Thursday's Threads

Outfit DAY!!!!!!!!!! And it's hot out. Which means I got to wear a CUTE outfit! Granted it's all bundled up inside a warm fuzzy fleece jacket at my desk... but when I go out for lunch, cute outfit exposed! Ok, here, I'll show you:

Pastels today! Summer is my favorite because it's warm and sunny, but also because PASTELS!

Top: Express

I found this tank at Express a couple of years ago, and it's still going strong. Love me some minty lace!

Pants: Mavi

I didn't realize I had a hair stuck to my pants until I posted this photo... Sorry friends, I shed like a puppy. Anyway, these Mavi jeans are super comfy. I got them from Moxie.style in this pinky/peachy color and also in mint because I have no self control. These are ankle length, but I rolled them to accommodate my awesome sandals.

Awesome Sandals: No Brand

These were an ebay find and I LOVE them so much. The best feature is they have hooks so you don't have to actually deal with all those buckles all the time. Also, they match my purse pretty perfectly...

Purse: No Brand

Another ebay find. Ok, I saw the purse and then went hunting for matching shoes. Whatever, don't judge. I found them didn't I? This bag is gorgeous. It's very soft leather, and the studs are seemingly well attached.

Necklace: Kate Spade

I was all, "no I will not click the 30% off link to Kate Spade in that email there... NO I WON'T DO IT!" But then I did do it. And I found this unicorn necklace. Obviously when Kate Spade is selling a unicorn necklace that is wearing pink and mint, I have to buy it. No questions. It's everything I dreamed of and more. Expect to see a lot of it.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

Lefty is wearing one of my favorites from Nicole's Creations. This one I bought from her store rather than getting in a subscription delivery. It's a little big, but works great behind my watch!

Righty:

That pretty gold bracelet looks a thousand times prettier in person. It's from Kate Spade also, and I got it along with Uni up there. It says On Purpose. I think this is supposed to be one of those motivational things, but I actually just think it's kind of funny. Whenever someone tells me they're having a baby, I always ask, "On purpose?" Because I like to know if I should be congratulating or reassuring... So this bracelet kind of seems perfect for me. Next up is a stretch bracelet from Little Black Bag, and then a designer inspired H bracelet from Ebay.

I also have a cute riding outfit to share. Sadly I didn't think to wear matching boots yesterday. It would have been way cuter with my distressed brown pair.

This is what I look like after riding and washing three horses. It's not pretty friends. It also doesn't smell very good.

Shirt: Ariat

This top is OLD. I love it though, and hope it sticks around awhile longer. Or maybe Ariat can bring them back and I can get some other colors? Can you Ariat? Pretty please?

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

You all know I'm cheap. So cheap that despite lusting after the green tailored sportsmans with the brown patches for YEARS, I refused to buy them until I could find them on sale. Unfortunately, I did not find them on sale. But I did cave and buy them. And I must say, they really are comfy. You really do get what you pay for.

Belt: Dior

This guy is vintage and came from Ebay. But it's legit and not inspired liked nearly everything I own. I love the stirrup and the simplicity of the plain leather belt.

Well... That's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on? Have a favorite item from today? Want to talk about the weather? Let's chit chat in the comments!

What's Up Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! These weeks are FLYING by. Always seems to happen in the summertime. Why does winter take SO LONG?!  Anyway, let's get right to it. You want to know where I was this weekend, don't you?
I took a half day Thursday and all of Friday off so I could go visit my FAVORITE horse show!

You'll remember that I was super sad about missing the Saratoga Classic this year, so I decided just because I couldn't show, doesn't mean I had to miss it entirely. And off I went. I stay with a friend, so no need for last minute hotels or anything. I arrived in the evening on Thursday and pretty much just got settled in and had dinner with my friend. Friday morning I got to the show around 8. My barn away from home had an extra horse they said I could borrow for the Alumni classes, so I actually got to show while I was away! The alumni consists of one flat and one fence class, set at about 2'6". Nothing too challening! But let me tell you, this horse is wonderful. His name is Ventura, Venti for short.

