Kerrianne Dundas still pinches herself when she heads off to the Lavington post office with a package destined for one of the world's leading equestrian stables.
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Inside the lovingly prepared parcel is a selection of meticulously crafted rider and horse-wear products designed by the Table Top resident and her daughters Isabella, 20, and Maddison (Singe), 27.
The trio's long-held dream to establish their own equestrian brand and business is starting to take off, gathering more momentum ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
One of the recent trips to the post office saw a delivery for New Zealand Olympic campaigner Melissa Galloway and her horse Windermere J'Obei W, currently based at the Netherlands
(Galloway is in training at the renowned Van Olst Horses with the darling of the dressage world - Olympic medallist and double world champion Charlotte Fry.)
In a savvy marketing move, the Table Top business women also have sponsorship arrangements with several Aussie Olympic hopefuls including young rider Jessica Dertell and six-time Olympian equestrian Mary Hanna.
Hanna's longevity in the sport sits alongside that of Culcairn born and bred Olympic eventing star Andrew Hoy, an eight-time Olympian with six medals to his name.
To have someone of Hanna's hallowed status both using and approving their home-grown creations has the Dundas girls delighted and proud.
Family ties
Kerrianne has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with horses.
She's been riding since she was 10 and shared that interest with her mother Judy and then her own daughters.
Originally the focus was on showing, with many off-the-track thoroughbreds in the mix before they began breeding Arabian/warmblood crosses.
Kerrianne went on to "dip my toes" in the dressage world, breeding horses that could move better but "I still liked them to be beautiful".
Maddison says the weekends they spent showing horses together as a family remain among her fondest childhood memories.
Younger sister Isabella (Izzy) tried ballet for a while before the pull of the horses proved too strong to resist.
In between their equestrian pursuits, Maddison headed off to Charles Sturt University at Wagga to complete a degree in stage and screen.
It was "an amazing course" that would pave the way for some incredible work in the industry - and, as it turns out, a wonderful sidebar for the family's equestrian business.
Kerrianne had always wanted to start a retail company selling saddle pads and the like - "we wanted to put our horses in our own stuff".
"Everything is about beauty - and functionality - for me," she admits.
In March 2020, just as COVID-19 hit, the three of them decided to bite the bullet and just "go for it".
"We got out our pens and papers and we started designing the clothes and then the horse products," Izzy says.
It was Maddison's husband Sean who would come up with a name for the new brand: Eloquence Equestrian.
"We wanted the name to be elegant and this rolled off the tongue," Kerrianne says.
With everyone grounded at home due to COVID, there was plenty of time for brainstorming, designing and taking the time to find good suppliers (one of the toughest challenges).
Because the fledgling business had no opportunity to show their products in the flesh, the trio had to ensure their online marketing, photography and videos were polished and visually appealing.
Kerrianne is proud of the fact all their work is done "in house" with Izzy as the "model" and Maddison using her photographic, video and editing skills to market the brand.
"We do every bit of it ourselves - every post, every photo edit," she explains.
About a year ago, the slow burn of a new business ignited.
With the heavy cloud of COVID lifted, mum and daughters took to the road to showcase their brand at major horse shows and dressage competitions.
Suddenly they found they couldn't keep up with the demand for their stock, which features Australian merino wool in materials.
At Equitana Melbourne, people were lining up out the door to visit their tiny trade stall tucked away in a back corner as first-time exhibitors.
"People said they couldn't believe the quality; that our products were beautiful and super functional but they felt like they were affordable," Kerrianne explains.
Such is the nature of family businesses, a heavily pregnant Maddison worked all the way through that trade show before giving birth to her son Oliver the day after it finished.
Small but savvy ...
Eloquence Equestrian has carefully chosen an "elite team" of riders to sponsor including Olympic and Paralympic contenders.
"We source people with the same values; while they might be competing at an elite level with good horses, they are also good sports and good-hearted people," Maddison explains.
The trio spend many nights away from home filming and supporting riders, many of whom "have become our friends".
They recently spent time at Mary Hanna's new state-of-the-art complex in Victoria interviewing and filming the veteran horsewoman before producing an evocative 11-minute video that provides an intimate insight into her day-to-day life with horses.
The business has also branched out into an an EE media partnership with the Albury branch of BEAL Creative offering specialist videography, digital imagery and photography services - and not just for horses!
Kerrianne still marvels that "little old Table Top has gone global".
They regularly send out orders to New Zealand, the US, Japan, Canada, Spain, France and the UK as well as Australia.
"Now we've got (riders potentially going to) the Olympics, that's a bit of a statement," she laughs.
"But we want every customer to have the best experience."
The trio enjoy the fact they have a lot of returning customers - like the woman from Western Australia who's up to her 12th order.
And everything they make from the business they invest back into it.
"We're perfectionists," Kerrianne reveals.
"We don't come from money so we've had to support this business ourselves."
The mother and daughter team are committed to continuing to build their dream together - as entrepreneurs, equestrians ... and family.
"There has been literally blood, sweat and tears along the way but most of all hard work, determination and a love for what we can share with the world," they wrote in a Facebook post to mark International Women's Day on March 8.
Izzy laughingly reflects that "everyone who goes into small business hopes it will be an overnight success".
While that's been far from the case, "we love it, we live it and breathe it".
"And every time we see someone in one of our saddle pads, it's like the very first time," she adds.
