Meet the Team

Shelly Kerron, Owner/Head Trainer

Without question, some people are just born to ride. In the case of Shelly Kerron, Legacy's owner and head trainer, you could say she was born with horses in her blood. Coming from a long lineage of the West coast's most respected horse people, Shelly was literally "raised on the back of a horse".

A third-generation equestrian, Shelly began riding at age five and competing at age seven.  Her grandfather, Harry Kerron, owned the Portland Riding Academy for over 50 years. Her parents, Joan Curtin and Donald Kerron, together and separately owned and operated nationally recognized hunter-jumper businesses in Oregon and Washington. Shelly also grew up learning from iconic horsemen and women including George Morris, Hap Hansen, Kenny Wheeler, and Judy Richter.  When Shelly turned professional in 1984, she aptly coined her business “Legacy”. 

As a junior rider, Shelly competed coast-to-coast excelling at such prestigious shows as Lake Placid, Tampa, and Los Angeles International. Shelly won the regional ASPCA Maclay Finals in 1982. As a young professional Shelly competed on the World Cup Circuit finishing in the top ten in the West Coast standings in 1989.

Continuously building upon her family’s legacy, Shelly brings a lifetime of experience to training horses. Watching Shelly work with horses is a true pleasure. Her approach is calm, consistent, and always specific to the unique needs of the horse. She teaches her students with the same process; calmly, consistently, and unique to each individual.

Elizabeth Kerron Nelson, Trainer

Elizabeth, younger sister to Shelly Kerron, grew up in the family business of Hunter-Jumper training programs. She spent her junior years successfully competing along the west coast in the hunter, jumper, and equitation rings.  Elizabeth attended Randolph College, in Lynchburg VA, where she joined the Equestrian Team, and competed in the Inter-Collegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) for 4 years.  During and after her collegiate years, Elizabeth worked for several established hunter-jumper programs on the east coast, before returning to Washington and joining the Legacy team in 2015.  Elizabeth is a USHJA Certified Trainer, and strives to share her wealth of knowledge with each of her students

Karen Freywald, Instructor & Manager

As many girls are, Karen was smitten with horses since... well, forever. A Seattle native, she took her weekly riding lessons at Evergreen Equestrian Center, and later followed her dream of becoming involved in the horse business.

In 1980, Karen traveled to England and received her BHS (British Horse Society) Assistant Instructor & Horsemastership Certifications. Karen returned to Washington to work for Shelly’s mother, Joan Curtin, and with her guidance established the original Kirkland Hunt Club Riding Academy in 1989.  Karen joined the Legacy team in 1994.　

Karen’s love for horses hasn’t waned one bit throughout her life. She has enjoyed competing in both hunter and jumper divisions. As a hunter rider Karen and Rodeo Bay (aka Bobby) were WSHJA National High Point Adult Amateur Hunter and USHJA Zone 9 Reserve Champion Adult Amateur Hunter in 2011. As a jumper rider Karen and Phillipe won numerous championships in the Adult Amateur Jumper 1.10m division including the Pebble Beach Horse Show in Pebble Beach, CA and twice at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC in 2008. Other horses Karen successfully competed and won championship ribbons on included Red McCartney (aka Mac), Trillium (aka Tina), and Valet De Coeur (aka Jack).