Karen Y. Gerhardt of Westerly Design Equine Art has been a model horse collector and active hobby participant for over 40 years. In 1997, Karen began sculpting equines in clay after many years of reworking and repainting Breyer horses. Since then she has created many popular horse sculptures, cast in resin and in small editions of fine china. She has had years of leadership roles in the hobby community including being one of the founders of NAMHSA.

Karen's work is owned by collectors all over the world. Her sculptures have been consistent champions in the model horse show ring. Her work has been accepted into juried art shows including Art at the Classic (Draft Horse Classic in northern California) and three American Academy of Equine Art exhibitions. In 2005 her sculpture “Boreas” was awarded the Leonard J. Meiselman Memorial Award for Sculpture (top sculpture prize) at the AAEA's Fall Open Juried Equine Art Exhibition.

Her first sculpture for Breyer, "Tregoyd Journeyman", joined the line in 2006, and in 2016 her Shire sculpture debuted as "Shannondell". Karen lives an active, outdoor lifestyle with her husband Paul and dog Wally, high in the Rocky Mountains ski country of Colorado.