Our Staff

Autumn’s Gate Farm employes highly educated staff with experience in all disciplines.  Our staff members are both teachers and competitors. They are consistently educating themselves on the latest equestrian training through clinics and lessons with top professionals in all disciplines. 

Autumn’s Gate also has strong relationships with the top hunter/jumper, dressage and eventing trainers in the area, allowing us to facilitate for our students fabulous clinics with these talented individuals.

 

 

Kristen Hager-Deanes-  Instructor, AIRC Head Coach, Horse Show Manager

Kristen Hager-Deanes is our Show team coach, private instructor, group instructor and one of our horse trainers at Autumn's Gate.

She owns three horses, Lacey, Sally, and Lola.

Kristen started riding when she was 8 years old.  She rode locally in the area with some wonderful trainers including Sean Haggerty, Chelsie Liming, and Marty Hartmann.  She competed in local and rated shows with both Mustang Sally (Sally) and She's a Rock Star (Lacey).   She competed in the Virginia 4H State Horse Show winning Championships with Lacey and Sally.  She also rode AIRC (American Interschool Riding Competition) for 7 years being the top 2'6 rider on her team for 3 years.  She graduated high school a year early where she was offered a full scholarship to Delaware State University for their NCAA riding team.  She competed in Delaware and Georgia with a winning record at the 3'6 height.  After a semester she realized that Delaware wasn't the school for her and came home to compete in Virginia again where she went to Germanna Community College and focused on riding competitively in the VHSA Adult Amateur division with Lacey.  Once she realized that her passion was not just riding but teaching children to create the bond between horse and rider she was offered a job at Autumn's Gate Farm.  She has now been part of our team for over two years .

Kristen has a son, Bentley, who is a future rider out at Autumn's Gate!  She recently got married in the end of 2011 to Adam who is a wonderful supporter of what her passion is and also helps out around Autumn's Gate!

Kristen is currently heading up our horse show schedule and information.  If you have any questions regarding horse showing, feel free to contact her directly!

 

  

 

Lauren Stephens- Instructor, Assistant AIRC Coach

 Lauren Stephens is our newest addition to the Autumn's Gate team and what an asset she is!  She is one of our private and group instructors, assistant show team coach, and also one of our horse trainers at Autumn's Gate Farm.

Lauren Stephens, originally from New Jersey, has been riding and has had a passion for the equestrian sport since she was six years old. She was educated under notable trainers including Helen Goddard Grand Prix Contender, and Shelby French, Assoc Prof. of Riding and Dir of the Riding program at Sweet Briar College in VA.  As a graduate of Sweet Briar College in 2009, Lauren was involved in the schools highly respected riding program. She was a member of the IHSA team, and member of the Sweet Briar Jumper Team. Lauren has competed along the east coast including Ocala Florida, Culpeper Virginia, and the New Jersey Hits Circuits. Competing in the hunters, showing young horses in the baby greens, and also her true passion the jumpers.

 Through the years, success has come by creating working relationships with each horse that she rode and competed with. These relationships in addition to the basics and advanced technical aspects of riding in the sport have created a winning combination more times than not.

 Lauren owns four horses of her own, Lego, and Prize who visit at Autumn's Gate from time to time, and two young horses in training Kyli and Alex. Lauren and her fiance, Greg, recently had a baby boy, Jayden, in June 2011.

 As a new member of the Autumn's Gate Family, Lauren is very excited to meet new faces, and to keep the smiles coming as they learn great horemanship skills with amazing horses and ponies at our farm!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Jorge Gonzalez- Property Manager 

 

Jorge is the backbone of Autumn’s Gate Farm. 

He’s the behind-the-scenes guy who makes AGF sparkle before lessons start!  From dragging the arenas, setting up jumps, and making sure all the horses have fresh water, he makes sure that everything is ready for our students to have the best experience at Autumn’s Gate Farm.  Jorge loves all the horses and enjoys keeping up with the happenings at the barn! 

Jorge loves going to horse shows, and he is the most detail-oriented groom! 

If you see him, be sure to give him a thanks for making Autumn’s Gate Farm run so smoothly (but be sure to tap him on the shoulder, he’s deaf, but can lip read and speak).