Getting the proper instruction is the most important aspect of good horsemanship.  Penrose Farm provides a well balanced instruction program to help both the rider and the mount to achieve the best of their capabilities.

Proffesionalism & Passion for Horses

Our instructors  provide the instruction necessary to become the best that you can be.

Our Experienced Instructors

Erika Adams

Erika Adams
Instructor

Penrose Farm owner, CCI*** competitor, USDF Bronze Medallist, and Road Less Traveled Eventing Team manager.

Erika Adams grew up eventing, successfully bringing her small-but-mighty 14.3 Kaptain up through Training level while in high school and becoming an “A” graduate of the United States Pony Club.

An accredited USEA instructor who has been long-listed for the 2004 US Olympic Eventing team and the 2010 World Equestrian Games Eventing Team, Erika brings more than two decades as a successful rider, trainer and coach to horses and clients from starter to Intermediate — sharing her own depth of knowledge from work with US Olympians Jimmy Wofford and Julie Richards, Canadian Olympian Stuart Black, and the great George Morris.

With a focus creating an effective, classical riding style by maximizing communication between horse and rider, and an emphasis on helping riders understand the “why” as well as the “how”.

Erika takes a similar approach to horse training, from successfully starting young horses with solid fundamentals, or competing the most advanced performance horses.

Results — Almost all of Erika’s students who have competed in the American Eventing Championships over the past 11 years have placed in the top ten.

Katie Settlage

Katie Settlage
Instructor

Katie Settlage was born and raised outside San Francisco where she began her life-long passion for horses.

As a small child she rode and competed in the pony divisions, but by age 11 she was retraining ex-racehorses for the Jumper ring. Katie particularly enjoys working with young and green horses, sculpting their talent and helping them find their perfect career.

Her other passion is teaching students of all levels, and she strives to instill in her students the qualities not just of good riding, but of good horsemanship. A true horseperson is one who is knowledgeable and involved with all aspects of horse care, and Katie strives to continually study topics such as shoeing, veterinary medicine, lameness, nutrition, equipment, training techniques, and more. Her personal riding philosophy involves a multi-disciplinary approach to English riding, using a strong background in dressage to prepare horses and riders for Equitation, Hunters, Jumpers, and Eventing.

Her teaching philosophy focuses on explaining the “why” of riding, not just the “what”, so that riders can become effective problem solvers. She offers personalized, one-on-one feedback using a mixture of visual and auditory teaching methods to help riders break through plateaus and reach their full potential. Katie’s passion outside of horses has always been for the environment and ecology.

She has her M.S. in Wildlife Biology from The University of Tennessee, where she completed her degree in 2005. She and her husband spend their free time exploring country roads, hiking in the mountains, gardening, and playing with their son.