Erika was born in Blue hill, Maine and began riding at the age of four. Starting with walk/trot shows around the Downeast region, she quickly progressed to larger regional competitions. With the purchase of her first horse, Austy, Erika competed in a variety of clubs including the American Paint Horse Association, Appaloosa Horse Club, International BuckskinHorse Assoiation, American Quarter Horse Association, and the Arabian Horse Association competitions in
the hunters, jumpers, western, and halter classes. Erika was commissioned to train a young appaloosa mare during this time and qualified for the Appaloosa Horse Club Nationals in the Low Preliminaries.
In 1996, Erika changed her focus from breed shows to Pony Club. She competed at the Pony Club Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky as well as many regional rally's. Erika then purchased her first event horse, Land of the Dance, and together they finished off the 1997 year with a win at the Virginia Horse Trials at training level, Erika's third event. The following year, Erika competed in her first preliminary horse trials with less than a year of eventing experience. Along with achieving her C-2, Erika also purchased a young Irish sport horse mare, Babalily, from Bruce Davidson to be her future event horse.