Charlotte Raisbeck grew up horseback riding English-style in upstate New York and continued her love for equestrian activities well after she graduated from college.

She spent much of her early career in real estate, but in 1977 decided to move to Houston to open her own equestrian shop. The store began selling English-style horseback riding equipment, and about 17 years later it started offering both English- and Western-style equipment.

Her business, Charlotte’s Saddlery, became a family-owned and -operated endeavor, and soon two of her five children, as well as their spouses and respective children, became part of the company. Mark and Tim, her youngest sons, became owners of the business in 1994. Charlotte died in 1995, and Charlotte’s Saddlery grew to have multiple locations in the Houston area.

“I never left,” Mark said. “I decided I really enjoyed [working there] and decided to make a career out of it.”

Mark and his wife, Missy, opened the first Austin location at The Hub at Research and 45 shopping center Dec. 18. The store offers items for both horses and riders, including clothing, riding boots, English and Western saddles, toys, treats and grooming products. The store also carries seasonal items such as holiday ornaments.

The 6,000-square-foot store will soon offer items for dogs, Mark said, such as custom-made collars, leashes, leads and treats.

“[People] are so friendly and excited about us being here,” Missy said. “We’re just as excited to be here. [We’re] already starting to recognize faces and names and a few that have actually come in and said, ‘We’re so glad you’re here; we’ve shopped at Charlotte’s [Saddlery] in Houston and moved to Austin.’”

One customer, Beverly, told Missy and Mark she bought her first saddle from Charlotte in Houston.

Mark said he wanted to open an Austin store eight years ago, but because of a crash in the economy the timing was not right.

“We’ve always wanted to move to Austin,” Missy said. “This is the place we’ve wanted to retire someday, so we thought, ‘OK, this is the right [place].’”