It’s fashionable to talk about rich ladies buying their way to the top of international dressage competition. The truth is that it almost always ends in tears, and a few happy horse dealers. Charlotte Jorst is the exception to the rule, yes she is mega wealthy, true she came to dressage later in life, and certainly she has purchased some ponies with eye-watering price tags, some of which did not come up to expectations, but it is undeniably true that she competes against the best in the world – and with success!
Rebecca Ashton set out to find what makes Charlotte tick… (she also took the photos)
Some people are just a delight to interview, Charlotte Jorst is one of them. Charlotte is a good laugh. She’s generous, genuine, insightful and pragmatic; and laughs and jokes the whole time.
Although on the surface Charlotte’s life might look utopian, she has had her fair share of obstacles but she’s the sort of person who just picks herself up, dusts herself off and gets on with life.
Charlotte at Aachen with Nintendo
Self made, her success in business, as well as the dressage arena is quite impressive. Having founded the watch company Skakgen, it was sold in 2012 for a reported USD237M to Fossil. It was then that Charlotte’s dressage career went full-steam-ahead as she purchased some very capable horses from Europe. She also started her next business project, Kastel Denmark, the beautiful and unique sun protection clothing line born out of Charlotte’s own experience with skin cancer.
Charlotte and Vitalis – Photo Kenneth Braddick, Dressage News
It’s easy to look at financially well off people and think life has been handed to them on a platter, but Charlotte has worked hard and made her own luck through sheer determination. Together with the super stallion Vitalis, Charlotte represented the USA at the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Dressage Horses in 2013.
With her current Grand Prix horse, Nintendo, Charlotte competed at her first Nations Cup in Rotterdam in 2015 where the US Team won Bronze. In 2016 the pair competed in the World Cup Dressage Final in Sweden, and then went on to win the US National Grand Prix Championships in 2018. In 2019, they helped the US Team win Gold at the FEI Dressage Nations Cup in Wellington. I caught up with Charlotte at Aachen this year where once again she was a member of the US Dressage Team.
Nintendo
You’re quite the entrepreneur!
Everyone asks how you start a business. You just start. Then it may be completely different to what you thought it would be. But you just start something and other things fall into place.
Yes but you’re other level successful.
No. You can’t measure like that and you shouldn’t.
No but you’re so successful at everything you do. I think I’ll make you my mentor.
It’s funny because it’s what it might seem to other people, but I have not reached any of my goals yet. Not one. My first goal was for my watch company Skagen to be the biggest watch company in the world. That may have been a little bit unrealistic, but I did want that. It wasn’t. It was big but it wasn’t the biggest in the world. Now I want to go to the Olympics. I haven’t achieved that yet. I hope I will. I also want my current company Kastel to grow to USD50M, but it’s not there yet. So, you know, what is success?
Things like Olympics are hard though because it involves horses…
And politics and people. It’s such a fluid thing.
Charlotte and Zhaplin Langholt
So is it smart to have Olympics as a goal?
No it’s not. And that I learnt. It’s a stupid goal in a way, nevertheless it is a goal.
But maybe if you use your goals as a guide to your journey, it keeps you focused?
I love that perspective. That’s what I have learnt on this journey. I’ve learnt to love the process. To everybody else I’m very, very successful. But to myself, I just get up in the morning and do my thing and things come out of it. If you don’t love what you do everyday, then it becomes mighty hard. So I’ve really learnt to love that process and breathe through the hard moments. People ask if there’s anything I’m not good at and there are so many things I’m not good at. I have equal amounts of disappointments and challenges. I think that’s the same for everyone, it’s just how we deal with those aspects that sets you apart.
So this year when things have gone wrong, I put my nose to the grindstone and put one foot in front of the other, and things get better the next day.
Are you that kind of person or have you had to train yourself to be like that?
I just do that and I think I’m getting more and more focused as I get older. I think that happens and you get better at it. I’m by no stretch of the imagination a super person! I’m a very normal person with the normal amount of insecurities and the normal amount of things that go wrong for me.
So where did it all start? You didn’t start riding seriously until you were older.
Really old
Back to this perspective thing!
No seriously I was really old! (Charlotte is laughing a lot). I rode a little bit as a child and stopped when I was 17. I built Skagen up and when my kids were older, I started riding again when I was 35. I was jumping a little bit but I was still working really hard. When Skagen was sold I was 49, and I bought Vitalis.
Yes, you owned Vitalis!
I had no idea. I was riding around on Vitalis, and I thought this is not the right thing at all. I had no idea what I was doing, the horse was only five. I had no clue. Then I sold him and bought Nintendo. Then I started really riding and learning. I trained with Gunther Seidel and he took my stirrups away for a year and a half and pretty quickly I caught on. I really applied myself and got more horses and I’ve really been going ever since and setting goals.
Vitalis – Photo Kenneth Braddick, Dressage News
Where did the interest come from? Vitalis is a serious interest!
