2014 – Page 31

DIY: Project Helmet Restoration

Published on June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 by Amanda C22 Comments

I knew when I saw the Pimp my Helmet DIY on Shadbelly that this was a project I simply couldn’t pass up. The timing was absolutely perfect. I had just dragged out my “summer helmet” from the depths of my spare trunk – a lightweight, easy to clean Ovation Schooler. Our summers are so hot and gross, subjecting a really nice GPA Speed Air to that kind of mess just isn’t desirable. Poor Ovation was looking kind of sad though. Between all the errant tree branches on trail rides, being crammed into random tight places in my trunk/car, dragged along who-knows-what, and everything else that may have happened to it over it’s past two summers, it was looking pretty darn sad. Lots of little scratches all over it. I swear I haven’t fallen in it yet but it sure looked like it.

So when I saw the DIY instructions I absolutely had to try it. As in, right now. I brought my helmet home from the barn, stopped at Home Depot on the way, then got to work. I have to admit – I am NOT as patient as Shadbelly was. My whole project took less than 2 hours start to finish including all the wait time for drying in between coats. Let’s face it, I’ve never been good at leaving things alone. Good news is – it worked great anyway. Also good to note: there are FOUR metallic brown Rust-Oleum Universal colors. We won’t talk about how long it took me to pick one. I walked in thinking “I’ll get brown!” and stood in the aisle gobsmacked for way too long. Just sayin, be prepared for too many options.

First I took the Ovation decals off the helmet and gave the whole thing a very light sanding, just a few swipes with fine grit sandpaper. The scratches sanded out amazingly easily, I guess they just looked a lot deeper than they really were. Then I cleaned it, wiped it down with a rag, and set it outside to dry while I prepared the rest of my supplies. In my daze of trying to find just the right brown at Home Depot I had forgotten to grab painters tape. The only other two options in the house were a little bit of leftover scotch tape from Christmas present wrapping and a small roll of duct tape I got in my race packet at the 3M half marathon. Thanks 3M – your weirdly patterned duct tape finally went to good use.

Sanded and cleaned

All taped up and ready to go

I taped over all the edge fabric and nylon harness strap that I didn’t want painted, set out some newspaper in the backyard, grabbed a wine bottle (to set the helmet on, not to drink) and got to work. I was a little timid for the first coat, barely misting anything on. Then I stood back, looked at it and went “OMG this is totally gonna work!” and did the first coat. A few minutes later I came at it again for the second coat, although now I was a little cocky and heavy handed. I sprayed a little too much on one of the vents and clogged a couple of the teeny holes in the mesh, so I ran inside for a toothpick to poke them clear. Crisis averted. Then I waited a few more minutes (remember how I said I was impatient?) and did the third coat, then finally inspected it closely and did touch-ups to make sure it was all even.

First coat, hanging out on the wine bottle

Sitting out to dry after the third coat

Dried and tape removed!

I let it dry for about half an hour, then slapped my new Personally Preppy helmet monogram on it, and voila – done. It looks brand new! And it goes with my brown boots! You really would never know this was spray paint, it just looks like any other regular plastic helmet finish. I still can’t believe how easy this was and how well it worked… it gets two solid thumbs up from me. Thanks Shadbelly!

Final product

Weekend recap: so much random

Published on June 9, 2014June 9, 2014 by Amanda C14 Comments

On Friday evening Henry got his feet done by the new farrier. He’s a really good boy about his feet, so he kept getting lots of cookies and “sweethearts” from the farrier for his good behavior. In return he kept trying to lick/nibble on the farrier’s back and neck to dispense more cookies. They got along great and his feet look much better already.

On Saturday morning I was feeling particularly masochistic so I decided to go on the weekly 35-mile bike ride that my fiance leads. I hate the route (hills are stupid, and there’s always a ridiculous headwind) so I’ve vehemently resisted going, plus since I’ve been riding the horse a lot more I’ve had very little time to ride the bike. Hence I’m pretty darn out of shape at the moment. I thought for sure I’d get left behind pretty quickly but I managed to hang in there and stay towards the front of the group of men, all of whom ride regularly and are in great shape. Walking was tough afterward and I almost puked a few times, but pffft minor details.

This was one of the rare days that SO and I have off together, so after our bike ride we went to brunch and then over to the soon-to-be-new barn since they were having a show out there. We didn’t stay long because it was just so hot and we were already pretty beat, but it was nice to have the opportunity to show him around the new place. Then we went home and collapsed in front of Netflix to watch some of the new season of Orange Is The New Black before heading to his sister’s place for dinner. All in all a very nice albeit mostly non-horsey day.

