Board – Foothills Riding Club

Meet the 2024 Board Members

We thought you might be interested to know who is running FRC behind the scenes to make all of these great events happen each year! So, here are some brief bios for the 2022 Board of Directors...

Erin Stroud-Parker

Erin is a long-time horse-crazy girl who works as a real estate transaction coordinator by day and mini-mule wrangler by night. She and her husband, Holden, live on a mini-farm in Pacolet, SC where they live with their menagerie of cats, dogs, and horses. She is one of the unique people who prefers mares over geldings, her two girls keep her on her toes and sure do make life interesting. Sal, an Arabian/Friesian cross who loves to foxhunt and pretends to be a Dressage pony. And Sugar Bear, a pinto mini-mule, who loves snuggles and is an emotional support buddy for Sal. Erin was introduced to the Foothills Riding Club when she worked for Cathy Schwartz and fell in love with the group of people who lead, volunteer, and participate in the different events throughout the year. She loves being on the FRC Board and hopes to continue bringing new ideas to the table for this amazing group of horse people!

Natalie Schembra

Natalie lives on a small farm in Gowensville, SC with her boyfriend, Brett, her niece, Leena and too many animals! She grew up on Hilton Head Island, SC and came to the upstate by way of UNC Chapel Hill to work as a tax accountant in Public Accounting. After spending her childhood showing in the hunters and early adulthood eventing, she found her true Type-A passion in dressage! She enjoys training her OTTB The Flying Tomato aka Preston and her new fabulous young horse Fari! Being an FRC Board member has been a rewarding experience that has enabled her to make a variety of friends across all disciplines!

Sue Mullen

Sue grew up in Montana, but after high school moved frequently and lived in many areas of the country until the late 90's when she, husband Dave, two kids, and the horses settled in the foothills area. Sue got her first horse when she was 9, her first saddle when she was 23, and had her first real riding lesson in her early 60's with FRC President Cathy Schwartz. She did several years of competitive trail riding on her Arabian, then 20 years of endurance competition, achieving a lifelong dream of completing the Tevis endurance ride in 2012. Sue has moved onto dressage and is currently having a blast and getting an education with her Irish Sport horse mare, Adhara. She joined FRC when she moved to this area because of the inclusion of all disciplines and the diverse membership, from serious competitors to proud owners of pasture ornaments, all united by the love of all things horse.

Margo Savage

In 1998 after many years of working in Chicago in the Sears corporate world, Margo Savage and husband Terry Savage decided to retire to a quiet life in the country with their horses. The following spring, she began volunteering at the horse shows for what is now the Foothills Riding Club (FRC). “I made some suggestions for how things could be done differently at the horse shows, so I was asked if I wanted to work in the office and make those kinds of changes.” From working in the office, she morphed into eventually running the FRC shows for about 14 years. She has also served FRC as secretary, treasurer, president, and newsletter editor. In 2016 Margo was asked to be the dressage steward for the area’s biggest equestrian competition to date, the American Eventing Championships held at Tryon International Equestrian Center. With Cathy Berlin as second in command, the pair was responsible for setting up, recruiting, and organizing more than 100 dressage volunteers, and doing the necessary paperwork for 600+ riders on 700+ horses over three days of dressage tests. They did it again the next year for an even larger field of competitors. That was just a trial run for the biggest challenge yet—the World Equestrian Games! Margo took on the challenge of the Eventing Dressage phase and was pleased that it was part of the total success of the Eventing Division that ran without a hitch! Now Margo is ready for retirement as she lost both her horses recently. She has leased her barn out to Laine Muir-French so she can visit horses any time she wants without the work keeping horses entails. She is still on the FRC Board as membership chair---a job she can do inside!