He's rather tall... I'd guess about 17.2? And he is a total saint. He goes right into a frame with barely any extra bending or legging. He extends his canter easily. He halts. Total gentleman! Due to his gentlemanly tendencies, we won the flat class!

He was just as saintly over jumps. I haven't jumped a course... nor even an actual line, since probably New England finals last October. That's a long time my friends. A LONG TIME! I said to Molly who was schooling us, "Please tell me how to fast to go, I have no idea where his stride is!" She laughed and said she was sure we would be just fine. And we were. I got a little close to a couple of the jumps, but he took no offense and we finished in second. SUCH A GOOD BOY!

I mean, it was exciting to get to show pretty unexpectedly, but it was even more exciting to ride such a sweet horse. AND to get some pretty satin! I'm so thankful for good friends and trainers who are generous toward me. So much thanks to all of them! I was hoping to have one of the photos to share, but I haven't yet received the web photo yet. (Yes, I bought three photos AND a web version of one of them. I need the memories!)
The rest of the weekend I pretty much just slothed around the horse show. I watched some of the kids I used to ride with show in the grand prix:

And I watched my awesome friend (the one I stay with) win Grand Adult Hunter Champion!

 I also got to hang out with my dog away from home, Moxie:

She's the best! (I mean obviously slightly less best than my dogs, but right up there.)

I got back Sunday with enough time to ride my hooligans and hang with the puggers. No one tried to kill me so that's always a good day! Especially given they had so many days of vacation.

This week, it's been the usual late nights in the barn, but the horses have been really good shockingly.

After all the talk about bonnets yesterday, and the little bit of rain we had resulting in bugs galore, I decided to conquer my fears and try bonnets again. Everyone looked adorable... yet long eared.

I'm happy to report that all bonnets and bridles remained safely on all faces. Phew. And that's all that's up this Wednesday! We have a long weekend coming up with the 4th of July being on Monday, so I'm hoping to get to work cleaning all the bird poo off the barn floor. Exciting days ahead!
What's up with you this Wednesday?

Truthful Tuesday

While I was away this past weekend my most embarrassing/terrifying horse show anecdote came up a few times. Seriously. A FEW TIMES. These things really don't live themselves down do they? And I was thinking about sharing it on the blog this week. When I read a few posts about horse bonnets earlier today, one from The 900 Facebook Pony and the other from Equestrian at Hart, I knew I had to share my story. So without further ado, I shall tell you my tale of humiliation.
 Also note, I have no media from this story, but I do have photos from the same show, so those will have to suffice.

 Scene: It was 2011, my first year showing Jampy. We were riding with Terrapin Hill and the well known Bobby Braswell for the first time. Jamp was a stallion. And we had just arrived at the Vermont Summer Festival.
Once my stalls were set up and the horses tucked in (I had brought Jamp and Rio with me) our barn manager suggested I get Jampy out and flat him. Seems innocent enough, yes? If only.

I tacked up and got on. He was up, but seemed reasonable. We walked across the bridge to the horse show side and found a schooling ring that wasn't too busy to start working in. Just as I was getting him into the trot and trying to get his attention, they asked us to leave so they could water and drag. Booo. I looked around at the other schooling rings, but they all seemed to be in pretty spooky locations with a lot of traffic. I decided to play it smart and bring him back to the barn. I figured the show was nearly done for the day, so I would take him back up to lunge once classes were done and things were quieter. I hopped off because he was being rather childish. I had a running martingale on the reins, so after dismounting, I took the reins apart to remove the martingale. I wanted to make sure I had full control of the Jamposaur that was starting to breathe fire. While I was doing this, there was a fly bugging him (lol... pun intended). He finally got so annoyed with the fly he shook his head REALLY hard. And this is where the bonnet talk from earlier becomes relevant.

I'm too sexy for this bonnet.

