This post was going to be my top 5 favorite Henry faces of 2014, but once I started looking through pictures I realized I couldn’t narrow it down to 5. So instead I pulled out all of my favorites… mostly silly faces but a few more “normal” ones too. Please scroll down through them all then vote for your favorite at the end!
Vote away! I’ve allowed you to choose up to 3 different pictures, in case it’s too hard to pick just one.
It seems like I’ve had a lot of people ask me lately about breech sizing, especially in regard to Aztec Diamond. I decided to pull out all of my breeches (sadly my collection has dwindled since last fall, but I still have 11 pairs across several different brands. Caveat – a couple were given to me and either I don’t know the brand or I haven’t really worn or looked closely at them yet, so I did not include those here) to measure, compare, and photograph. I’ve tried to put as much information in here as I can think of regarding each brand, how they fit, how they wear, and main features. If there’s something I didn’t cover, please feel free to ask and I’ll add it in. Hopefully this helps someone out there! I took pictures of one pair of each brand so you can see what they look like on a real person vs a model. It’s very interesting to see pictures next to each other like this… you can really tell which ones are most flattering to me vs which ones are not!
2 pairs of low rise Trophy Hunter front zips, one knee patch euro seat (size 30R) one full seat (size 30L)
Fabric: 73% cotton 20% polyamide 7% lycra
Measurements (knee patch pair):
Waist: 15.5″
Hips: 19″
Rise: 11″
Inseam to bottom: 24″
Compared to 30L Trophy Hunter full seats: the full seats are 1/4″ smaller in the waist, hips 1″ smaller, inseam 2″ longer, rise is the same.
Features:
Velcro bottom
Two pockets
Belt loop size – 2 1/8″
no euro seat lining
Stain resistant (on a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being least resistant and 5 being most resistant): 2
Do they stretch out with wear: Yes
Are they stiff or soft out of the wash: Stiff, I usually toss in the dryer on no or low heat for a minute after they’re dry to soften them back up.
Do they dry quickly: Meh. Average.
Are they thick or thin: on the thinner side but not particularly thin
# of wears (approx): My knee patch pair I bought new last spring and have worn approx once a week since. The full seats I bought used and have worn twice myself.
Is there any fading? Yes. It’s not very noticeable with the tan obviously, but the green have already faded a good bit.
Is there any pilling? Not on the knee patch. There is a little pilling on the full seat material of the tan pair.
How well do they hide thigh cheese: Pretty well.
Any fit issues: The waist is a bit gappy on me, I have to wear a belt or they constantly slide down my hips. Especially since the more I wear them, the more they stretch and the worse they sag. Really a size 28 fits me best in the waist, but then the thighs are obscenely tight, so I buy to fit my thighs and deal with the gappy waist. Also – they always do that weird pointy thing to my butt. Always.
one pair of size I-42 and one pair of size I-44
Somehow I have two different sizes of these. The smaller ones were purchased when I was thinner, and although they’re tight now, they still fit. I know they’re two different models but they’re so old I don’t remember the names of them. If I’m able to find out I’ll come back and update.
Navy size I-42
Fabric: 90% polyamide 10% elastane, Euro seat lining 90% polyester 10% elastane.
Measurements:
Waist: 15″
Hips: 18″
Rise: 10″
Inseam to bottom: 27″
Inseam to start of sock bottom: 21″
Tan size I-44
Fabric: 90% polyamide 10% elastane, Euro seat lining 90% polyester 10% elastane.
Measurements:
Waist: 15.5″
Hips: 19″
Rise: 10″
Inseam to bottom: 27″
Inseam to start of sock bottom: 21″
Features:
4 pockets on the navy, 2 pockets on the tan
sock bottoms
lined euro seat for comfort/anti-chafing
belt loop size – 1 3/4″
silicone knee patches
Stain resistant (scale of 1-5): 4
Do they stretch out with wear: No
Do they dry quickly: Fairly quickly
Are they thick or thin: somewhere between average and a little bit thick
# of wears (approx): On the navy pair – a lot. I’ve had those for years and worn the heck out of them. On the tan pair – probably a dozen wears.
