66 SIDELINES JUNE 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
e
Entrepreneur
FITS
Revolutionizes
EquestrianApparel
ByKaitlinChristopherson
O
ver the past few decades, thanks to new technology
and innovate thinking, sports apparel wornby everyday
athletesandprofessionalsalikehasbeen revolutionized.
Scientifically engineered fabrics and sleek new designs allow
athletes to play faster, better and longer, giving them an edge in
their respective sport.
In the equestrianworld, onewould think riding breecheswould
have benefited from the apparel technology boom, becoming
sleeker and less bulky as compared to the thick, heavy cotton
breeches of riding days past. However, when Sheryl Rudolph
returned to the saddle in the late ’90s, she was appalled to find
riding breeches just as unflattering and uncomfortable as when
shewas a child.
Refusing to resign herself to a fate of riding in scratchy,
restrictive, ill-fitting breeches, Sheryl did something few people
have the courage to do. She took it upon herself to create a line
of riding clothes made for 21st century equestrians. And so Fun
in theSaddle, or FITS, beganand forever changed theway riders
look and feel in the saddle.
Sheryl inheritedher loveof horses fromher father. “I remember
him tellingmestoriesabout horsesand takingme to rideShetland
ponies after Sunday school when I was about 4,” she said. At
the age of 7, Sheryl graduated from riding western on Shetland
ponies to jumping larger mounts around the hunter ring. At the
ageof 15, she tookabreak from riding to focusonhighschool and
college, where Sheryl studied liberal arts. “Heremy sister was in
medical school, but Iwasn’t exactlysurewhat Iwanted todo,” she
said. “I studiedart anddesignand took sewing classes. I loved to
learn.Whileeveryoneelsewasout at aparty, I was in the library.”
After college, still unsure of what exactly to do career-wise,
she met a woman from Speedo while watching her husband
play baseball. That fateful meeting led to her beginning in the
performance apparel industry, where she gained invaluable
knowledge that would lead her to revolutionize riding apparel.
After working in product development at Speedo, Sheryl
worked in sales for H. Warshow, a leading technical fabric mill,
where her clients included some of the biggest names in sports
and performance apparel such as Nike, Adidas and Columbia.
Sheryl found herself in themidst of a time in the athletic apparel
industry when huge scientific advances were being made.
Apparel companies were discovering they could help improve
an Olympians’ performance by engineering and enhancing the
Sheryl andMonty, a15-year-oldWelshCobwhom she calls a
dressage rock star.
AFITSmodel shows off a pair of the company’s signature full
seat breeches.
