Thursday's Threads

Outfit DAY! Woohoo! We're having a barbecue and field day of sorts here at work as a fundraiser so it's a super casual outfit day. We were asked to wear our branded tees so we look festive in any photos we send to corporate.

I promise I am wearing shoes. They just weren't in the same room as my mirror this morning.

Top: Gildan

I think our logo is the cutest! His name is Gilbert and he's made up of all the different items we sell here. I think these tees are super cute, especially for a work shirt.

Jeans: Vigoss jeans

Nothing too exciting here... Just a comfy pair of plain blue jeans. I'm sure you've seen then before, these are on the favorites list.

Belt: C4

I chose the blue and white checked C4 belt to match my work shirt.

Shoes: Sperry

Obviously my Sperry's are blue today too!

Arm Party:
Lefty:

Because I have to have SOMETHING horsey on at all times, Lefty is donning this leather rein bracelet from Swanky Saddlery along with my trusty apple watch.

Righty:

Righty is wearing a stack of Stacie Originals. All made by me! I really can't get enough of those horse clasps.

And that's what I'm wearing to work in today. But I have a riding outfit today too!

So a bunch of cars totally caught me posing for this when they drove by the farm... Not awkward at all.

Helmet: Charles Owen GR8

I know it's a little ridiculous... But I really do love this helmet. Aren't you impressed that the horses haven't spit all over it yet? I am.

Top: Sport Horse Lifestyle

Truer words were never spoken. Fake it till you make it!

Belt: C4

I went with gray bits to match the tee for this outfit. I like them together! Plus, how much purple can you really handle?


Breeches: Ariat Prix

So fun fact... I should NOT have put these in the dryer. I managed to stuff myself in there though. High five!

Boots: Stivali Romitelli

Despite my poor measuring skills, I think these are winning in the battle of favorite custom boots. They're already broken in and other than the height issue, they really do fit great. Plus, I mean... Look at them!

That's what I'm wearing today! The horses didn't dress accordingly because laundry. What are you wearing? Is your work doing anything fun for employees to celebrate the fourth? Any favorites from today?

What's Up Wednesday

Good news friends! I didn't die of moldy grape poisoning. Phew. Close call. This past week was kind of a whirlwind filled with a whole lot of nothing ALL that exciting. Not much is new with the equine. We're plugging away trying to find functional brains and a little fitness. So far, not surprisingly, Rio is leading the pack in both departments.

My hat is straight, yes?

Rio thinks the cheering at the local triathlon is for him

I've been trying to add more canter into Romey's life when I'm feeling brave enough. His canter seriously is the best, it's just hard to get into and sometimes hard to maintain. (And occasionally I can't stop it...) Naughty boy knows his leads though, so I'm grateful for that!

This hat is stupid and my ears are not that big.

small horse, great big canter!

Jampy was being kind of difficult last week. He was rideable, and more or less did what I asked, but he was really spooky, constantly scooting and occasionally spinning at whatever imaginary things were scaring him.

He's sees dead horses.

 I decided finally that maybe he just really needed to lunge. He gets turned out everyday, but he pretty much just stands in one spot the whole time. So he never gets his bucks out. The only place to do that for him is on the lunge line. I don't get it, but hey, at least I know there's an outlet somewhere! So finally on Sunday, I threw him on a line before riding. He was much better after that and has been every ride since. Last night I even got to jump around with no drama at all. Kind of nice!

This hat should be Romey's. My ears don't fit!

Just gonna hide here behind the vertical... maybe mom won't notice

I think he's remembering how to jump!

So straight... yet so grumpy

Grrr.

Before anyone asks if his ears are back because he's hurting, no that's not why. His ears are always facing the scary end of the arena. So if/when I jump away from the barn, he'll wear them. But aiming at the barn, they're turned back. I mostly jump toward the barn because he's less likely to spin on landing (though more likely to run away, such options I have to work with) thus his ears are back in most of the pics at home.
I didn't get any media last night when he was actually good, but I'm going to jump him some more tomorrow, so I'll try and get some then. And maybe we'll finally put some jumps up a little too!
All the ponies had Friday and Saturday off because I went up to the Skidmore show in Saratoga for a day.
It was rough getting out the door though. My car went in for an engine light on Monday, which I think I mentioned last week. I got it back Thursday after work, only to find it had this other emergency light on:

That's probably not good... Of course when I got home from work and discovered this, the service department was closed. UGH! So first thing Friday morning I called. They agreed to come get it while I took my truck to work. Fortunately, it seemed that the computer update they did just messed up the counters for things like the brake pads, and it was an easy fix (at no charge)! I had Betty back by 3. I had planned to work until 12:45, get the ponies situated and the dogs dropped off, and then leave. So I was only a couple hours later than I had hoped. Of course I somehow managed to slice my thumb open and explode a soda all over the car before actually getting on the road. But hey, I got going eventually! By the time I arrived, it was pretty late, so we had dinner and turned in.

