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!

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

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

ALISE OKEN CROOKS

Developing Equine Talent

EQUESTRIAN GARDENS

Transforming Showgrounds

Into Botanical Gardens

NADINE SCHWARTSMAN

Giving Dressage a Leg Up in Idaho

ANKUR DAGA

Behind Angara’s Equestria Collection

COVER STORY

JESS MENDOZA & NICK

DELLO JOIO

Two Personalities, One Passion

BETHANY GOFORTH

Where Emotion Meets Accuracy

On the cover:

Olympic show jumper Jess Mendoza

and her husband, Nick Dello Joio, who

is also a professional equestrian.

September 2026

About this photo:

Nick and Jess were married at the end of last year.

Photos by Sophia Donohue

Volume 38 Issue 9 • SIDELINES (ISSN 1071-3859) is owned by TRAUB CAPITAL PARTNERS and is published ten times a year.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

FINWE DUFFIN

Lifelong Horse Girl

CLAIRE MARTINEZ

Riding as a Renaissance Woman

CATE CHANT & MIKE RICHARDS

From Runway and Rink to True North

FAMILIAR PLACES, FAMILIAR FACES

THE HAMPTON CLASSIC

With Dennis Suskind and Emily Aspinall

Alise Oken Crooks

Photo by Melissa Fuller

IN EVERY ISSUE

12 Letter From the Editor | 76 Sidelines Directory

77 Sidelines Business | 78 Advertisers Index | 80 Sidelines Spotlight

SIDELINES is owned by

TRAUB CAPITAL PARTNERS

EDITOR

Britney Grover | editor@sidelinesmagazine.com

SPECIAL ADVISOR

Ashley Baker

EDITOR EMERITA

Jan Westmark Bauer

WRITERS

Sarah Welk Baynum, Shya Beth, Diana Bezdedeanu,

Laila Edwards, Kimberly Gatto, Jessica Grutkowski,

Annelise Klepper, Laura Scaletti, Helen Townes

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kacy Brown, Sophia Donohue, Sara Farrell, Melissa Fuller,

Pam Jensen, Isabel J. Kurek, Lindsey Long,

Adrienne Morella, Kelly Mudd, Lori Ovanessian, Kristie

Scholten, Laura Ann Wagner, Shawna Whitty

ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING

advertising@sidelinesmagazine.com

SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jyoti Parry | jyoti@sidelinesmagazine.com  | 561-635-0253

Liz Porath | liz@sidelinesmagazine.com | 704-401-4045

HORSE SHOW AND MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

Ashley Baker | ashley@sidelinesmagazine.com

ART DIRECTOR/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mark Kerley | Lucky Rabbit Studio

AD DESIGN

Mark Kerley | ads@sidelinesmagazine.com

DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Visit sidelinesmagazine.com/subscriptions

SIDELINES is owned by

TRAUB CAPITAL PARTNERS

PO Box 130 | Saugerties, NY 12477

www.sidelinesmagazine.com

SIDELINES (ISSN 1071-3859) is published monthly by Sidelines.

Periodicals postage paid at Fulton, MO 65251 and at

additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Address changes should be sent to Sidelines

Magazine, PO Box 130 | Saugerties, NY 12477

Finwe Duffin

Photo by Melissa Fuller

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

LETTER FROM

BRITNEY GROVER

Editor

Stay in touch by emailing editor@sidelinesmagazine.com

and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sidelines_magazine

Nick Dello Joio and Jess Mendoza

Photo by Sophia Donohue

Nadine Schwartsman

Photo by Carrie Grant

Mike Richards and Cate Chant

Photo by Melissa Fuller

How Do They Do It?

admit it: There were moments over these last couple of months when I wondered if our cover

story on Nick Dello Joio and Jess Mendoza would come together. Nick and Jess live incredibly

busy lives traveling all over the planet, running multiple businesses and competing in high-level

show jumping. Our photographer finally ran them to ground in Lake Placid, New York—complete

with iconic ski jumps in the background—and Nick was in Greece when he was able to squeeze in an

interview to get the story written.

What a story it turned out to be! Flamingos, filling in as winning racehorse owners and four days

of wedding celebrations are such entertaining parts of Nick’s and Jess’ story that it’s easy to forget

things like that Jess is an Olympian—as was Nick’s father, with whom Nick runs the prestigious

Wembley Farm. Nick and Jess have very different personalities—and each have their own separate

riding and show jumping businesses—but they share the same passion for horses. That shared

passion not only keeps their marriage strong across miles when they’re apart, but it’s the driving force

behind their first joint business venture.

With so much going on in their lives, I found myself wondering, How do they do it? But especially

when it comes to equestrians, that’s a common question!

