The Etsy Equestrians #5: Erin Kate of Silver Oaks Farm

Stunning photography. Dressage in her backyard. Between the ears shots with a Utah mountain backdrop. Exquisite needlepoint messages on classic wardrobe staples. This is Silver Oaks Farm, a fabulous Etsy Equestrian shop owned by Erin Kate, a former SoCal gal who now resides in Park City with her hubby, chinchilla, dog and horses. Erin Kate has ridden various disciplines, but dressage captured her heart and she trains with her childhood trainer via Skype! She also had quite possibly one of the coolest jobs I have ever heard of when she worked at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Read on to learn more about this multi-faceted fellow horse girl.

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What type of horse do you ride/own? How did you find him/her?

I have two geldings. They are half brothers. I’ve known them since they were born. Austin is half Hanoverian, quarter Arabian, quarter Quarter Horse. Anton is half Hanoverian and half Thoroughbred. I’ve had Austin for almost eight years. He was owned by an older women who wanted to get out of horses. I had helped my trainer break and train him, so it was neat to have the opportunity to buy him.

My husband and I were making the move from Salt Lake City, where I boarded Austin, to our home in Park City where we would have him on our property. He needed a buddy so I acquired Anton who needed some love and attention. I’ve been training Anton on my own. He was green and spent most of his life hanging out in a pasture. He has the best temperament and I may be biased, but he’s absolutely gorgeous.

Tell us about your Silver Oaks Etsy shop and products.

This year I decided to open an Etsy shop selling my fine art prints. I’ve been a professional photographer for ten years. My focus has been wedding photography, but I have done a lot of portrait and, most recently, architectural photography. I’m always taking pictures and have so many subjects in my archives but wanted to mainly focus on horses for my shop. My fine art prints are beautifully printed on a textured watercolor paper. They are of gallery quality and are not like the matte or glossy prints that most people are familiar with.

I love interior design and decorating, so thought it would be fun to offer tea towels printed with my photographs too. They can be used for kitchen towels, cloth napkins, or can be framed as artwork. I’ve recently added some hand embroidered shirts with horse inspired sayings.

[Susan’s note: You must check out Erin Kate’s “Ponies, Ponies, Ponies” chambray shirt and the “Hold Your Horses” version too!]

People think I’m crazy to hand embroider them but I feel it adds a unique character and individuality that you can’t get with a sewing machine. My shop includes ready-made shirts as well as blanks for custom embroidery. My tees are perfect for summer and my denim is year-round and timeless. I do have more fun items in the works!

How did you learn needlepoint? Photography? All the other artsy things?

I’ve always been artistic. It comes from my mother. I’m the youngest of six kids and growing up my mom sewed a lot of our clothes. She had a sewing room in our home and let me play with all her fabric scraps and other goodies. In high school I was an exchange student to Germany. Vintage Levi jeans were all the rage with my host sister and her friends. She had a pair that were embroidered. When I returned home I went crazy and hand embroidered all my jeans and a denim jacket. I’m self taught.

My photography…growing up I always loved taking pictures. Out of college I worked in medical research at a biotech company in southern California where I met my future husband. I left that job when I followed him to the Caribbean and England for his schooling. My husband’s job brought us to Utah and that was my opportunity to try something new so I enrolled in photography classes. After four years of studying I opened my business.

Where do you live and what’s the horse scene like there?

I live in Park City, Utah in an equestrian community. In my area most lots are 5-15 acres and a large number of people have horses. They ride all disciplines. There is a trail system throughout our neighborhood, and just up the road we can ride into a National Forest preserve.   

[Susan’s note: Sounds really dreamy! I’d love to be neighbors.]

Describe your farm: how did you choose the name, who lives there with you?

Our 10-acre farm consists of our home, a 4-stall barn with tack room and wash stall, and an indoor arena. Each horse also has a large individual turnout with run-in shed. I’d like to add an outdoor dressage court in the near future. I have my two horses and I board two horses. We have a 12-year old dog named Tobago and an 18-year old chinchilla named Chubby. We also have a thriving hive of honey bees.  

