Staff
Barn Manager: Mary Alber
Mary graduated from St. Andrews University with a B.A. in Equine Business Management. She has worked for Grand Prix jumpers as well as a Pan Am games eventer. She helped open Maple Leaf Stables in 2018 with her mother Christie, fulfilling their lifelong dream of operating a boarding facility.
Horse care and health is her number one priority. She treats each horse as her own and understands they each have their own special personalities and needs. Along with managing the day to day operation of the barn, Mary also teaches our up and coming riders.
Owner: Christie Pedder
Christie grew up in Jacksonville, FL riding Tennessee Walkers with her friends. She moved to the Charlotte area in 1996 and renewed her love of horses when her daughter started riding in 2000. She has raised three daughters who all share her passion for these amazing animals and now has a granddaughter who will surely follow in the tradition! It has always been her dream to own her own farm and now she is finally seeing that dream become a reality.
Head Trainer: Alicia Wilkinson
Alicia Wilkinson began riding and showing horses at a young age. She was successful on the “A” circuit, and started competing in the Junior Hunters and Equitation at the age of twelve. She consistently ranked within the top 5 every year, as a Junior in the Pennsylvania Horse Show Association, which is part of the United States Equestrian Federation. She graduated Cum Laude with two degrees (a B.A. in Equine Studies and a B.A. in Business Management) from Virginia Intermont College. During those years, she competed on the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association team for four years in the Open Division, often as the point rider. She represented the American National Riding Commission, traveling nationally and internationally. At graduation, she was named “Horse Person of the Year” out of 150 riders at VI, and immediately accepted an offer to relocate to the Charlotte area where she has been teaching and training since 2001.
Alicia is known for her attention to detail and her remarkable ability to connect with her students as an instructor. As a result, her students have enjoyed lots of success, qualifying for and placing at Pony Finals, Devon, Harrisburg, National Horse Show, WIHS, and Capital Challenge. Alicia coaches riders of all levels, from beginners, to NCEA hopefuls, to Grand Prix competitors. As an instructor, she focuses on equitation to set up each rider for success in all three rings. Beyond earning top placings, Alicia’s students of all ages and ability levels learn a lot, sharpen their skills, and have fun in their lessons and at horse shows.
Alicia formerly coached a very successful IEA team for several years, with several riders qualifying for IEA Nationals during that time. Three of Alicia’s students have gone on to ride on competitive NCEA teams during their college years. Alicia loves helping her students prepare for NCEA riding. The process to get onto an NCEA team is lengthy and complicated, and can be daunting, but Alicia understands the process completely and can guide riders and their families along the way.
In addition to training students, Alicia has been successful on her own mounts. Most recently, she has competed in several Grands Prix with Salut Ca-Va. Alicia also regularly pilots client horses to top placings in both the hunter and jumper rings.
Alicia’s business, Horse Show Imports, is based in Charlotte, NC, and Münster, Germany. She regularly imports top prospects and show horses to the United States. Dozens of Horse Show Imports’ sales graduates have gone on to be very successful in the hunter, jumper, and equitation rings.