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Monday, September 06 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Espoir Equestrian: From Hope to Hanger

By Laura Scaletti

Carolyn riding in a Flowered Horses Everyday Riding UV Shirt with a Padded Black Belt and Inspire Walnut Bamboo Breeches. Her horse is wearing the Bijou Bridle.

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible. Carolyn van Schalkwyk’s story of hope began in 2015 when she launched her Espoir Equestrian brand in her native South Africa.

A lifelong equestrian with a creative mind and keen interest in fashion, Carolyn loves expressing herself through the arts. “I had initially studied architecture, but I very quickly felt boxed in, in terms of creativity. After obtaining my bachelor’s degree in visual communications from the Open Window Creative School, I realized I could combine my passion for horses and design in one business venture, bringing Espoir Equestrian to life,” Carolyn said.

“Espoir means hope in French. Through the brand, I really try to spread a message of hope,” Carolyn said. “I want others, especially the younger generation, to know that dreams do come true when you work at them with great passion.” 

Today Carolyn is living out her passion each day through Espoir. “From illustrating custom fabrics to finding complex design solutions, and manufacturing, marketing and testing to enjoying new products and the successes that follow, I’m obsessed with Espoir,” she said.

Espoir has a full line of equestrian apparel for men, women and children as well as a collection for dogs and leather products. Every product is designed and tested by Carolyn. The signature, and most popular item Espoir offers are the UV-protective shirts featuring Carolyn’s hand-illustrated designs.

Horse Crazy

Carolyn’s journey to becoming an equestrian entrepreneur started the moment she first saw a horse. “My parents used to tell me how I would rock my pram and go absolutely crazy if I saw anything even remotely resembling a horse. I have been nothing less than obsessed with horses my entire life,” Carolyn said.

As no one else in the family rode, it was quite a shock to Carolyn’s parents when she didn’t outgrow her horse craze.  At 5 years old, her grandfather helped further her obsession and bought her a miniature horse. “My grandpa and I spent many hours together trying to read up on riding and gain knowledge neither of us had. I loved my days spent on the farm with the horses and my grandparents,” Carolyn said.

This Espoir look includes a Joie White Floral UV Button Shirt with Padded Black Belt and the Inspire Burgundy Bamboo Breeches. The horse is wearing the Joie Bridle.
The Mosaic UV Show Shirt partnered with the Padded Black Belt and Inspire White Show Bamboo Breeches.
The Beige Mosaic UV Show Shirt with the Padded Tan Belt, Inspire White Show Bamboo Breeches and Beige Espoir Cap. The horse is wearing the Chevalier Bridle with a Brown Inspire Ear Veil and a White GP Inspire Saddle Pad.

Carolyn relied on her homegrown education until she began taking lessons and riding competitively at age 14. Since then, Carolyn has been moving up the jumper ranks to the Grand Prix level, bringing along several self-made horses. “The thrill of the sport is absolutely captivating. I love the process of teaching young horses and really forming a bond with them,” she said.

Unlike the sport in the North America, to advance up the grades in South Africa you must accumulate points in each grade to progress to the higher grade. “There are very few riders competing in the top levels that have other jobs, but I would be one of them. Even though I own and manage Espoir, I compete against all the professionals at shows in the higher grades,” Carolyn said.

Uniquely Espoir

Part of what makes Espoir unique is that an equestrian is responsible for designing and developing each item in the line. “I think the fact that I’m a rider myself makes a big difference. I design our products for their functionality and the purpose of riding,” Carolyn said. “I test them myself and always make sure their form follows function.”

Not only are the items functional and high-quality, but they are also offered at an affordable price point, nearly an impossible task. Carolyn has managed to do that by producing her products locally in South Africa. 

However, just because the items are affordable doesn’t mean they are cookie-cutter. Espoir does not mass-produce rolls of fabric to produce their UV-protective shirts. Rather, each shirt is produced individually with the unique hand-illustrated designs.

“I am very proud of the fact that our wonderful country can produce items of export quality that are enjoyed by equestrians around the world,” Carolyn said.

The Grey Lightweight Show Jacket with a Padded Tan Belt and the Inspire White Show Bamboo Breeches. The horse is wearing the Bijou Bridle.
The Peach Carnival UV Button Shirt by Espoir Equestrian.
Espoir Point Fancy Stitch Bridle

Three years ago, while at the spoga horse trade show in Germany, Carolyn met American Susan Benson. Susan has spent her entire career building and working with equestrian brands. Her marketing agency, Somerset Equestrian Trading (SET), formerly Somerset SportArt, takes a unique integrated marketing approach. 

While Susan was at spoga launching one of the other brands she works with, she came across Espoir. “After hours of wandering the trade show hall, I spotted the Espoir booth and I was immediately attracted to the beautiful hand-illustrated designs,” Susan said. “The next day I went back, met Carolyn and the partnership was born.”

In Spring 2021, Espoir officially launched in North America. “I am incredibly excited to be launching Espoir and be the exclusive North American distributor,” Susan said. “I love Carolyn’s creativity and am impressed with how well-accepted the brand has been in just a few short months. Espoir is truly special.”

Carolyn and Susan are equally excited about the future of the brand as Americans get their hands on the product and Espoir becomes increasingly popular.

Hope, hard work and creativity have taken Espoir from a dream to a reality in a relatively short amount of time. Carolyn’s just getting started sharing her Espoir with others. “I hope to keep growing the brand internationally and share my love and passion for horses and in everything Espoir,” she said.

Photos courtesy of Espoir Equestrian

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

https://www.ironspringfarm.com/biolink/

@iron_spring_farm 

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
🖥Ryanpedigosporthorses.com
🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

@ryanpedigosporthorsespf_

#stallion #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #equine #dressage #pferd #equestrianlife #mare #hengst #horseriding #instahorse #cheval #pferde #equinephotography #horselove #dressagehorse #pony #horselover #caballo #foal #quarterhorse #aqha #arabianhorse #sidelinesmagazine
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