Is there any fading? The navy pair has just finally started to get the first beginning signs of fading.
Is there any pilling? At the back of the knee on both pair.
How well do they hide thigh cheese: Pretty well. The navy more than the tan, obviously. The fabric has an almost elastic feel to it that kind of helps to smooth out your more unfortunate areas.
Any fit issues: With the navy pair, no. The tan pair are just a hair big in the waist, so they can slide down a little without a belt. I’m really kind of in between an I-42 and I-44 right now.
Flight breeches and Houndstooth Luxe breeches, UK size 12
Fabric: 94% polyester 6% spandex, Euro seat lining 92% polyester 8% spandex
Measurements (the Flight breeches):
Waist 15.25″
Hips 18.5″
Rise 10.5″
Inseam to bottom 25″
Inseam to start of sock bottom 18″
Compared to Houndstooth pair: all identical measurements except Houndstooth are 1/2″ bigger in hips/upper thigh
Features:
4 pockets on Houndstooth
3 pockets on Flight
Belt loops: 1 3/4″
sock bottoms
silicone knee patches
lined euro seat for comfort/anti-chafing
Stain resistant (scale of 1-5): 4
Do they stretch out with wear: No
Are they stiff or soft out of the wash: Soft
Do they dry quickly: Very quickly
Are they thick or thin: on the thin side
# of wears (approx): The Houndstooth I got in the summer and have worn a lot since. They’re probably my favorite pair. The Flight I just got and have worn twice.
Is there any fading? No.
Is there any pilling? No.
How well do they hide thigh cheese: Pretty darn well.
Any fit issues: None, honestly. They fit like they were made for me and I find these to be the most comfortable.
2 pair of full seat breeches size 30
Fabric: main body 65% cotton, 30% poly, 5% elastane. Seat – 88% poly, 12% polyurethane.
Measurements (hot pink pair):
Waist: elastic lined. Not stretched – 14″. Stretched – 16″.
Hips: 17″, easily stretch to 19″
Rise: 11″
Inseam to bottom: 25″
Compared to same model in Tardis Blue: waist 1/4″ bigger in the blue pair, hips/rise/inseam identical.
Features:
Velcro bottom
2 pockets on one pair (pink), none on other (blue)
Belt loops: 1.5″
Stain resistant (scale of 1-5): 2
Do they stretch out with wear: Yes
Are they stiff or soft out of the wash: a little stiff, I usually toss in the dryer on no or low heat for a minute after they’ve line-dried to soften them back up.
Do they dry quickly: For full seats, decently quickly.
Are they thick or thin: on the thin side
# of wears (approx): Probably about equal on both pairs, around a dozen times each.
Is there any fading? Not yet.
Is there any pilling? Slight pilling behind the knee. A very slight fuzziness to the fabric has started as well.
How well do they hide thigh cheese: Not that well.
Any fit issues: I don’t think they’re very flattering around the tummy area, but they’re comfortable to wear.
one pair of Sit Tight Supreme full seat size Large
We have dubbed these “The Unfortunate Crotch Pants”. Luckily the crotch looks normal when you’re in a riding position, it’s just not so cute when you’re standing around. I was in between the size measurements of a Medium and a Large so I sized up rather than possibly end up with a gross thigh situation. That makes them a bit big for me in the tummy area.
Fabric: body 90% nylon 10% spandex, seat 82% PU 18% poly
Measurements:
Waist: elastic. 14.5″ unstretched, 16.5″ stretched
Hips: 19″ unstretched, 20″ stretched
Rise: 11.5″
Inseam to bottom: 29″
No other pair in this brand for sizing comparison
Features:
Neither velcro nor sock bottom – breeches taper to ankle
No pockets
Full seat is lined with Coolmax material
Belt loops: 2.25″
Stain resistant (scale of 1-5): I have not worn them yet so can’t comment on that. Will update after I wear them.
