I've been working on this outfit for a little bit and I'm so excited to have it all done and ready to share. Of course, yesterday was rainy and VERY windy so I couldn't use Pivo which means, sadly, I don't have mounted photos to share. So disappointing! We will just have to wear this again sometime. But for now, enjoy the media I do have and my semi homemade outfit. Let's start with the horses.
Bridles: Joseph Sterling Browbands: Dark Jewel Designs
Obviously for a rock and roll outfit you need spiked browbands. Duh.
Saddle Pad:
Eros-Lettia baby pad, with my own embellishments, Ippico half pad
Shiny- Echt-Lammfell
That photo doesn't capture Eros' pad fully so let me just provide a closeup while it was still under construction:
I know, it's fab right?! I anticipate using this a lot. We'll see how the embellishments hold up in the wash... The saddle pad ones are just plastic, I figured metal studs would be kind of heavy. Plus these came in a big strip which was much easier to apply than individual studs would have been.
Boots: DSB altered by me
It's been awhile, but I thought it was time to bust out the interchangeable boots I made last year. I LOVE how these studded straps came out! Aren't they fun?! Most of my straps for these boots are winter themed, so I expect to use them a bunch more in the coming season.
Okay, my turn! This is when things get a little ridiculous... and a little less well made... Lol.
I told you. Ridiculous. And I love it.
Helmet: Samshield
It took me a few minutes to settle on a helmet. I wasn't sure sparkles really went with studs, but then decided they totally do in this case.
Sweatshirt: Samefar
Lol. This is where my sewing skills showed their true colors... I added these studs to this otherwise plain black shirt. And that bottom section is absolutely as crooked as it looks in this photo. Oops.
Belt: Unbranded
I've owned this belt for a long while, and am excited to have a fun horsey outfit to pair it with now!
Breeches: Horze
Why yes, these are fake leather breeches. Thanks for noticing! Hahaha! I told you it would get ridiculous. I bought these a long time ago when I saw them on clearance. I'm sure they were on clearance because honestly, who would buy them? Well me, it turns out. But then I never wore them, because well... Look at them. Fake leather breeches? But you know what's perfect for a rock and roll outfit? Fake leather breeches. Indeed. I added some studs to the front and back pockets to make them even more ridiculous. I kind of love them! They're surprisingly comfortable, and were really warm to ride in with the bad weather yesterday. The material is super stretchy in case you're wondering how they could possibly be comfortable to ride in.
Socks: Dreamers and Schemers
Obviously badass socks were appropriate.
Boots: Tuffrider Wellesley with some additional decor
Amanda and I have been talking about adding spikes to boots for awhile now, but neither of us felt right doing that to actual nice boots. I mean, it might not work out ya know? But then I found these Wellesley boots on closeout on ebay for $70 and I was like... I could deface those. Spikes are Amanda's thing, so I went with studs instead. It was really easy to do the top. But it was a bit more challenging to do the laces holes.
Worth the challenge though! I think they look fun. Also, I can no longer change the laces on these boots, so I hope they hold up!
So.... what do you think? Pretty ridiculous, yes? But also fun! So much fun. Eros and Shiny and looked totally badass with their spikes and studs.
It was a fun, laid-back week around here this past week. I didn't have much planned other than the usual. Eros is moving along in his rehab and we're getting to do some canter work now. He's feeling pretty good most days, so I'm hopeful he'll be back to normal soon.
This week is off to a rocky start with the weather. It poured buckets yesterday so no riding, and currently the wind is blowing at 30 mph so we're waiting until the afternoon when it's supposed to calm down a little. It's our last full week at home, so I want to enjoy it. If only the weather would cooperate!
Shiny fit in both jump schools this week. She's still a little tough to get moving, but one she gets there, she's jumping around great! Our first school of the week, I was really trying to focus on keeping her shape to the jumps. I wasn't terribly successful... but the side effect of my attempts was a listening pony. So while I wasn't able to keep her back up as we approached the jumps, I did have an adjustable pony. I'm calling that a win since being rideable is more important to me than looking perfect.
