Team
MEET THE TEAM
At MeadowGrove Farm we are dedicated to providing top-tier training and showcasing high-quality equestrian skills. Our team is committed to excellence and aims to bring out the best in both horse and rider.
SUSIE SCHROER
Trainer
Susie Schroer is a highly recognized trainer and coach based in Los Angeles, California, with a lifelong dedication to the sport of show jumping. Raised on her family’s farm in Bedford, New York, she began riding at the age of four and quickly rose through the junior ranks, earning numerous national titles under the guidance of top trainers including Timmy Kees, Ronnie Mutch, and Dana Jungherr. Her early successes included championships at all major East Coast shows, and she was named PHA Junior Rider of the Year in 1981 as well as Best Child Rider at both the Pennsylvania National and Washington International Horse Shows.
Her professional career spans decades, including four years in Europe competing internationally at the Grand Prix level under Olympic riders Jan Tops and Henk Nooren. She returned to the United States in 1988, earning notable results such as second place in the American Invitational Grand Prix and qualifying for and competing in the 1991 World Cup Finals in Dortmund, Germany.
In 1995, Susie moved to California and joined Dick Carvin and Francie Steinwedel at MeadowGrove Farm. Now, as partner and head trainer, she and her team specialize in developing junior and amateur riders. Her students have earned numerous top honors including winning the USEF Medal Finals, North American Young Rider Championship gold medals, and championships at the country’s most prestigious venues such as Devon, Indoors, Wellington, and the National Horse Show. In 2021, Susie was honored to receive the CPHA Horseperson of the Year award.
Known for her unwavering commitment to her students, Susie brings both a depth of competitive experience and a keen eye for developing talent. With a strong foundation built on elite competition and mentorship, she continues to help young riders achieve their goals at the national and international level.
Originally from Santa Monica, California, Zazou Hoffman grew up riding in Sullivan Canyon and quickly emerged as one of the nation’s top junior riders. In 2006, she earned the prestigious Ronnie Mutch Working Student Scholarship, which provided the opportunity to train with Missy Clark and John Brennan of North Run. During her junior years, she placed in the top 10 at all the major equitation finals and won the Maclay Regionals twice, ultimately capturing the 2009 ASPCA Maclay Championship and earning Reserve Champion at the USEF Medal Final.
After returning to California to attend UCLA, Zazou graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Geography and a minor in Urban Planning. While in school, she began working with MeadowGrove Farm, joining full-time after graduation in 2014. Under the guidance of Dick Carvin, Francie Steinwedell Carvin, and Susie Schroer, she progressed through the Grand Prix ranks, going on to represent the United States in Nations Cup competition, including at the prestigious 5* Spruce Meadows Masters in 2018. Her career highlights include victories in the 5* Spruce Meadows 1.50m AON Cup, the 3* World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix in Del Mar, and the 3* ATCO Grand Prix in Thunderbird, among numerous other podium finishes.
In 2021, Zazou relocated to Europe for three years to further her education in the sport, training with Olympic Gold Medalist and World Equestrian Games Champion Jos Lansink as well as 5* Grand Prix rider Mathijs van Asten. During this time, she earned multiple top-ten finishes in 3* and 4* Grand Prix events and developed a number of promising young horses.
In 2024, she returned to California as a partner at MeadowGrove alongside Susie Schroer. Today, Zazou continues to produce successful junior and amateur riders in the hunter, jumper, and equitation rings, with a strong focus on developing talent to the international Grand Prix level and fostering a lifelong passion for the sport.
Career Highlights
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2009 – ASPCA Maclay Champion
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2009 – USEF Medal Final Reserve Champion
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2017 – 5* Spruce Meadows 1.50m AON Cup – 1st place
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2018 – 3* World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix, Del Mar – 1st place
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2019 – 3* ATCO Grand Prix, Thunderbird – 1st place
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2021 – 3* Grand Prix, Vejer, Spain – 2nd place
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2023 – 3* LGCT Grand Prix, Riesenbeck, Germany – 3rd place
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2023 – 4* Longines Grand Prix, Ascona, Switzerland – 4th place
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2024 – 5* Santa Anita 1.50m Winning Round – 4th place
ZAZOU HOFFMAN
Trainer
KELLY VAN VLECK
Trainer
For more than 30 years, Kelly Van Vleck built a reputation as one of Northern California’s most respected trainers of hunters, jumpers, and equitation riders. Operating out of the Murieta Equestrian Center, Kelly founded Van Vleck Sporthorses in 1992 with just a lesson pony and nine stalls — stalls she and her husband personally cleaned for the first two years. Through dedication, vision, and an unwavering standard of excellence, she grew the business into a full-service “A” show barn with more than 40 horses in training.