Growing up in southern California I’ve always been fond of oak trees and acorns and I always wanted a farm with the word ‘oak’ in it.  We don’t have oak trees on our property but we do have scrub oak. Our friend, Brad, actually named our farm. We live in the community named Silver Creek and over dinner one night he said, “how about Silver Oaks Farm?” and it stuck!

What’s the greatest challenge and joy you face in your equestrian life?

I think with everything in life the biggest challenge is time. It seems to just fly by. Having a farm is so much more work than boarding a horse and going to the barn to ride. There is the feeding and mucking but the general upkeep of everything is huge too. I grew up on a small ranch so to me it’s just a lifestyle. Time management is huge, I try to schedule working the horses early so I can make sure to fit it into my day.

I think the biggest joy is what I’ve learned from each horse. They are all so different and have so much to teach you. It was an amazing feeling the day I realized that Austin, who is quite an anxious horse, trusted me and was now my partner. My barn is my little get-away…riding, grooming, mucking…it’s all great. I always say it’s the best therapy. I’m incredibly lucky to do what I grew up doing and loved, and still love so much.  

Who do you regard as a hero or look to for inspiration in the horse world?

My horse trainer! She’s been my trainer since I was nine years old. After a year of riding with her, she happened to move across the street from my home.  I took lessons every week and when I was in high school I became a working student. She is a wealth of knowledge and has taught me practically everything I know about horses, training, and riding. When she was in high school she was invited to train at the Spanish Riding School, which I think is so cool, but she’s so modest that if you met her she’d never mention it.

She lives in Virginia now so I get back to ride with her a couple times a year. In between we Skype our lessons. She knows me and my horses so well that sometimes just a phone call works. She’s also incredibly handy. I learned so much working with her on her farm all those years. There is always something to be done on a farm, whether it needs to be fixed or built, and thanks to her I can fix practically anything and build it if I have the right tools.

How do your friends describe you?

I asked a couple of friends and here’s what they said 🙂

“Creative, athletic, sincere, resourceful, honest, dependable, conscientious, kind, genuine.”

What question should I have thought to ask about yourself or Silver Oaks Farm but didn’t? (And what’s your answer?)

Riding Discipline? I’ve done everything. I started riding English and western and even showed halter on the Appy circuit as a kid. I really wanted to get into jumping so that’s when I began riding with my trainer. I evented for a while and then fell in love with dressage. That’s my focus but I still love to jump whenever I get the chance.

Favorite Job I’ve had? I was a zookeeper at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (now San Diego Zoo Safari Park) and worked in the neonatal intensive care unit where I bottle fed neonatal hoof stock. Sometimes my shift would start at 4:00 am. It didn’t even feel like work and was the best job ever!

Favorite thing to do outside of horses? I love to surf, mountain bike, travel and I love fashion and interior design.

Thanks, Erin Kate, for letting us share your story, and thanks, readers, for reading!  

Be sure to check out Silver Oaks Farm on Etsy, and follow along on Instagram for a dreamy stream of Utah horse farm pictures and truly unique equestrian goods.

Your Turn: What part of Erin Kate’s story resonated most with you? Or, if you were to order a custom Silver Oaks Farm denim shirt or tee, what words would you have embroidered on it?

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All The Etsy Equestrians

In case you missed them, check out all the other blog posts in the series The Etsy Equestrians. And if you have a favorite horse-themed or equestrian-owned Etsy shop, let me know by leaving a comment here or email me at Susan@SaddleSeeksHorse.com. I’d love to feature more fellow horse lovers. Thanks!

#4 Elaine of Bowdangles Horse Show Bows

#3 Carla of The Frugal Foxhunter

#2 Tracy of The Printable Pony

#1 Amanda of Bel Joeor Metier