, and ExecutiveDirector Cliff Chapman says the legalagreement between Aikman and the trust is awin-win for all concerned.

A conservation easement, while placing landuse restrictions on a property, is set upaccording to landowners’ desires — allowingthem to continue active use of the land, aslong as that use is consistent with theeasement conditions. The organization hascreated 13 conservation easements over thelast quarter century. Each of them remainswith the property, regardless of change ofownership.

Chapman says Hide-A-Way is special not justbecause of its glacial hills, but because of thesteep slope cut by Buck Creek, a spot wherecenturies-old trees escaped a long-ago timberharvest. “There are ancient chinquapin oaksand really nice red oaks hanging on to theslope above the creek,” he says.

“It’s an important part of central Indiana thatneeds to be preserved,” Chapman notes.“There is development happening out there,and we’re not opposed to development at all,but if a landowner says they have a specialplace and would like to do something toprotect it, we can be there for them ifeverything aligns, and it did in this case.”

Negotiations took two years to complete. Thetiming of the deal allowed Aikman to takeadvantage of a December 2015 bill signedinto law by Congress that permanentlyincreased tax incentives for donatingconservation easements.

“When you put so much time into a place, youwant to preserve it,” Aikman says, noting thatportions of the land might be considered“prime building spots.” He calls the easementagreement “perfect” and expresses relief thatthe land will remain as it is in perpetuity.

Even years down the road, if an anonymouspurchaser takes possession of the land, theconservation easement will stay in force.

“This place is very special to us,” Aikman says.“I always knew I wanted to protect it.”

“When we signed the paperwork,” Chapmanremembers, “there were tears that day. It’sreally neat that we were able to do somethingthat was so important for him. … He’s notgoing to be here forever, but he knows thatland will be there forever, and our job is todefend it and keep it that way forever. Nomatter who owns it.”

Hide-A-Way Farms, 8949 Baker Road,Indianapolis, is open to visitors by appointment.Contact John Hale at johnahale@sbcglobal.netfor more information.

For more information about Central Indiana LandTrust, visit conservingindiana.org(http://conservingindiana.org).

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