Important side note: Jamp has tiny ears, and small cheekbones.
When Jamp shook his head at the fly, the bonnet slid forward on his ears, and with the second shake it went flying off his head along with the bridle. (Due in part to his tiny facial features, yet enormous head) There I was, standing with the reins in my hand attached to nothing. And a 16.3 hand stallion standing next to me. Before I could do anything about it, he started turning away from me. I tried to hold on to the martingale strap, but that little bitty strap was not enough to stop him. Off he went.
He trotted up toward the jumper ring, where thankfully there were just two horses competing in the young jumper division. Not so thankfully, they were both mares. One rider smartly removed herself and her horse from the situation, but the other kind of stood like a deer in headlights. Jamp sauntered toward that one and then the rider realized he was a stallion... Her next decision was to flee the scene. She kicked the mare into a canter, proceeded to jump into AND out of the jumper ring, and gallop madly back to the stable area. All the while yelling, "Somebody stop him!!! He's a stallion!" Jampy was following along behind them as horses do... He was a few strides back quietly enjoying his jaunt through the show grounds. No stallion-like behavior, he just thought he was playing with another horse.
I was trying my best to chase after them, but this was before I took up running... also I was wearing half chaps and paddock boots. Not exactly running friendly attire. At some point a nice person from the horse show picked me up with their golf cart, and we followed the two-horse stampede back to the stable area. After two laps around the tents, a groom came out shaking a bucket of grain and Jampy was very easily distracted by that. I collected him shakily and threw him in his stall to calm down and think about what he'd done. And then I may or may not have cried a few tears of mortification.

Once everyone had a chance to recover from all the action, I went in search of the poor, terrified professional rider that had lead my horse on this high speed chase around the show grounds. I apologized for my horse getting loose, but in turn she attempted to report me to the steward. Thankfully the steward told her I had done nothing wrong and sometimes accidents happen. Thank you steward for not getting me suspended from horse showing eternally! (Not that I had done anything wrong, but I've never been protested before or since!)

And that my friends is the story of how my fear of bonnets was born... It's also the story of why Jamp is now a gelding.

Thursdays Threads!

It's OUTFIT DAY!!! Woohoo! AND a half day at work. That's a good Thursday my friends. After work I'm heading out to start my long weekend, so I wanted to wear something comfortable for the drive.

I also wanted to look like a construction worker apparently! Haha, just kidding. I love orange!

Polo shirt: Ralph Lauren

My favorite thing about this one? That horsey insignia is a jumping horse! And it's jumping really well too.

Jeans: Rue 21

PONY POCKETS! I love these jeans. Also sorry for the photo of my bum. But I had to show the ponies. The horse shoe is even turned in the right direction so the luck doesn't run out.

Belt: Designer inspired

I found this ostrich embossed leather belt strap on ebay for a steal, and added one of my H buckles to complete the look.

Shoes: Sperry

I'm not sure how much of a fashion faux pas it is to mix exotic leathers... but these are meant to look like alligator. I couldn't find ostrich ones, so I settled for these. I love them regardless!

Arm party!
Lefty:

Lefty is wearing a wrap bracelet with a bit for a clasp from Fornash and my iWatch which I'm sure you're tired of already. Our parent company is hosting a steps challenge this month though, so I have to wear it everyday! If I manage around 6,000 steps a day, I'll get a $75 bonus. Woohoo!

Righty:

Righty is all about the designer inspired orange today. The first two are ebay specials and that leather bangle is from Fornash.

I also have a whaley ridiculous riding outfit to share today!

In this very washed out photo, it's hard to tell how silly my outfit is... but you'll see when we look closer!

Polo Shirt: Vineyard Vines

Blue with pink whales ALLL over! I love this top. I found it two years ago when I went to Nantucket at the end of the season. That's the best time to go, not too crowded and EVERYTHING is on sale!

Breeches: Equine Couture

Blue seersucker with pink whales!!! So many whales... Now you see the crazy, yes? Whatever. I think it's cute. I stopped myself from also using the whale saddle pad... but only because I was too lazy to dig it out of the saddle pad trunk.

Belt: Vineyard Vines

I got this guy a few years back in VT at the Vineyard Vines outlet. It was a good find, but the way the buckle is, I have to wear the belt the opposite way I normally wear them. Not a big deal until I have to pee and can't figure out how to get it open!

So that's what I'm wearing today and yesterday. What do you have on? Have a favorite from above? Let's chat below!