Known for developing confident, elegantly precise riders and bringing out the very best in her horses, Kelly’s influence extends from the grassroots to the highest levels of the sport. She has guided students from their very first riding lessons to representing Zone 10 at the North American Youth Championships (NAYC), where she also served as Zone 10 Chef d’Équipe, earning a Silver Medal with the Junior team in Lexington, KY. Her coaching has led to team Silver and Gold medals at the Young Riders Championships in Bromont, Quebec, Lexington, VA, and Lexington, KY, as well as regional Medal Final victories (Nor Cal, CPHA, PCHA, WCE). Under her guidance, riders have achieved multiple top-ten finishes in the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search West Coast Finals, including one champion and two Reserve Champion titles.
Kelly has also produced and sold some of the nation’s most successful show hunters, including Lonestar — winner of the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals with Hunt Tosh — as well as Pringle and Victory Road, both USEF Horse of the Year recipients. More recent standouts such as Jenkins and Navarino have continued her tradition of excellence in partnership with top professionals like Nick Haness. Across her career, Kelly’s horses and riders have earned numerous Zone 10 and PCHA year-end championships at all levels.
Beyond her competitive record, Kelly is proud of the legacy she has built in the equestrian community. Many of her assistant trainers, including Sami Milo, Chelsea Brittner, and Ilana Halpern, have gone on to establish successful training businesses of their own — a testament to her mentorship and the professional standard she has set for the sport.
We are thrilled to welcome Tara Metzner back to MeadowGrove Farm! A familiar face with unmatched talent, Tara knows our program inside and out and brings decades of experience to our horses and riders.
Tara’s passion and skill were evident early on when she captured the prestigious CET (Canadian Equestrian Team) Medal Finals title in 1995 at The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. From there, she launched a successful professional career that has been defined by milestone victories and consistency at the highest levels.
At Capital Challenge, Tara made history—winning the 2011 Developing Pro Finals aboard Rumba and following it up with a victory in the 2014 Pro Challenge Finals. Fun fact: she remains the only rider to win both of these coveted titles. That same year, she was also a finalist in the highly competitive Top 6 Finals.
Her momentum continued with major achievements across the country. In 2016, she was the USHJA International Derby leading money earner in the Southwest region. In 2018, she piloted the Leading Horse at the USHJA Green Incentive Finals in Lexington, Kentucky, finishing as the Tier II leading money winner. She added another major title with the 2020 Southwest Green Incentive Finals win and most recently captured the 2025 Devon 3’9” Green Hunter Championship.
Tara’s resume also boasts championships at Devon, Aiken, Kentucky, and Middleburg, as well as circuit championships at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. With numerous International and National Hunter Derby victories and a current Top 10 standing in the WCHR Pro National rankings, Tara is one of the sport’s most accomplished professionals.
TARA METZNER
Trainer
JODI SPURGEON
Trainer
Growing up in Central Oregon, Jodi developed a lifelong love of horses while riding on her grandparents' cattle ranch. She started out riding western but once she discovered hunter/jumpers, she knew she had found her passion. Her early foundation was shaped as a working student at Henley Farms in Bend, Oregon under Gary Henley, where she learned the value of horsemanship from the ground up.
As a teenager, Jodi continued to refine her riding under Nicole Cobb at Mountain View Stables, earning success in the jumper ring and developing the competitive instincts that would guide her career.
Entering the industry as a young professional, Jodi gained experience working for several respected training programs, including Pine Desert Ranch with Don and Kathy Kerron, and later West Country with Steve and Jenny Nowell. These opportunities allowed her to specialize in developing young horses, cultivating patience, feel and a deep understanding of individualized training.
In 2011, Jodi moved to Los Angeles and joined the MeadowGrove team. Today Jodi spends most of her time as head trainer at Meadowgrove’s west side facility in Sullivan Canyon.
Today Jodi brings her diverse background, strong foundation in horsemanship and thoughtful approach to her training.