Still cute, even if she prefers to be hollow
I'm not sure what got into me, but for the second jump school this week, I put one of the fences up to 2'6". We haven't ever jumped that high together. I picked the fence she hasn't ever spooked at since I figured that would make me braver. Her too, I imagine. For this jump day, I wasn't hyper focused on keeping her shape, but more on keeping her in front of my leg. For the most part she was right there for me, with the exception of the vertical out of the short diagonal going away from the barn. I had to go to Mr. Tappy for some backup and she got mad!
But the next time she moved up off my leg. Shiny's a smart pony, she does learn from things. That doesn't mean she always does what I ask... but she does understand at least. Lol. Mares. What I was most excited about from this day is that every time she jumped the bigger vertical, her knees were even and her forearms were parallel to the ground. I found the jump every different way, once was a waiting spot, once it flowed nicely, and once I had to kick her up to it, but each time she jumped it great.
Our first ever 2'6" fence!
and our second
And then the third
I'm not ready to jump courses at that height with her, but I'm pretty excited to get there! Here's a clip from a few of our jumps that day:
I had my penultimate lesson with Bellino this Thursday. We have one more this week, then this weekend he leaves for Florida. I hope that goes better this year for him and my stepmom! Anyway, we had a great lesson, but unfortunately, my videographer had to leave before we got to the good stuff. I was a little disappointed because this is probably the best lesson we've had together, B and I. He was listening and jumping great and I have very little video to prove it! Lol! I had witnesses though. So it still counts.
We were working through a bending line that was right on and fairly direct in 6 to 6, but we had to also do it in 7 and 8. This is REALLY tough for us because Bellino is not a fan of being adjustable. Adding one stride is easy since you just change the track and don't really have to shorten. But the 8 proved more difficult since you had to do both. I have video only of us doing the 7 to 7 once time, but it's pretty right on, so I'll take it! You can see it here:
Our last course was more or less a hunter trip and we were allowed to do the 6 to 6 through the bending line. The whole thing rode so nicely. The roll top was our first AND last fence so I jumped it multiple times. (Have I mentioned how much I hate roll tops?) B was a total star. I'm definitely a little disappointed that he's leaving now that things are coming together. But that's just how it goes sometimes.
I happened to once again be in the right place at the right time on Sunday and got to take my new chestnut friend out on another trail ride with my friend and neighbor.
He was freshly clipped and it was a bit chilly out there, so he was a little more spicy than last time. But still well behaved other than needing one little turnaround to stare at something... He is six after all. It was a lovely ride and I'm so grateful when they let me do these things.
Lynx, the white doggo, had to stop for a swim on the way back.
Since both of my horses wound up with slobbers last week, I didn't let them have Sunday snackies this week.
If you're gonna drool... drool on this towel.
They weren't pleased, but since their slobbers had finally cleared up, I wasn't taking any chances. I'm not 100% sure if it was from my grass or possibly in the new hay we got, but they aren't drooling anymore. Hopefully that's over with! Anyway, instead of having snackies after our bareback ride, Shiny and I watched some rounds at New England Finals.
I was having major FOMO this entire week watching everyone ride at New England. It's one of my favorite shows, and I really hope I find a way to qualify next year. Of course that means I have to jump actual 3' jumps again... but it's not impossible! On the right horse and all... There's a very good chance I'll have something to work towards this goal with. Stay tuned.
In non horse news, one of the few good things that came out of the pandemic was finding new ways to hang out with friends. Some of these things have stuck around, and I got to do one of my favorites on Friday. A friend of mine had a few of us over to hang out and we had the first Harry Potter playing on the projector.
It was chilly, but not cold, and it was just nice to hang out with friends for a bit. And that's about it from here! How was your week?
The days are shorter and the leaves are coming off the trees, which means it's nearly time to move the horses for the winter.
Dreary day on Saturday, but the leaves are pretty, and I mean, P is always adorable, no matter the weather
The boarding barn is very full at the moment, so I can't move Eros and Shiny over until Bellino and Fefe head back to Florida. They are leaving early next week though, so it's very soon. One of the nice things about being at the boarding barn, is that we can ride no matter the weather since there is an indoor. (Hence why I go there for the winter.)