I just went to Europe and was looking at horses and Vitalis was one of them. I liked him. I thought he was cool, and he was. He’s really lazy and not so easy to ride but he was really pretty. I didn’t know what I was doing. But I think it’s like starting a business. You can’t study everything beforehand. You’d study yourself to death and you’d never start. You just have to start and at least I started with something.
But why dressage?
I tried the jumping with my girls and I didn’t have the timing for it. And they got so much better than me so quickly and I thought this is no fun. I also have really big goals and I knew I would never be able to go to the Olympics showjumping because I couldn’t jump 1.60m. So I thought the only chance would be if I could get really good at dressage.
When I had Skagen, all I was thinking about was getting back into horses, literally everyday for 25 years. I thought, ‘When I have enough money to do this, I’ll do it’. Then I started riding during the day outside rather than at night after work and developed skin cancer, which is why I created Kastel. The doctors said I had to stay out of the sun and indoors and I was like no, no, no. You don’t understand! It doesn’t work like this! I’ve been waiting for this for 25 years and I’m not going to back down. I’m not not doing this! I’m finding a way.
I studied materials for a year and a half and came up with the material that the Kastel shirts are now made of. I thought if I need it, others must need it.
What part of you doesn’t think oh well someone else is probably already doing that or doing it better so I won’t bother?
There are always people who are way better than you, but are they going to try as hard? Probably not. And they’re probably not going to have as much tenacity. No one has as much grit as me and I will outwork anyone. I’m not particularly smart, I’m not particularly talented, but I will work. That’s my forté and I love working. And I will do the same with the horses. I have worked so hard to learn how to ride, not that everybody else doesn’t, but I’m sitting on those horses even in a storm then I’ll go home and work on Kastel until midnight.
They say if you’re very talented or very good at something, it can be very difficult because when the going gets tough, you’re not used to having obstacles in front of you. You need to have grit. My brother and sister were so smart at school, but for me it was never easy. I had to work for it, so I guess in a way it was a gift. Now I’m used to just working, just chipping away.
What took you to America?
I was Miss Carlsberg. I worked for the beer company, running around all over America with this green sash on promoting the beer at bars and conventions. Then I started Skagen whilst doing that because I have to say, it was somewhat boring being Miss Carlsberg! I started representing a Danish watch company who would make watches for corporations and I could design the watches a little bit. Then a retailer liked some of my designs so we took a loan on the house, put 100 watches into production and that’s how that started. Then you just build it.
Where did you get your business skills from?
I have a Masters in Business that I did before being Miss Carlsberg. I took it in three years. By then I had found my groove and became very good at it. I have good curating skills, finding out what people want and I have a distinct point of view in business and I won’t waiver from it. That’s a huge advantage so my companies stay the course. Customers know that this is the product and the sizing is always the same. I also talk to people about the shirts; what they like, what they don’t like. The moment you stop looking over your shoulder, that’s when someone is going take you over.
Nintendo – Photo Kenneth Braddick, Dressage News
So the horses….Vitalis was too young! Nintendo was your perfect match.
I got him when he was 11, eight years ago. The same year I started Kastel.
He’s 19, he’s at Aachen and he’s on the US Team.
Yes this is the second time. It’s amazing that it’s been possible. I walk him for half an hour everyday before I start riding. Some days I don’t ride at all, sometime I ride him 20 minutes then walk him again. Before the shows I just gear him up for two to three weeks beforehand. So it’s very low key in between. He gets turnout in a paddock every single day. Today I just walked and then rode a few things from the Special. He doesn’t work that much, but he’s moving all the time. He’s been a warhorse. Even if he gets something wrong, he never goes lame. His legs are perfect at 19. I’ll probably retire him, but there’s nothing wrong with him. We’ll see if he has another show season in him.
And you cloned him!
Yes I did. I figure I’m 57 and when I’m 67 I don’t want to ride something I don’t know, I don’t want to start with a four-year-old. I know how to manage them. It’s like having a sibling. They can be very different, but it’s 100% of the DNA. He has three clones and they all look similar to him. They’re a month old now. I’ll get them home to my ranch in 6 months. One or two of them will go and I’ll have something to ride. We’ll see what happens. It’s not a complete match but I have heard from people that it is going to feel almost exactly the same.
I don’t know what Nintendo was like when he was young, but Anne Van Olst is a good friend of mine and I was thinking that I could give her the clones and she could give them somewhat of the same upbringing and start under saddle. She trained Nintendo as a young horse. I don’t know how long she had him for. If you have a horse you love, why not? I’m too old to start over.
How do you keep yourself fit-and-well for your riding?
I feel I have a very good system. I do three things everyday. I ride the horses. That’s one thing. Then for the other two things I can pick form either walking 10000 steps, yoga or swim. I don’t lift weights for things like that. I eat and drink a lot. I don’t really pay attention to that. People say you need to eat protein and all that. I don’t evernreally know what protein is! I just eat what I feel like; lots of bread and spaghetti, but it works out well for me.
Starting riding later in life and not having competed at top level your whole life, when you come to a show like Aachen, how are the nerves?
