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Tuesday, September 10 2019 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

Kendel Neidermyer: From Front Flips to FWORDS

Kendel, at 3 Phase/AD Sporthorses in Brewster, New York, wearing the Flight Shirt in Blue with the Freestyle Breech in Fantom White.

By Doris Degner-Foster

Portraits by Michael Paniccia

Kendel Neidermyer has successfully fused couture fashion design with active sports clothing, including riding apparel. Although she doesn’t ride, she considers herself a part of the horse community.

Kendel wearing the Fond Tank in Fantom White with the Fameux Legging in Flotilla Navy.

“I had this moment in the first recognized show that I attended — it was the Longines Masters in New York City in 2017,” Kendel remembered. “I literally cried because I was so proud, honored and humbled to be dressing women who performed in this sport. I knew in that moment that I would always create equestrian apparel that would be as effortless as my clients’ riding looked. There was no turning back; at that point, I became a horse girl.”

While riding is not currently a part of her fitness routine, Kendel is a former nationally competitive gymnast and maintains an active lifestyle. She enjoys jogging with her husband and Dalmatian while at home in New York City, and indulging her passion for downhill snow skiing — which gives her a small taste of some aspects of riding.

“Although I practice and work hard, doing everything humanly possible to be the best I can be, there’s another component, which is out of my control,” Kendel said. “When I ski, I know the mountain is always in control no matter how good I am or how much I practice. So I can imagine what it feels like to be a rider where another being is involved and to not have complete control.”

The Gymnast

Growing up in Connecticut, Kendel was a gymnast from the age of 2, with her mother as her number-one fan, always cheering for her on the sidelines. “My mother was very influential in my life as well as the gymnastics coaching I received,” Kendel said. “The training was very tough but it’s definitely the reason I’m the driven person that I am today. I cannot say enough good things about how being a gymnast gave me lifelong skills — in my rare spare time I even designed my performance leotards. Gymnastics has made me disciplined, ambitious and a team player but also able to focus on individuality.”

That focus was so overpowering that Kendel felt burned out with gymnastics after high school and decided to step away. She had planned to attend college on a gymnastics scholarship and pursue a career in physical therapy, or to operate her own gym and training facility. Without those plans she felt adrift.

 “It was a pivotal moment for me because I identified as a gymnast so I had to do immense soul searching and I asked myself, ‘What else do I love?’” Kendel said. “Then it came to me and I thought, Oh my gosh! Of course! I’ve been designing leotards in my sleep! and at 18, I’d become inspired by elegant evening wear.”

Kendel was always drawn to glamorous clothes, which started when her family was in Philadelphia to visit her grandparents when she was only 8 years old. At a high-end store there, she found a little girl’s glittering, gold lamé dress that she fell in love with. She was so disappointed that her parents didn’t buy it for her then and there, but she admits it was not an appropriate dress for school and with nowhere else to wear it, it was just not a practical purchase. But the memory stayed with her and was a springboard to another career.

Kendel, in the indoor ring holding Classic, wearing a Fauve Tank Fil Coupe with Filly Breech in Near Black.

FITing Into the Fashion World

Kendel used the skills of perseverance, tenacity and focus that she gained from gymnastics to begin her new career in clothing design. Moving from Connecticut to New York City, she was able to pursue her passion and dream to become a couture fashion designer. She enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in Manhattan, New York.

“When I graduated from FIT, it was still in the day that you would read classifieds looking for a job, the internet was not yet there,” Kendel laughed. “I knew I wanted to take the time to do some networking in order to be someplace where I really wanted to be. So I created a little press kit on myself and just showed up at the corporate offices of the designers I wanted to work for and told them that my specialties were special occasion and embroidery. One conversation led to another and from there I started work at a small embroidery house. We had clients in Europe as much as in the U.S. and I learned so much about the business.”

Utilizing her contacts, Kendel moved on to the design house of Reem Acra, the renowned international designer known for her breathtaking collections in ready-to-wear and bridal. Kendel credits Reem with encouraging her talents and giving her the opportunity to organize and lead her creative teams. “It was a blessed opportunity to be able to work for the founder and owner and have her take me under her wing like that,” Kendel said. “I really learned about the creative process and couture craftsmanship there.”

With her new-found skills of team leadership, Kendel moved on to Halston design house as a studio director and then to J. Mendel. There, she pitched her idea of how to organize the creative team for a ready-to-wear line and worked her way up to being vice president of ready-to-wear development and production.

Kendel always wanted to be an entrepreneur and with her years of experience in various aspects of the fashion industry, she felt ready to do that in 2016. But it took over a year for it to become a reality.

Kendel wearing the Fluent Dress in coldblack®.

On to FWORDS

Kendel began formulating the idea for her company in April 2016 but didn’t launch until July 2017. She spent the time researching the best technical fabrics available, and the best ways to construct the clothing.

“When it came time for me to do my own thing, I knew that I wanted to fuse my worlds of couture craftsmanship with being an athlete,” Kendel said, “and that’s how the concept of couture performance apparel came about.”

Kendel named her company FWORDS for four things that her apparel has that is sometimes missing in athletic wear: fit, fashion, function and flexibility. The quality couture craftsmanship is evident in the details. Kendel took her time in developing fabrics and techniques to assemble her foundation product that she calls the Frisky Legging.

“There were all of these seams that were being presented to me with my factories and none of which met my standards,” Kendel explained. “I tried various seams but they never were good enough for me. They left lines in my leg and were irritating where the seams were so I kept pushing the boundaries. That’s something I’ve taken from my years of working in couture, thinking, This can be better.”

Kendel created a machine with an American machine manufacturer that stood up to her tests so that the seams are virtually undetectable and ideal for active wear. The FWORDS equestrian wear has that quality of couture fashion and functionality that make it perfect to wear for a morning hack yet still look great for lunch in a trendy restaurant. Her breeches all have details such as discrete side pockets perfect for phones. Kendel laughed, “After all, we feel naked without our phones, right?”

All garments are handmade in New York City by skilled artisans resulting in the highest quality yet the breeches are not prohibitively expensive.

Kendel summed up her company’s philosophy when she said, “One of my values from the concept stages that’s going to carry through no matter how big FWORDS gets is ‘think big, act small.’”

For more information, visit www.fwordsgear.com.

Photos by Michael Paniccia, michaelpaniccia.com,@Michael_Paniccia 

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: Doris Degner-Foster, FWORDS, Kendel Neidermyer, michael paniccia

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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
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An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
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Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
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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 🦄

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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