Which leads me to today's confession. It's pouring here today, and the rain will continue through tomorrow morning. Thus, it's a rain day for the horses. I have decided to be a real garbage human today for what's probably my last rain day until the horses come back home in the spring. I'm going to do a little Chanukah shopping online, and obviously I'll tend to the equine as needed, but otherwise, I'm sitting on my lazy ass all day. I was feeling really guilty about that prospect initially, but I've decided not to. Life's too short to feel guilty for taking a lazy day. Besides, getting holiday shopping accomplished early is pretty productive anyway. Win-win!
None of my new outfits were ready for outfit day this week, which was annoying. But I came up with an outfit that eight year old me would be proud of. (Eight year old me is having a lot of fun dressing me lately.) We can start with what the horses wore.
Well, I mean, in all fairness, I take my outfit photos on Wednesdays, and, according to Mean Girls, we are supposed to wear pink on Wednesdays so... Here we are. Despite Eros being a loose horse in his photo, he still has that huge reach with his shoulder, doesn't he? We just started cantering again, so I haven't yet asked him to come together. Still cute! Shiny has decent reach through her shoulder too. I really think her canter has improved a lot since last year.
Bridles: Eros- Royal Sports Shiny- Nunn Finer
Browbands: Eros- EvoEquine Shiny- Dark Jewel Designs
Shiny was not having her photo taken this week. She's REAL grumpy about the last flies that are still hanging around. Eros was happy to oblige at least. These are the same bridles as last week, but Shiny's rainbow leather bit came back, so she's fully put together now!
Boots: Both horses are wearing Premier Equine boots
Shiny sized open front boots are the cutest things on the planet. Seriously.
Saddles & Pads: Eros- Butet, Lettia baby pad, Ippico half pad Shiny- Custom Saddlery, Premier Equine pad
I've had that Lettia pad for awhile but apparently had never used it. Guess we need to wear purple more often! I'm a big fan of the Premier Equine pads with the half pad built in. I just wish they were better with colors. The all green one they finally made has orange piping. I bought it anyway, and pretend that it's tan... but still. All green would have been better. Or green with tan but that might be my own personal preference only... Or green with brown... or even with navy. So many better options than orange! But I digress. This one is their old style, and not available any longer, but I do like this combo of green and purple.
Okay, my turn! Here's what I wore:
I mean, lots of colors look nice with purple. But pink and purple is iconic (if you're a child anyway).
Helmet: One K CCS Mips
I don't have a helmet in either of the colors in my outfit, so I went with the rose gold and black one. I think it works just fine.
Shirt: Equetech
I used to be really big into subscription boxes when I had more expendable income. But I've canceled most of them at this point. I do however still get one from a UK based company called Forelock and Fringe. I've kept this one as they have introduced me to some brands (and amazing snacks!) that I would not have discovered otherwise. This top was in one of their boxes, and I like it so much more than I expected to! It's base layer weight, which is perfect for fall here (or spring). The fabric is lovely and I like the fit too.
Belt: Guess
I actually think I was still in college when I got this belt. It's THAT old. It's in great shape though, and I love the color and the star print.
Breeches: ROMFH
I missed out on a pair of used purple TS breeches awhile back and got a little obsessive trying to find purple breeches. I couldn't find these ROMFH ones in my size either, but I did find them in long, so that's what I wound up with. Are they too long for me given I'm 5'2"? Obviously. But I don't have to cuff them, so I'm saying they work fine.
Boots: Celeris UK
This pair actually fits a little better than some of the others. I think because I didn't wear them as much when I first got them and was heavier. Thus, I didn't stretch them out as much? I dunno. Whatever the reason, they aren't as big as the others. This pair broke in really fast, and are SUPER comfy.
After such a busy week last week, this time around, it's been pretty quiet. No complaints though, I had mundane things to catch up on like laundry. But I still spent plenty of time playing with ponies!