Saturday was a little drizzly in the morning, but it turned into a beautiful day. The show was sold out, which is awesome for them, but was a bummer for me. The Alumni division was supposed to go last in either hunter ring (whichever finished first). Unfortunately, neither ring would finish before 6. The trainer who was going to lend me a horse was completely done showing for the day, so I couldn't ask them to stay late for that. Especially when they were loaning the horse for free. So I didn't get to ride. But actually the class wasn't going to fill otherwise, so we did a q&a with the judges instead. And they gave us wine. So it was a win all around really. I hung out and watched the first round of the grand prix before heading home.

The trip home was uneventful. I got back early enough to pick the dogs up too! I didn't stay Saturday night so I could be home early Sunday to ride Badger. He ripped his shoe and most of his foot off when he was at Hits last week (and thus didn't show) so it was a shortish ride. Fortunately, he's sound on his stubby, fake foot, but I can tell he finds it annoying. It was nice to get on him though, it's been awhile! I get to ride him again this weekend before they leave for VT next week.
I also made time for a lobster roll. This crow, Sam, really wanted it though. He was making me uncomfortable:

Nothing too exciting has gone on this week. Just work and trying to get organized at home. All these weekend trips have done a number on the neatness of my home.

Hopefully this weekend I can take the short kids out for an adventure too. They haven't had a good walk in awhile.

Clearly, they're very depressed and full of pent up energy.
And that's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you? Do any showing? Have any coming up? Anything else fun and exciting going on for you? Let's chat in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday: You know what's worse than sour grapes?

Well I was sitting here all morning trying to think of something gross or embarrassing that had happened this weekend to admit to you all. And while I could come up with some little things here or there, it certainly wasn't enough content for a blog post. And then I had lunch.
I made a delicious bagel with lox and cream cheese. All went well there. Then I had grabbed a bunch of grapes from the fridge and stuck them in a bag to snack on after my bagel.
So I was sitting here at my desk stuffing grapes in my pie hole when I happened to look down at one of them...
Ugh. You guys. It was moldy. Most of the others still remaining the bag appeared not to be moldy. But how many moldy grapes did I not notice?! If you don't see a What's Up Wednesday post tomorrow, please send help. I'm only mildly allergic to mold, but I don't think I've ever EATEN it before.
Have you ever done something so gross? Did it nearly kill you? Please tell me I'm not gonna keel over at my desk.

La Mundial: The good and the bad

Back in November I stopped by Equine Affair and made a really irresponsible decision to order some green tall boots. Against my better judgement, I chose to get them through La Mundial. I wanted to give them another chance since I had heard great things about how they had turned the company around. I'm all about second chances. And third sometimes... I'm slow to learn a lesson apparently.
My boots took a little longer than expected because the first pair they made had a defect in the leather and they didn't want to send them to me. Instead, they made a brand new pair and they were almost perfect! To make up for the long time waiting, they sent me both pairs of boots. I thought that was so awesome and they really didn't have to do that. They do sell unwanted boots in their store in Wellington, so they could easily have made some money back on the defective pair.

Since the boots came during my non riding season, I wore them around the house some to try and get started with breaking them in. But they really were a bit snug. The bonus pair so much so I couldn't actually get them zipped. The good pair fit pretty well, but the snap on the right boot came undone as soon as I took a step. While they were a little tight back then, I lost some weight and they're perfect now.
I figured I would bring the boots down on my next trip to Florida and have them fixed up. So on April 26th I dropped them off at La Mundial. They said they would be ready on April 29th. Perfect. April 29th I went in, and the bonus pair still didn't fit. They re-took my measurements and realized that the actual measurements around the OUTSIDE of the boots were my leg measurements. Obviously, that's not quite right. So they said to leave them and they will stretch them more. I paid to have them shipped back. They also kept the good pair, both to use as a guide and because they had replaced the wrong snap so that still needed to be fixed. (They replaced the one on the bonus pair by mistake instead of the good pair.)

I was told I would have the boots back in two weeks or less. Awesome! I offered to pay for the snaps and/or the stretching but was told just to pay the shipping. Also awesome! Thanks La Mundial! Now fast forward... I contacted them after three weeks when I still hadn't seen my boots. I was told they weren't ready yet, but they would be in another two weeks. Ok. Two more weeks go by. I get told they will ship that Friday and was even give tracking. Yay! Only, the tracking never activated. So I contacted them again. I had been conversing via text initially, but then my texts went unanswered. For several days and multiple attempts on my part. I tried the contact form on their website, also unanswered. So finally I called, and got a live person. They said the boots were not quite ready yet, but would be soon. She said she would call me in a day or two once they've shipped. This part went smoothly finally. The boots shipped and arrived yesterday. But nothing actually got done. NOTHING. My right boot still doesn't stay snapped:

The spurs kind of keep it closed, but not really. Other than that though, the good pair is actually great and fits well. I can ride in them and they're definitely useful.