Do they stretch out with wear: see above
Are they stiff or soft out of the wash: see above again
Do they dry quickly: keep seeing above
Are they thick or thin: Thin. Like I don’t think I would wear these without an underlayer , but maybe I’m being paranoid. I’m not wearing an underlayer in the photo.
# of wears (approx): None.
Is there any fading? See first response.
Is there any pilling? Keep seeing it.
How well do they hide thigh cheese: Actually, for a thin white breech – better than you’d think. They are decently flattering on me (aside from the crotch), for what they are. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re actually all-out flattering, but they aren’t bad.
Any fit issues: The big hips/tummy in comparison to thighs. Wish they were a little smaller up top. Also, they’re quite long. I’m 5’6″ and they work ok for me but I’d imagine a short person would have a lot of extra fabric to deal with.
If anyone else wants to participate and has other brands or other sizes, please send me the info and I will keep adding to this guide for reference. Hope this helps!
I know that a Texan complaining about winter is a lot like a Canadian complaining about summer, but man… we’re heat-acclimated… cold sucks. It sucks even more when it won’t stop raining.
Indoor and covered arenas aren’t that common in Texas, so when it gets really cold (which for us is 30’s) and wet (it’s never going to stop raining) we’re basically just grounded. I got to ride my horse two whole times last week. In the freezing cold and blistering wind, wearing pretty much every layer I own, and the second day was in drizzly sleet/rain. That was quite enough for both me and Henry I think. Of course, then it rained all weekend so now even though it’s warmed up a bit, it’s too slick and muddy to ride anyway. Whatever, I give up.
Luckily Friday’s mail day completely saved my otherwise epically grumpy mood. A package from PS of Sweden AND a package from Mango Bay! Plus on Thursday I had gotten my Aztec Diamond shipment from their awesome after Christmas 50% off sale, and Henry’s omeprazole. The PS package contained the blue Metallic Rock browband and a High Five breastplate, which I had to immediately run out to the barn and try on Henry. I’ll cover the details of the breastplate in a separate post once I get to play with it a little more.
So much fun stuff for me to sit inside and stare at lovingly – or in the case of the breastplate, hold up to my face and inhale deeply for a few minutes at a time for some leather aromatherapy. Take that, winter.
And guess what this beautiful bundle is? Since SO was home when it got delivered (not that I’m stalking UPS or anything) I immediately made him open it and send me a picture.
Ta-da!!!
The only semi-perk of no real barn time is that there’s plenty of gym time, so I’ve been able to stay on track with the fitness goal pretty well with swimming and spin class. I completed week 1 of 0 to 1650 and started week 2. I used this program a few years ago when I was triathlon training to increase my endurance… it worked great then and is working just as well now. Week 1 Day 1 was hard, but week 2 Day 1 was so easy I skipped some of the rest breaks. The improvement comes so quickly and easily with swimming, I wish riding was like that! Brandy and I braved the “Ice Storm” (there were tiny icicles on my deck furniture) Saturday morning to hit spin class with what is, so far, the only instructor we like. We’re basically stalking him at this point as he travels from gym to gym for classes. At the end of every class he makes sure to tell us to get some protein within the next 30 minutes, so Brandy and I went to brunch after class and this happened. That’s protein, right? My hot chocolate was worth every calorie.
Otherwise the weekend was a lot of hand grazing and hand walking and warm grain mashes for dinner for Henry. He really loves his dinner in mash form, and I really love sneaking in as much water as possible in what is a higher colic risk time. I get a “free” half bucket just from soaking his dinner. Luckily he’s a good drinker anyway but a little more never hurt.