Shiny jumped twice this past week as is the norm. We've been doing a low and slow day on Wednesdays meaning we're working over smaller jumps and focusing more on trying to get to her to hold her shape the entire time. She's a little tricky to jump in that it's difficult to keep her moving forward enough to make the strides while also getting her to bend in the corners and stay balanced. I know she's capable, but it's hard for her. Using smaller, single jumps, we can focus more on her body and less on having to keep a bigger pace. I know that will come once she's stronger. Baby steps! Her second jump day of the week we do more coursing and jumping at height (2' to 2'3" for her right now). We had a good week, and I think her jumping form is improving as she gets stronger and holds her shape better between the fences.
Look at her here! I mean she peaked down in the air which resulted in this, but DAMN! Imagine if she jumped like this every time?!
I've been sending video of Eros to my vet to assess his progress, and while I still feel like he's not quite himself, my vet thinks he looks pretty close to his norm. So we've been allowed to canter a little each direction which I think is helping. He always feels better after a little canter work. The temps dropped twenty degrees here between Sunday and Monday, so he's been a little spicy. That probably helps him feel sounder too. Either way, I'll take it! Hopefully he'll be back to normal in no time.
My lesson Thursday with B was... forward thinking.
I never really believed B was an ex eventer, but I think you can catch a glimpse of it here...
Things started off okay, but he was REALLY wanting to bulge through his left shoulder. Kinda like Shiny does. It's his go to evasion also, so I have practice with that... but he was a little worse than normal this week. He's been getting ridden more by my stepmom now that she's back in the saddle after her accident this spring and less by the trainer. Stepmom is still learning about shape and all that, so he can get away with his bad habits with her a little more. Anyway, the jumping portion of our lesson started off fine, but the more we did, the stronger he was getting. He had zero interest in waiting for the base, and as a result I kept finding the longer spots. Which I really didn't want since he was landing and galloping off. (As evidenced above.) But the nice thing about him, is that even if he isn't fully listening to me, he's still very honest. The jumps never seem overly intimidating. (Especially since we only jump 2'-2'3" usually.) So this week, despite him being a bit of a runaway train, I finally agreed to jump the roll top that I hate. And it was adorable.
Those little knees up around his nose!
I finally, after getting dragged around for awhile asked trainer to get on and feel what I was dealing with. I felt like he could use a tune up from her (she's a lot stronger than I), and I didn't want to get blamed for effing him up. So she hopped on and was like oh wow he's really strong today. (Um, yeah.) And she ultimately decided this wasn't a fix it in one course kind of issue. He had a training ride the next day and seems to back on track. I just want to mention, that despite him not being a perfect pony that day, I would not call him bad by any means. He was just a little extra opinionated. Plus we got some cute photos too:
There could be any number of reasons that B was ornery this week. We all have less good days. But I'm wondering if having to deal with three riders is just too much for him. (We don't overwork him, I only ride him once a week, and trainer alternates with stepmom, so it's not like he's doing two a days or anything.) Fortunately for him, he heads back to FL in a couple weeks, so he won't have to deal with all of us much longer.
Saturday was a grooming day for Pammon. (I visit everyday, but we only groom a few times a week because I'm lazy and he's feral.) It was a beautiful day and Pammon and his buddies were happy to see me. Well. Not so much me, but the container of cookies I brought at least.
As I was heading out to go home, I was offered to take one of the sales horses out for a trail ride. OBVIOUSLY, I said yes! It was super fun, and the horse is so lovely!
He's a 6 year old warmblood of some type, around 17 hands, so a big boy! But he was calm and sweet and ambled along the entire ride. Of course he's chestnut so it's a similar view that I'm used to these days. I had so much fun and am so grateful they asked me!
Sunday was an easy day for the horses with light rides in the bitless bridles and some yard snacks. Unfortunately, the yard snacks resulted in poor Eros have slobbers. He's SUPER annoyed by it so hopefully it passes quickly. After Sunday funday rides, I finally clipped Shiny.
I didn't bother with her head which requires drugs, nor her legs which requires my patience... But the rest of her looks pretty good! Check out those dapples!
I've been working away on my craft projects for some outfit day posts, but delayed deliveries means neither of the two I'm working on will be ready for this week. Boo. Anyway, that's really about it from here. How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun and fall like?