Sunday I headed out to the barn around 9 to try to avoid the worst of the heat. Nice plan, but it was still hot and SUPER humid. We’re used to hot around here but the humidity is strange for us and really awful. When I got there Henry was standing in his stall covered in sweat despite his fan. I also noticed that all the sudden he’s shedding like crazy, which is kinda weird considering he was body clipped in the winter and does not look like he has any coat to spare. Guess his body is throwing all the non-essentials overboard in this heat.

This was just from 1/4 of him!

He was not surprisingly a little dull in the crossties but once I got on he perked up and worked well. I picked up some little nubby spurs on Friday just to try them out, since carrying a whip seems to just make him really tense and over-reactive. Spurs went over much better and he actually got the hell off my left leg… novel concept. Side note: WHY ARE THERE NO SPUR STRAPS THAT MATCH MY BOOTS? Two tack shops, 4 different brands of brown, and they’re all either super red or super chocolate. Boo. My OCD can’t take this, it’s making me so twitchy.

Poor Henry was super hot when we were done so we walked all over the property then I hosed him for a while before dousing him in a liniment brace. I had a little more time to kill and there was no one around, so I took him out behind the barn and let him loose to graze. It’s always so funny to see his expression when I do this… he thinks he’s escaping and being so delightfully naughty, not realizing that I let him go on purpose.

Henry and my dog, Stewie

Then I did a little Sunday Funday afternoon project. I’ll post more details about it sometime this week, but here’s a picture hint!

All in all it was a good weekend with a nice balance of pony time and personal time. Boo, Monday.

Small Business Spotlight: Personally Preppy

Published on June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 by Amanda C17 Comments

In the words of Lauren from She Moved to Texas: MONOGRAM ALL THE THINGS. Monograms are awesome in so many ways. Not only are they really pretty and stylish, but for those of us who board we understand that personalization can help prevent things from growing legs and wandering away. Put down your Sharpie, people – there is now a better way.

My featured business this week for the Small Business Spotlight series is Personally Preppy. If you have Instagram you have probably seen one of their fabulous helmet monograms by now, which have absolutely blown up in popularity over the last few months. They also offer glove monograms, breeches monograms, monogrammed whips, cell phone cases, etc etc. Just about everything a monogram lover could possibly dream up. The best part is that everything is very affordable – you can go crazy and stick a monogram on everything without breaking the bank. See their full line-up on their Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PersonallyPreppy

As soon as I first saw their helmet monogram I knew I absolutely had to have it. I opted for black since it would be more subtle on my show helmet, but still a really cute and fun way to personalize it. As soon as I had that, I ordered a monogram for one pair of my show breeches and my show gloves. Last week I ordered a light blue monogram for my “junker” schooling helmet. Because… awesome.

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You aren’t limited to only the things you see in their store. If you can dream it, they can probably create it. Custom orders are no problem. In fact, I am getting ready to submit my fourth (addiction much?) order, for a custom heat transfer to go on a new fly bonnet. We won’t talk about how many fly bonnets I have either.

If you’ve read any of my Small Business Spotlights by now, here’s the fun section you’re expecting: words from the business owners!

1) When did you start this business?

Personally Preppy opened their online Etsy shop in April of 2014.

2) How many employees are there in your company?

We have about 5 employees, and a few brand ambassadors. Tate & Kir are very hands on with each order, but attribute our success to a hard work ethic, and a passion for horses & riders. As riders, Tate & Kir love supporting riders around the world, who also share the same passion for the sport and the animals.

3) Where did the idea for the business come from?

While competing at an IHSA show as Captain of the Salve Regina Equestrian Team, Kir recognized that the girl’s helmets, crops, gloves, and saddle pads were constantly confused and sometimes lost. As an avid “Prepsters” and Equestrians we knew monograms was the solution! Later that night, Tate and Kir started Personally Preppy. They said “It was a big risk starting a company in college but with hard work and perseverance Personally Preppy was born!”

4) What is your background in horses?
Tate & Kir, best friends, and sisters began Personally Preppy while Tate was pursuing her MBA and while Kirsten was a freshman, both at Salve Regina University. While growing up in Westchester, NY we began horseback riding at a young age, and got hooked into the horse show world after our first Walk-Trot class! Our parents, both successful entrepreneurs, consistently encourage us to find an idea, and be strong business women. Together, as a team, Tate & Kir ran pony camp to help pay for their horse shows. While working in the industry, and being avid horse show girls, we recognized that everyone has similar clothes, and equipment in the horse world. We agreed that monogramming would be a fun, yet classic way to let our preppy style shine in the ring. Today, Kir and Tate are thrilled with the consistent growth of the company, and continue to add new, quality products with a strong attention to customer satisfaction.

5) Any interesting notes about yourself, your business or your products that you would like for people to know?

We are a sister run company, we love working together as best friends, and business partners. We support girl power, and the power of hard work. We love supporting riders around the world who have a love for their horses as well as a love for equestrian style.

