Sidelines September 2026

This Issue! Jess Mendoza & Nick Dello Joio—Two Personalities, One Passion; Nadine Schwartsman—Developing Dressage in Idaho; Cate Chant & Mike Richards—From Runway & Rink to True North; And Much More!

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SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

ADVERTORIAL

How did you first get

into creating fine jewelry?

I grew up around gemstones, so in many ways

fine jewelry was part of my world before I ever

thought of it as a business. My father ran a

wholesale gemstone company, and some of my

earliest memories are of going to his office on

weekends and searching through the carpet

for tiny gemstones that had been lost during

the week. Over time, I became fascinated

not just by the stone itself, but by the craft

behind it—how a rough gemstone could be

studied, cut, polished and transformed into

something deeply personal. When my wife,

Aditi, and I started Angara, we wanted to

bring that feeling back to fine jewelry: the

idea that a piece should be created around the

individual, with the right gemstone, the right

design and the right story, rather than simply

choosing from what happens to be in a case.

For us, jewelry has always been about color,

craftsmanship and meaning, and Angara was

born nearly 20 years ago from wanting to make

that kind of personal, gemstone-led experience

more accessible to people everywhere. Custom

and color have always been a part of the

jewelry DNA. We just wanted to bring jewelry

purchasing back to its roots.

ANKUR DAGA

BEHIND ANGARA’S

EQUESTRIA COLLECTION

Ankur Daga knows about dedication, commitment

and deeper meaning—it’s what has driven him in fine

jewelry, and what he has found reflected in equestrians

around the world. He and his wife, Aditi, founded Angara

together over 20 years ago, when they couldn’t find

jewelry that had the personality and individualism they

wanted to celebrate a marriage milestone.

Now, Angara’s quality and craftsmanship has been

honed into the Equestria collection: fine jewelry that

goes beyond a simple horse motif to honor the bond,

discipline and devotion only riders know.