In the beginning it was hard, but I’ve learnt that nerves are ok and you just have to embrace how you feel. If I get really nervous, I think to myself, ‘Well you’ve been really nervous before, and it’s worked out ok’. So you kind of embrace it. You can’t change yourself, but I try to go-with-the-flow a little bit. I remember when I went to the World Cup in 2016 and I had really just started riding pretty much. I was so nervous, but it went great, so that was a turning point.
Who has trained you?
I’ve had a lot of trainers, but I quite like that, because I feel I have a lot of tools now. It sounds so great when you have that close relationship with a coach that you’ve had forever, but I’ve not been successful with that. As I have grown through the years, it’s been challenging.
I have a really difficult time setting boundaries. If I’m with a controlling person, they can overtake my life until it all blows up. That’s happened too. Rider/coach and rider/groom relationships can be really close relationships, so you also want to be careful who you let into your life. Also I’ve had grooms who I’ve let completely dictate my every move. Crazy stuff. Now I have a groom who has a natural boundary with me and that works out really well. You spend so much time together.
These relationships have been some of the most important and sometimes challenging in my life. Especially when I was a beginner. They can often start talking almost down to you. But I’m an adult woman and I think I’m quite smart. Just because I can’t ride doesn’t mean I’m stupid in all areas! It’s been a really interesting 10 years for me, these relationships and personalities. It’s been a big learning curve. Really fun. Charlotte Bredahl is my coach now. She’s also Danish. We have a great relationship.
Where do you stay when in Europe?
At the moment I’m at Nadine Capellmann’s but after Aachen I’ll go up to Denmark with the horses. I should be back in Reno September/ October and then Florida in December.
Zhaplin Langholt
Zhaplin Langholt, your young horse did his first ever Prix St George here in Aachen just the other day!
Yes and his first Inter 1 ever is tomorrow! He’s so good so I just said why don’t we bring him here? He got a waiver to compete because he’s so good. So, I said ok, let’s go. There’s no time like the present. You can always wait for it to be perfect, but when was the last time someone rode a 100% dressage test? And I have no time to waste!
I also have Botticelli. He’s a chestnut, extremely hot. I currently have him with a cowboy because he’s so crazy – so almost unrideable most of the time. So I’ve put a cowboy on him for two-and-a-half months to see if he can calm him down. Then there’s Grand Galaxy Win who I gelded. He’s recovering from a suspensory problem in the hind. All three horses were purchase from Helgstrand in Denmark. I also have a seven-year-old son of his called Cosmo. I have another Galaxy son that is two that someone is starting, and then the three clones.
How do you keep your life in order and balanced; horses, business, family?
It’s very difficult and some days just totally exhausting. But you know, as soon as I have a down period, I don’t like it. I don’t do well not having a lot to do. People tell me I should meditate or sit still, but it doesn’t work fo me. Even if I lay in bed a little bit too long, I start getting depressed or the brain starts going over things.
It’s the same if things happen in my life, like my Mum died some years ago. I just run quicker. Once I’m able to deal with it some time has past. I read a book the other day and the woman’s Mum died and I couldn’t get past page 5. So, maybe I don’t deal with things. I just don’t read the book! Anyway, it kind of works for me.
It’s funny how society tells us this is how you deal with this or that, and if we don’t do it that way, we’re wrong…
…or we’re going to be a nightmare. But I’m not a nightmare! I feel fine! The only thing that would really get me upset if something happens to the dog (Allison is her constant companion) or my children. Other than that I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
How do you approach your training with the horses?
I try to really walk a lot. I also have my rides videoed because then not only can I see the work, but I know how long I’ve worked for. It’s a really good tool. You might be trotting and you watch the video and realise you trotted for eight minutes without stopping. You don’t even realise. I take a lot of breaks. I’ve had to train myself to do that. I love riding so it’s really tempting to just keep riding and riding for hours! You want it to be perfect and meanwhile the horse is just exhausted. You’re not going to get it today. I’m an over achiever so that’s very difficult for me, but you have this whole other individual that you also want to have on your side, so you have to have a balanced approach and be fair. That’s extremely difficult when you’re a very driven person.
That’s why you need those three clones, so you can just keep riding!
I’m just going to be riding the clones around all day! Nine hours later! I have to say, I feel like I finally know how to ride. I finally feel now that I belong. I used to always feel like an impostor – and I still feel like that – but I’ve leant to embrace that feeling too, because I think as long as you feel like an impostor, you grow and you learn. The moment you stop and you’re just moseying around in your group, then you’re not really pushing forward. Before I just wanted to go to the Olympics. Now I want to be at the top.
What’s it like to be warming up with the likes of Isabell Werth?
It’s so much fun. Just so much fun. I still pinch myself.
And you’re the only amateur rider in the team?
Oh yeah. I think I’m the only amateur rider here! I feel so privileged and I just love it, but I also work really hard to keep it all together. I feel like it’s ok now. I want to make the Paris Olympics and then I want to make the LA Olympics and then I need to figure out what to do after that.