We want to thank our Mom, (our creative consultant) our Dad (our number 1 fan) and our Brother Ricky (our production assistant) for believing in us, being patient while we hog the dinner table conversation with horses and always encouraging us to chase our dreams.

There is a lot to love about Personally Preppy. Style, practicality, affordability and fun. All of that while supporting a small business at the same time – doesn’t get much better. Find them on Instagram at personallypreppy to stay up to date on all their cool new stuff. Thanks Personally Preppy for all of your great products thus far, and the ones to come in the future!

Horsey life changes

Published on June 5, 2014 by Amanda C13 Comments

It’s been a bit of a slow week for me horse-wise. I have a new farrier coming out to do Henry’s feet on Friday but until then they’re looking pretty shabby, so I’ve limited it to just a couple of short flatwork rides. Two good-news points from this though: he’s continuing to improve as far as his forwardness and consistency in the contact, and less barn time has meant more personal time. It’s been nice to hang out with the SO for a change, plus we got to go see X-Men! Staring at this for 130 minutes did not suck.

Back to the horse stuff. There are some big changes on the horizon… we’ll be moving to a new barn in July. Well, a re-new barn since I boarded there briefly in 2001 before I moved to the East Coast to be a working student. It’s tough to leave the current barn because I consider the trainer a friend, and really like all of my fellow barnmates. This was a very hard decision but due to a myriad of different reasons I think it will be a beneficial change for both of us. It’s very bittersweet for me and I’m sad but excited at the same time. It will however likely mean less horse shows, but there are lots of opportunities to have fun in other ways (maybe dipping my toe into The Dark Side?) so hopefully it’ll equal out.

Once we get moved I’ll post more details about the new place, but until then enjoy a couple of pictures pulled from the internet.

And since it’s great timing on Throwback Thursday, we’ll keep with the new barn theme… here’s a picture of me on my first horse Charlie, riding at this barn in 2001.

And me showing there on a catchride in 2010.

Review: Mondoni Kingston brown field boots

Published on June 4, 2014November 8, 2014 by Amanda C21 Comments

A couple weeks ago on Instagram one clothing company asked “How would you describe your riding clothing style?”. My reply was instant – classic with a modern twist. Sounds weird, I know, so let me explain. I love the look of rust breeches, brown boots, wide hunting bridles, and tweed coats. But I also love modern design and comfortable fabrics. If Animo ever makes rust breeches, my pocketbook is in serious trouble.

This spring I decided it was about time to retire my well worn Ariat Volants and find a new pair of schooling boots. But this time I decided I wanted brown. Here’s where I should mention: I am picky. I really like a Spanish top, a slightly squared toe, elastic laces and I was super particular about what shade I wanted. Not too dark, not too red (my complaint with each of Ariat’s brown shades). I spent weeks pouring over every corner of the internet in search of just the right boot. Unfortunately I also had a budget of under $400. That ruled out just about everything. Custom brown Parlanti’s, how I love thee, but alas it just was not meant to be.

Finally I stumbled onto a Dutch website called Divoza. And there, shining like a beacon of all things fabulous, I found the Mondoni Kingston.

They were exactly the color I had in mind, plus they had all the modern styling. I spent some time googling to find out more about the brand (good luck deciphering Dutch message boards) and found out that Mondoni is Divoza’s house brand. So basically – that’s the only place I could get them. But they were only $225, so for that price I figured it was worth taking a gamble. Then began my obsession with the size chart and many back and forth emails with poor Divoza’s customer service reps. I formally apologize to them for being a pain the ass. But I finally figured out what size I needed, ordered them, and voila – 4 days later they arrived from the Netherlands. No kidding – Four. Days. Divoza had them on the truck and sent me a tracking number within an hour of me placing my order. Pretty amazing.

mondoni1

When I pulled them out of the box it was love at first zip. They were beautiful and fit pretty darn well. It’s now been 4 months and I still love them. Brown is fabulous. For the price these boots are pretty nice. Are they as nice as my Ariat Monaco’s? No. But they’re also a quarter of the price. I get compliments on them constantly, and just looking at them makes me happy. I’ve even shown in them a few times… having a jumper has it’s fashion perks.

sadie

I will say that brown requires a little more upkeep. I don’t know if I’m being overprotective but scratches and rubs seem to show more. I polish them about once a month with chocolate polish, which has given them a really beautiful rich color. I’m also not sure that they’ll survive many years of daily abuse, but they’re very comfortable and I can wear them all day with no complaints. And again – for such a reasonable price they still seem like a good value to me even if I only get a few years out of them.

The best part is that if you sign up for Divoza’s email newsletter, they send out a 25% off coupon code about once a month. That makes the boots only about $200 USD including shipping. Definitely a good buy for that price!