Nadine Schwartsman came to the United States from Germany when she was 19 years old, never

dreaming she would someday not only live but build her dream facility—and essentially introduce

dressage—in a place called Idaho. “I wasn’t even exactly sure where Idaho was, but I packed up

everything and drove across the country,” she said. I was intrigued when I heard Eagle, Idaho,

announced as Nadine’s hometown when she came down centerline for an FEI Grand Prix freestyle—

living in Utah myself, that basically makes us neighbors! And ours is definitely not an area known

for dressage. “A lot of people didn’t even know what dressage was, or that it was an option,” Nadine

said. “And then, once they were exposed to it, they were very interested in it.” Her program, Les Bois

Dressage, took off, and the dressage shows she started over a decade ago continue while Nadine

focuses on her program and her own Grand Prix career—as well as raising a teenage boy.

Another confession: I don’t follow hockey and I couldn’t pick anything Prada out of a lineup. Why

am I telling you this? Because these “limitations” didn’t make it less fascinating to learn about Cate

Chant and Mike Richards. Cate was an international fashion model—to pay for her riding—and her

husband, Mike, is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Stanley Cup-winning hockey player. Since

his retirement from hockey, Mike finds purpose in always having something to do at the farm, and

Cate not only shows and trains across two countries but is working on her MFA thesis—either in the

show jumping world or the fashion industry.

So, how do they all do it? Mike could tell you—as could any of these impressive equestrians: With

a team. This issue is full of stories about amazing people, none of whom could do it alone—Finwe

Duffin even discovered her dream was to be part of the team for others, not in the ring herself.

Whether it’s juggling businesses across oceans or raising kids while jumping—or pulling together an

issue of Sidelines!—it takes a team.

Here’s hoping you have great people on yours.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

ALISE

OKEN

CROOKS

Developing

Equine Talent

By Laura Scaletti • Portraits by Melissa Fuller

Alise Oken Crooks says she’s

grateful to be living the life she is.

SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026

efore she wore the pinque coat to

represent Team USA at international

show jumping competitions at incredible

venues across the globe, Alise Oken Crooks was

simply a young girl in Charlotte, North Carolina,

with high hopes of getting to spend time with

horses. Obsessed with all things horse, Alise had

to satisfy her obsession with a barn full of Breyer

model horses until she was 11 years old and sat on

a real horse at summer camp.

“After taking my first lessons at camp, I

returned home hooked on riding and begged

my non-horsey parents to find me lessons near

our house,” Alise said. Those local lessons

continued for two years until Alise was ready to

own her first pony.

“My dad didn’t really understand the reasoning

behind why I needed a pony of my own. So, my

mom actually bought my pony, Professor Plum,

with her own money,” Alise said. “It’s a funny start

to our horse ownership journey because now my

dad is super involved, loves supporting the sport

and enjoys watching me compete.”

That unwavering support from her parents

has helped propel Alise from ponies to podium

finishes and the professional ranks. Today, Alise

is at the helm of her family’s Hi Hopes Farm

where she focuses on developing young horses at

the top of the sport.

RAMPING UP

Alise made her first trip to Wellington,

Florida, at age 13. From that trip forward,

everything changed. “I was shocked by the

magnitude of it. That’s when our involvement

in the Pony Hunters really took off,” she said.

“Suddenly we were showing almost every

weekend and traveling a lot.”

To support Alise and her sister Lucie’s

dreams, her parents purchased a 20-acre farm

in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We have a

house in the North Carolina mountains named

Hi Hopes, so we ended up naming the stable

after that. It’s actually a fitting name, as we

work towards our high hopes and high goals,”

Alise said.

With a home base in place, the family hired

trainers Steve Heineke and Jeff Wirthman. “Not

only did they train me and Lucie, but they also

had several other clients training out of our

stable at the time,” Alise said.

Until age 21, Alise focused mainly on the

hunter ring. “Under the guidance of Steve and

Jeff, I had some fantastic Junior and Amateur

horses. We showed a lot and got a lot of good

results. They found me a wonderful hunter, Take

Away, who won everywhere with me including

Devon and indoors,” she said.

Alise admits that riding Take Away kept her

in the hunter ring longer than she expected. “He

was such a great horse and had such a lovely way

of going. I think if I didn’t have him, I probably

would have moved into the jumpers full time when

I was 18,” Alise said. “I started getting frustrated

with the subjectivity of the hunters and really

enjoyed the precision and speed of the jumpers.”

Having early success in the hunters gave Alise

a bit of culture shock when she transitioned full

time into the jumper ring. “In the hunters, you

get ribbons every week and come to expect a

lot of placings. The consistency of results is a

lot different in the jumpers, so it was a bit of an

adjustment period,” she said. “But I think that

was very positive because it proved success isn’t

always in the placings, it’s in the consistency of

your rounds and improving each time.”

It was while Alise was in college at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that

she fully embraced her jumper dreams. Always

one to have “Hi Hopes,” Alise jumped all-in and

began working with Olympian Laura Kraut.

“In my early 20s, I lived with Laura and Nick

Skelton in England. Laura got me deep into the

jumpers, helped me find some incredible horses

and win at amazing venues. She had a huge

impact on my career,” Alise said. “As young and

hungry as I was, it was a really fun part of my life.”

Alise with Bonhomme Richard

in Wellington, Florida.