This week looks very un-promising for me riding wise. Today everything is still really wet, and I start barn-sitting tomorrow so I won’t have time to go out to the barn again until Sunday. Luckily Brandy volunteered to be his adopted slavewoman mom for the week and throw him extra hay, give him his Omeprazole, and ride him if it ever dries out.
I’m off to a good start with personal goal #4 for 2015. Yesterday we figured out our itinerary for our Belgium/Paris trip in March and booked our flights. I never squeal with excitement about anything but I’m squealing myself senseless on the inside right now.
A couple days/nights in Paris, a day and a couple nights in Brussels, 3 days and 2 nights in Gesves. At least one tack shop trip planned, a few farm tours (Nabab de Reve, anyone?), and the sBs Selection Show. That’s basically as good as any horsey vacation can get, and even better to be doing it with a couple of good friends. Many eternal thanks to Rising Star Farm for the opportunity… it’s once in a lifetime. Of course, I really really hate flying so I might need a whole suitcase full of Xanax, but it’s worth it. Especially for the food, and I think my friend and fellow traveler Michelle agrees…
This is why we’re friends.
Looks like I’ll also be in Philadelphia at the end of January for the AETA trade show/market. My friend Megan, owner of Luxe EQ, asked me to come along to help scout new product lines and check out all the new products coming out from her current suppliers. I am very flattered that she trusts my opinion and thinks I have good enough taste to want to bring me along. Three days roaming around a giant room full of cool horse stuff? Um… yes. Yes times a million. It’s both extremely awesome and extremely dangerous, especially when you check out the companies that will be in attendance. I have a feeling I’m going to look a lot like this the entire time:
I’m sure I will take a few thousand pictures and find at least a couple dozen things that I NEED. Brace yourselves, blog land.
On a different note, thanks everyone for all the supportive comments and messages from yesterday’s post. Henry got a nice big serving of hay last night and both blankets, since we got a ridiculous cold front. He’s warm and toasty with plenty to munch on.
Henry also says thanks to auntie SprinklerBandit for selling his mom some new dressage boots. He loffs them. Well, I loff them, which means he’s required to love them too.
As you have probably already read, barn/blogger friend Brandy of Auf der Autobahn and I joined the gym in December and have been hitting spin class hot and heavy. I used to spin all the time but haven’t in a year or so, and as I get back into it I’m starting to remember all the fun experiences you only get by partaking in spin. And since it’s the beginning of January, aka Gym Season, I figured now is the time to publicly explore all that spin has to offer.
The people:
Or even worse, the instructor who thinks he’s in the Tour de France. “C’mon team, who wants that yellow jersey? Let’s go get it!”. You have got to be freaking kidding me right? “Hill climb! The Alps are beautiful!”. I’m sure they are. Unfortunately we’re in a tiny stinky room in a semi-decrepit old gym in the middle of Austin. And no I do not want to high five you after class, I’m never coming back here again because you’re obviously a complete nutjob.
We had a lady in last Saturday’s class who looked like she walked straight out of an 80’s Jazzercize video… short hair with the sweatband around her head pushing the hair up, big bright white sneakers and a super colorful top. I think she considered herself Queen of Spin, because she WOOHOO’d just about every two minutes. At 10:00am. On a Saturday. I spent the entire class daydreaming about choking her out with that damn sweatband.
The experience:
Right before your heart explodes, when you’re on death’s doorstep, motivational exercise quotes start flashing before your eyes in rapid succession.
This is also when you think, “I’m not sure which is stupider – me or spin class. What a bunch of idiots we all are…”
The aftermath:
First you go home and whine about it. Bonus points if you also whine on facebook.
But the fun really begins when you wake up the next day
and you’re not so steady on your feet.
But hey… you can burn 400-800 calories in an hour long spin class. So get your butt to spin and have a few more donuts, it’ll all equal out in the end. And if you eat them right before class you’ll probably puke them up anyway.
breedrideevent.com 