Daniela Romo-Leroux
Owner-General Manager

I began my career in corporate America.  I worked in brand management after graduating in 1996 from Florida International University with a Bachelor in Business Administration with a double major in Marketing and International Business. After two years of work experience, I decided to go back to school.  I graduated in 2000 with a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Political Science from the University of Miami.  Since then I have worked in Marketing Management in various industries, such as Designer Wear, Internet Marketing and Boutique Gourmet products.  Over the years I had become an avid Thoroughbred Racing fan, and had come to admire and love these incredible animals.  However, I was extremely intimidated by horses.  In 2006 while on hiatus to stay home with my son, I began taking riding lessons in the hopes of conquering my fears.  During that process I realized that my needs as a student were not being met and that perhaps I could initiate a riding school with values and goals more in sync with my own.  As a result I opened CRA in 2007 and it has been an exciting adventure ever since.  My goal is to offer an excellent and comprehensive riding program that is focused on the needs of every student, as well as high quality training and boarding services.

Jose Vernimmen

Grounds Manager - Farrier

 
Bio coming soon!

Christina Suarez

Head Trainer



I first caught the “horse bug” as a five year old after going on a trail ride in Utah on a black and white pinto pony named Mighty Tonka.  Growing up in the Florida Keys, horses were not the norm, so after years of begging and pleading (and teaching myself to “post” on our couch arm rest), my parents eventually gave in when I was ten and made the hour drive up to Miami once a week for riding lessons.

I caught on quick and after a couple summer series horse shows I was really hooked and devoted every second to studying all things equestrian!  Unfortunately, Hurricane Andrew hit the area and all the barns were leveled.  I found a temporary barn to continue my lessons, but by that point I knew I really wanted my own horse.  Convincing my parents to buy me one was quite the task – as an eleven year old I had to make a spreadsheet with estimated costs and call on countless boarding facilities.  It paid off and for my twelfth birthday I was given a three year old thoroughbred filly off the track.

The filly was not the wisest choice as a first horse, but it really taught me more than I could ever imagine and provided me with such a sense of accomplishment.  That filly ended up being a fantastic equitation horse and got me through most of my junior years campaigning on circuit, along with the many horses I also catch rode for my trainer and her clients.  Together we won several series yearend awards, many medals and too many highpoint champion ribbons to count.  My most memorable win was a junior medal class with 42 competitors – after two over fences portions, the top 12 was called back for the under saddle class that was entirely without stirrups – I was only 15 at the time.

Our junior campaign ended a year early due to injury and I prepared to go off to college.  While I was recruited by two other colleges with riding scholarships, I ended up attending Florida State University and riding for their varsity team for two years in both the intermediate and open divisions where I qualified for both regionals and zones.  I had bred my mare and decided to return closer to home, so my final two years of college were completed in Miami, where my family’s boarding facility (even more convincing!) kept me busy.  Two foals later, with my mare retired from riding, I focused on my career at a corporate event and marketing firm and took a break from competition and eventually even regular riding.

A couple years later, once the foals were ready to be saddle broke, I returned to the sport I had loved so much.  I needed a change of pace and decided to relocate to Tennessee in November 2009 bringing along one of my mare’s foals, who is now a full grown horse who is always keeping me busy.  I loved the program at CRA and things just fell into place where I could be an integral part of such a great family.  Nothing provides me with more satisfaction than working with riders facing the same challenges I had faced and having them accomplish their riding goals.

Laura Keefe Kern

Trainer

Being born in Lexington, KY horses have always been in my blood.  Since I was a little girl I had always wanted to ride, but my family moved a lot due to my father’s job so horses weren’t a very realistic activity for me.  My family finally gave in to my horse craziness while we were living in North Florida and gave me riding lessons for my 9^th birthday.  That was the beginning of the end.  By the next year we were leasing a horse and within a year we had bought my first horse, a 17yr old Appaloosa gelding named Bandit.  Those first few years I mainly evented and competed in Appaloosa Horse Club Shows.  My first trainer Lynn Laughlin and Bandit taught me a lot and gave me a foundation that has upheld for over 20 years.  Within a couple of years my family bought 10 acres.  About that time I outgrew Bandit and we bought Jenny, an Appendix QH that we soon bred and got a QH/App cross named T.J.  Not long after T.J. was born we had to move again to a small town in Northeast Georgia.  I did not have a trainer through the rest of High School and taught myself how to train my young horse with just a very small amount of experience I gained while still in FL.  I began looking at schools to go to with Equestrian programs and decided on Midway College in Midway, KY where I majored in Equine Studies with concentrations in Equine Instruction and Equine Business Management.  I rode on both the Hunt seat and Western Intercollegiate Equestrian teams while also having the chance to ride in open shows around the Lexington area.  During my last year in college I began working for a Hunter/Jumper farm in Paris, KY as the assistant trainer/instructor.  I began teaching a few lessons a week and schooling some of the horses for sale.  After I graduated I began to work full time and my lesson load increased along with taking students to shows and showing some of the young horses along with my own horse.  After a few years I had an opportunity to begin working at a Thoroughbred farm in Paris also foal watching and prepping yearlings for the Keenland sales.  While in Kentucky I had a chance to ride with many trainers between work, school, and clinicians and gained new ideas and techniques through each of them.  I also began showing my jumper named Asti at rated shows and being quiet competitive in the Schooling/Adult Jumpers.  In 2006 I left Kentucky and began working for Lovell Equine Clinic in Gallatin, TN.  Now I am thankful for the CRA family for welcoming me in and allowing me to get back to doing something I love, teaching riding lesson and training again.



Mawghan McCabe

Trainer

 
My English father put me on a pony at age three and I haven’t left the saddle since or so it feels. I started riding during the week at Claremont Riding Academy (CRA) in New York City where we rode in Central Park as well as the indoor arena. I feel like I’ve come full circle by joining Cumberland Riding Academy (CRA). Every weekend and summer I would ride in East Hampton, NY where I was in pony camp until I was old enough to become a camp counselor. I had the opportunity to ride with some of the best trainers in the country including Ray Texel, Scott Kemery, Joe Fargis, Tim Grubb, T Whitehead to name a few. I mostly catch rode 3-foot hunters and had the chance to qualify one for the Marshall and Sterling finals at the Washington International Horse Show. The same horse and I were Champion at the Capital Challenge Horse Show the week before the finals. Another riding highlight was winning champion and grand champion at the Hampton Classic my last year as a junior. While in college at Vanderbilt University, Maggie Bagwell and I started and coached the equestrian team. My sophomore year I won the IHSA Nationals. Our team continues to send several girls to Nationals each year and I continue to be an advisor to the team. Loving the South I decided to stay in Nashville after graduating and have been involved in many horse worlds since. I have fox hunted with the Hillsboro Hounds, I have had the opportunity to learn and play a little polo as well as jump a few TN Walkers in the National and International Horse Show where we won two years in a row. I have also continued to catch ride sale horses and have showed locally in the jumper divisions. After meeting with Daniela and Beth about joining CRA I jumped at the opportunity, and I’m very excited and look forward to working with the entire CRA staff and its students.

Gabriel "Alex" Gallegos

Bio coming soon!