At the age of 7, horse mad Andrea Rapke Knowles, was told by her father that if she stopped sucking her thumb he would buy her a pony. At the advice of a family friend with a beautiful barn on her property, a pony was chosen (a Welsh Cob terror name Gee Whiz), boarded with the friends and their training began. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Loma Alta, owned and run by Penny Wahler in Santa Cruz, California, and her first Warmblood was purchased to begin Children’s Hunters / Equitation and a taste of horse shows.
In 1989, they moved to G & G Stables in Los Angeles, CA with Rob Gage and Cyndi Grossman at LAEC. Quite a few amazing and life-changing horses took them around the state and beyond on the show circuit. Rob and Cyndi were amazing trainers and friends, as were the incredible assistant trainers, including Richard Spooner.
Sadly, school took over and Andrea was then educated in Lugano, Switzerland and London, England, graduating with a double major in Art History and English Literature. Feeling passionately about the art business brought her to positions at Sotheby's, Christie's and Guggenheim, Asher, a NY & LA based art consultancy. Additionally, she received corporate training at WME & CAA in Los Angeles.
Her love of art and design began in childhood where, at a young age, she was already attending auctions and picking fabrics and furnishings for her family's homes. This life-long interest led her to her first professional residential renovation in 2009, the creation of her own firm and the building of a business focused on true collaborations, a knowledge of the newest trends in design/build and a holistic and discrete approach to every venture. Now, she is bringing stable life back into the fold with work on Equine Residences throughout the US and abroad.
She is involved in a multitude of charitable foundations focused on homelessness, animal care and rescue and childhood illness. She resides with her husband and two Jack Russell Terriers in Beverly Hills, California.