Bette Mann

Bette is an avid eventer who competes at the Novice level with her horse Chimi Chonga. She grew up outside of Charlotte and has been riding since she was a small child when her mom, Ivey Sumrell, put her on a horse. Bette was an active member of Cardinal II Pony Club and eventually received her C-3 Riding and HA Horse Management rating. She attended North Carolina State University from 2003-2007 and majored in Agriculture Education with a concentration in Animal Science. While she was at NC State she was a member of the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) team and enjoyed being able to continue riding and showing. After graduation Bette took off to Europe with a Student Working Visa and was able to work and travel abroad in London, England, and Galway Ireland. In 2011 she moved to Greenville and started participating in FRC activities. Currently she lives on a farm in Tryon with her husband, pack of rescue dogs, cats, and herd of horses.

Edith Cahoon

Edith was born and raised together with two siblings in the small town of Adelsheim, Germany. Her infatuation with animals (in particular, horses and dogs) made her seek out opportunities to connect with them. Hardly anyone in the area had a horse, so when a neighbor added a filly to their farm, Edith eagerly volunteered to do all the horse-related chores. Finally, the day arrived and she was allowed to get on the mare (that is, without a helmet, boots and no background in riding!). Together with a friend on her Arabian stallion, and Edith on the mare, off they went for hours through the woods and fields. Life’s twists and turns have led Edith to no longer own a horse, but still be very much involved with horses through scribing and serving on the FRC Board, for which she leads the Educational Seminars!

Melissa Van Doren

Melissa Van Doren was born a horse nut into a decidedly non-horsey family who nevertheless supported her love for all things equestrian. She's been riding since age 4, teaching lessons since age 15, training horses since her early 20s and has been a full-time industry professional since 1999 (following a first career in advertising and publications). Her disciplines have included hunters, jumpers, paso fino, dressage and trail riding, and she's currently developing herself and her horses for working equitation. When she's not in the barn, Melissa enjoys walking in the mountain woods with her husband, Eddie, and their rottweiler, Ollie.

Candice Carr

Candice grew up in South Florida and has been riding since the time she could walk. As a kid, she and her black pony, Pecos, went on all kinds of adventures together! Candice showed hunters and was fortunate to learn from many different breeds. After vacationing in the Asheville area for 10 years, she and her husband, Adam, moved to the NC Foothills in 2014 with their 4-legged kids. She works as a corporate and real estate lawyer in the renewable energy industry and spends her free time working around the farm, hiking, and traveling. Shortly after moving to the area, Candice immediately fell in love with eventing and competed her OTTB, Java, until his retirement. She loves being a part of our horse community and FRC!

Jan Bellows

Jan was born and raised in the briar patch. She currently resides in Weaverville NC and travels for lessons and shows. Jan says it is such a privilege to serve on the FRC board once again with a wonderful group of members and loves sharing our passions with everything horse. Let’s make 2024 the best year yet!

Jacqui Lanier

Jacqui grew up riding and showing hunters but took a couple decades off to grow her law practice and raise two children. In 2018, she reignited her passion for horses and now cares for five of her own at her farm near Gowensville. Both Jacqui and her teenage daughter are active horse show participants and the family recently purchased Motlow Equestrian Center where they operate a full care boarding facility. Jacqui is so excited to serve on the FRC Board and give back to such a thriving organization!

Aubrey Eisenman

Aubrey Eisenman is an Asheville, NC resident originally from the mountains of Vermont. She is an upper level event rider with her own boarding and training facility in Asheville. She has two young children ages 7 and 4, a dog, ducks and too many horses! In addition to her love of training horses and people to ride, she is a former US Marine and sometimes likes to run a little boot camp at her farm!

Kristen Griffith

Kristen and her husband, Lee, were born and raised in the Carolina Foothills. After college, they lived in Raleigh for several years and now live on a small farm in Bostic with their horses, dairy goats, and cats. Kristen has been a horse girl since childhood, trading her Breyer horses for real ones at her earliest opportunity. After spending years trail riding, she joined Foothills Riding Club in 2022 and has enjoyed learning about dressage alongside her horse, Sawyer, ever since. She is excited to join the FRC Board and hopes to meet new friends while serving the great group of members!