Stephanie Bush

Barn Manager, Instructor

Stephanie Bush has been riding since she was four years old and started showing in Academy at age 12, where she finished in the top three in more than 60 classes. She is a three-time National Academy Champion and a 3-time National Academy Reserve Champion and was a 4-time Top Three National Academy finalist.

Stephanie grew up in the Lenux Stables program and became a barn assistant and was an integral part of the youth program, holding the positions of historian, vice president and president (twice). She worked at Lenux Summer Camps throughout high school and is in the Lenux Legends Hall of Fame. During college, she worked part-time at Lenux, teaching lessons twice each week. She graduated from UNC Charlotte, majoring in Business, with minors in Economics and Marketing, and Criminal Justice. After college, she worked for a marketing firm before trading her cubicle for the farm. Stephanie joined Lenux on a full-time basis in 2019 as office manager and riding instructor and later went on to become the barn operations manager at Lakeside Stables.

Stephanie has a passion for horses and growing the business. She specializes in equitation and introducing riders to showing. Stephanie assists Lakeside and Lenux clients in all aspects of arranging lessons, purchasing and selling saddles, and finding the right horse for each rider! When she isn't teaching lessons, you can usually find her in the office.

Mike Setzer

Instructor, Office Staff

Mike has been a part of the American Saddlebred industry for more than 20 years, previously working as a sales representative and writer for The National Horseman magazine. During that time, he was fortunate to spend a considerable amount of time with some of the industry's top trainers and instructors, riding many horses and becoming an astute observer of what it takes to excel as a rider. He later became an instructor at Desert Palms Equestrian Center in Cave Creek, Arizona, where he also conducted riding camps and birthday parties.

Teaching and coaching have been a big part of life for Mike, who earned a B.S. degree in Secondary Education at Miami University, after which he worked as a newspaper reporter before joining Doyle Baseball Academy, teaching players and coaches of all ages and levels. In addition to riding, Mike enjoys playing hockey, golf and tennis and has also instructed and coached hockey and golf.

Mike is passionate about teaching people of all ages to ride and enjoy horses and has now been a part of the Lakeside and Lenux teams for four years. He also teaches at our sister stable, Lenux Stables.

Jeanine Lovell

Instructor

Jeanine has over 25 years of experience as a riding instructor and has been showing Saddlebreds and Hackney ponies since the age of 11. She is a third generation Saddlebred enthusiast whose grandfather raised and showed Saddlebreds and whose father raised and showed Hackney ponies. Riding and showing runs in Jeanine’s blood. Not only is Jeanine passionate about riding and showing, but her greatest passion has come in the form of teaching. With the introduction of the first family pony when she was 5 years old, it was the beginning of a deep love for the horse world that was shared with her father.

Jeanine attended Appalachian State University where she earned a degree in Elementary and Middle School Education. She added a Masters of Education in Reading K-12 from UNC-G and has an Academically Gifted Certification as well as National Board Certification in English Language Arts/Early Adolescence. After an incredible career of 32 years teaching English Language Arts and riding lessons, she has come back to the stables full-time.

Jeanine has 3 daughters who showed in Academy and Performance, and had show horses trained at home, so showing has become a family affair. Jeanine loves introducing riders of all ages to horses and watching them learn and grow into accomplished riders, knowing that riding horses will be a lifelong passion for them. After watching Lauren grow up at Cash Lovell Stables, and working with Quintus and Brooke there, teaching at Lakeside feels like home and she is excited to be a part of the Lakeside team!

Isy Duffy

Instructor, Office Staff

Isy started riding at the age of five in New York, as a hunter/jumper rider. She has been riding for the past 20 years recreationally and after college was missing a consistent riding routine. She began riding at Lenux Stables in 2021 and has been transitioning over to Saddle Seat, giving her a unique perspective to teach students with backgrounds in different riding disciplines.

Isy is a graduate of Wake Forest, where she majored in Mathematical Business with a minor in English. During college she volunteered at Horse Power Therapeutic Riding Center in Winston Salem, helping provide occupational therapy combined with therapeutic riding for children of differing abilities. She has held many volunteer positions involving teaching, working with children and animals. After college, she worked in Financial Services Consulting, and lessons at Lenux became her respite throughout the week. After taking lessons with Lauren, she was inspired by seeing someone who had truly followed her heart and decided she wanted to make a larger impact beyond corporate work. 

Isy writes the weekly Lenux and Lakeside newsletters and assists in day-to-day operations at the barn and office. Her favorite part of her day is teaching students and helping them build confidence as they grow to take on bigger challenges in their riding journey.