The bonus pair wasn't stretched at all:

I can't even zip them. And the snap is actually missing on the right boot:

So obviously, that one doesn't stay snapped either ;)

But here's where I don't know how to proceed. I'm not comfortable returning the good boots again, because who knows if I'll get them back. Maybe I can just have a shoemaker or someone at Beval replace the snap. But the bonus pair? I mean I didn't actually pay for them, so I don't want to make a big deal/fight about them. But on the other hand, they're of no use to me. I guess I can just give them back to La Mundial when I'm in Florida and say thanks but no thanks? Or just let them sit around my house in case I lypo my legs? I just don't really know what to do.
What do you guys think? Should I try again to get them to fit me and have a snap installed? Should I just let them collect dust? Do I even bother contacting La Mundial about any of this? I don't want to be an ass. And as far as the free boots, they were free, so I don't really have much right to keep working on them. But what about the good pair with the bad snap? Ugh. I just am not sure how to proceed. What are your thoughts?

Thurday's Threads!

Outfit Day!!!! I'm pretty excited about last night's riding outfit, so let's start there today:

Notice something you haven't seen in awhile?? DO YOU?! You should. We'll start there since I'm five and can't wait.

Boots: La Mundial

They finally came back! My green boots! So this pair and the bonus pair have been at La Mundial in Wellington for the last almost two months, supposedly getting fixed. This pair needed a new snap on the right boot as it doesn't stay closed. The bonus pair needed to be stretched because they weren't actually made to my measurements. Long story short, none of that actually happened, and the bonus pair is actually missing the snap all together now. I'm going to do a separate post about that, because I need some opinions/advice. But anyway, aside from the snap issue, these fit perfectly and other than the usual hating of new boots, I do love them.

Spurs: Centaur and Color Tack
Spur Straps: Mane Jane

I had these centaur spurs coated in gold by color tack back in the winter. I have a few pairs of color tack spurs now, but I think these and the identical pair in green are my favorites. I'm still in disbelief that these Mane Jane spur straps are pretty much the exact same color as my boots. How does that even happen?! I kind of wish they had a gold princess crown option, but the silver one is pretty cute too.

Breeches: Tuffrider

Horseloverz had these Tuffrider breeches on sale for $34.00 so I grabbed these and a black pair. I really liked the zipper pockets and the contrasting piping. Plus for that price, I couldn't pass them up. They're ok breeches. Comfy to ride in, and I like the grippy knee patches.

Belt: Mane Jane

Obviously I had to wear the belt that matches the boots and spur straps. Duh. You all know by now how great I think the Mane Jane Belts are. You should definitely get one.

Polo shirt: Hollister

I've had this one for quite awhile. We have a Hollister outlet near where I live. Generally, I don't get stuff there as it's mostly designed for prepubescent tweens, but a polo shirt is a polo shirt.

Helmet: Charles Owen

He needs no introduction! Still my favorite of the bunch.

The horses wanted in on the matchy matchy too, so I let them play along:
Jamp:

Jampy wore a pair of green open front boots from an ebay seller in England. I'm not sure of the actual brand on those. He also wore his baby pad from EC Equestrian (which is now Queensland Equestrian) and a fly bonnet from HKM. His bridle is a cheapo schooling bridle from Da Vinci.

Romey:

Romey wore some hunter green Animo combo wraps, a baby pad from Wilkers and an unbranded fly bonnet that I found when I cleaned out my tack box. His schooling bridle is the Silver Leaf collection by Toklat.

Rio:

Ok, first off, NO ONE TELL RIO HIS BONNET IS CROOKED. It's not actually but since he has no muscles on the right side of his face, it sits that way. He doesn't know, and you must not tell him. He would be very upset.
Rio wore some boots from a company that's out of business called Ascot-Pelham (or something very close to that anyway). His saddle pad and fly bonnet are both from USG and his bitless bridle is from Liberty Bridles.

Ok... Now for my work outfit. I completely forgot to grab photos at home, so these are... well.. Terrible.

See? No full shot of the outfit today! Please enjoy this selfie of me in my work chair.

Top: Vineyard Vines

I picked this up last year when I was up in Vermont for the horse show and never actually wore it. While horizontal stripes are never flattering, I do like the colors.

Jeans: Kut from the Cloth

Kut jeans are super comfy. They have a lot of stretch and seem to fit me well for length. I like the frayed hem on these. Gives them a laid back, summery feel.

Belt: Vineyard Vines

This one has been kicking around for a long while now. I think the little whale is adorable, but I hate that I have to wear this belt backwards form how I normally wear belts.

Shoes: Sperry

Distressed silver Sperry's? Yes please! You all know I love my boat shoes, so obviously shiny ones are way up there on the favorites list.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

Lefty is loaded up today entirely with a Nantucket vibe. First up is an Alex and Ani bangle that I got last year when we went for Father's Day weekend. The rest were from this years trip. There's an Alex and Ani inspired bracelet with a nantucket basket attached, one made up entirely of baskets, and then two that are sort of like scrimshaw. The first which you can't really see is the famous lighthouse, and the other is a map of Nantucket. And of course my trusty watch is there too.

Righty:

Righty is wearing some Stacie originals. The first is a pink braided leather bracelet with a horse head clasp and rhinestone slider, and the second is just a plain single wrap bracelet with the same leather.

That's what I'm wearing this outfit day! What do you have on? Any favorites from today? Do you ever match outfits with your horse? I know you eventers tend to!