When you say you breed sporthorses but the foals are still trying to figure out exactly which sport they were bred for.
How many different sports do you see represented here by Quinlee? I count 6…
Happy Friday!
Foal Friday: Sporthorse
Category: Uncategorized
Bloghop: 20 (very random) questions
Thank goodness for Anxiety at A because I was definitely not prepared for a Battle Royale Review this week and this is a much quicker, easier, and more fun replacement. We haven’t had a blog hop like this circulating in quite a while it feels like. We’ll get back to the reviews next week when I’m more organized with things, but for now I thought there were some really good questions in this blog hop!
1: What is one of your favorite brands specifically for your horse, and why?
Majyk Equipe would be high up on the list, especially if we’re talking sheer volume and range of what I own from the brand. I’ve got their XC boots x 2, their sport boots x 3, their ice boots, their jump boots x 3, saddle pads, etc etc. I’ve had great luck with their products and they’re great people, so win-win. Next would probably be Premier Equine, but really just their merino wool saddle pads. I have 5 and it’s about time to order a new round of them, they’re by far my most used pad and they’ve held up so well.
2. If you were given a gift card for a tack shop with unlimited funds, what would you buy first?
I would normally say a saddle but since I just bought a new saddle (which is on it’s way here from France as we speak) I guess I’m not allowed to say that anymore. Or bridles, since I have like 12 (If I have unlimited funds though I’d prob need this one to make it an even 13, ya know?). I’d probably pick up a couple nice super fancy sheepskin girths for Gemma and then I’d march my dumb ass straight into Romitelli and buy like 3 more pairs of tall boots that I don’t need but definitely want. It’s a sickness.
3. What horse event/clinic do you really want to audit or participate in? (Events like Equine Affaire, or the LRK3DE, or even local events, etc)
I love spectating big events and I’ve been lucky to see some major ones, but the big ones left on my bucket list are Millstreet 4* in Ireland, Lion d’Angers 6 and 7yo World Championships in France, and Aachen in Germany. Someday!
4. What is something your horse has taught you that you didn’t expect to learn?
That I have to stop worrying about what everyone else does or what we think we’re “supposed” to do, and pay more attention to what I actually want to do. Life is too short to live by someone else’s rules and ideas.
5. If you could take your horse anywhere, right now, to do anything, where would you go and what would you do?
Hunting in Ireland. But like their baby version, not the one with 7′ hedges and giant canals. Oooo or team chasing looks really fun.
6. What are your favorite colors to put on your horse? (think saddle pads, tack colors, browbands, etc.)
Navy. Navy navy navy. And black. Or Navy. Black and Navy. With black or navy glitter.
7. What is your least favorite equestrian brand?
Ooooo we out here throwin hands! Buuut… probably Tailored Sportsman. I refuse to give those people one hot cent of my money, they are astonishingly awful to both retailers and customers. Millbrook Leathers would rank high up there too due to some really not-great things they’ve posted on their social media. Oh what’s that awful pyramid scheme company run by felons that brews their injectable “joint supplement” without any FDA regulation… Summit! That’s it. Hard fucking pass absolutely the fuck not. KEP Helmets after that insane debacle a few years back with their falling-apart helmets and how they responded to it. I’m sure there are more that I’ve written off and completely forgotten about.
8. If you could change one thing about your discipline, what would it be?
Improve safety for horse and rider.
9. Did you grow up in an ag/equestrian familiar family, or are you the first person in your family to step foot in a barn?
Nope I’m from a family of muggles.
10. Do you like the bit that is in your horse’s mouth currently or do you want to try a new one?
My horses go in different bits (or different bitless setups) depending on a variety of things. Right now I’m happy with what each of them is in (Henry mostly goes in the bitless, Gemma is in a Myler comfort snaffle, Presto is in a HS WH Ultra Sensogan), but if I wasn’t I’d change it up.
11. If you could change one thing about your horse, what would it be?
I’d make Henry live forever, Presto not be a walking vet bill 24/7, and turn Gemma into an easy keeper.
12. What is one thing about horses you are weirdly obsessed with? (i.e wrapping techniques, footing, grooming, hair care, clippers, saddles, etc)
I’m sure I’m weirdly obsessed with lots of things by other people’s standards but I can’t think of one thing that ranks above most other things to me. I’d say I’m particular about… almost everything. I just have preferences after all this time.
13. What is the most advanced horse you have ever ridden, or what is the most advanced move for your discipline you have done?
I got to ride some really nice GP jumpers when I was a teenager, and I’ve sat on a couple upper level eventers (3* and 4*) and a GP dressage horse! Oh and a pretty nice cutting horse, which was really fun.
14. What is your favorite type of reins?
Rubber, but not too thick and not the cheap shitty ones that melt in the heat.
15. What are you a diva/stickler about in terms of equipment quality?
A lot of things. Mostly I hate really shitty leather, especially the stiff dry stuff that just never breaks in well or molds to horse or rider. Life is too short for shitty leather. I also don’t like things that aren’t designed well for the horse’s anatomy or comfort (like saddle pads with no wither cut, or badly placed seams, etc etc). I feel the same way about riding clothes with regards to fabric and fit.
16. What is your favorite barn hack you learned?
uh. I have no idea what I do that would even qualify as a barn hack… I feel like most of the “barn hack” posts I see are just full of DUH things. Like the one about how to kink a hose to stop the flow of water. You gotta be shittin me.
17. What is your least favorite piece of equipment and why?
If I see one more person put a curb chain on an elevator bit and then use it with one rein on the bottom of the gag, usually waterskiing on their horse’s mouth while running cross country, I swear to Jesus (and what a coincidence, 99.99999 times out of 100 the person with that setup also has really bad hands and gaping holes in their flatwork).
18. If your horse was a character from a Disney movie, who would they be?
I admittedly have not watched a Disney movie in forever but based on what I can remember of them off the top of my head Gemma = Princess Merida, Henry and Presto… I don’t think this is a Disney movie but it’s animated so I’m saying it counts – Henry is Shrek and Presto is the Donkey.
19. If you could change one thing about the property you are at right now with your horses, what would it be?
Mostly I’d just fast forward 5 years to when all the projects will be complete. This place is STUNNING and has such great bones, it was just a bit neglected and run down, so it’ll take time to get it back to it’s former glory and then mold it into what we’re eventually envisioning for the facility. One of the first big things is pasture maintenance! Gotta get rid of the weeds and get the grass lush again.
20. What is the purchase that you regret in the horse world?
The air vest that I bought when I first started eventing because that trainer at the time said it was essential, so I listened to her and bought one before I started researching things for myself and asking my own questions. Never did wear that thing, finally sold it a few years ago.
Deliverables
This month marked the official launch of the next phase of Breed.Ride.Compete. and perhaps the part that I was most excited to roll out – the custom pedigree reports. In my head it sounded like a really cool idea, but of course I am a breeding nerd so I always think stuff like that sounds really cool. I had absolutely no clue how it would be received by the public in general though, or if anyone would actually even buy one. I also wasn’t 100% sure just how long they would take me… I wanted to get a handful done first and see how they went.
When we opened the listing for sales, we set the quantity at 5 and I figured we’d give it a couple weeks and see how they went. It was pretty shocking to me to sell out in about an hour. Shocking but in a good way, because you have no idea how delighted I am to see how interested people are in this stuff. The whole point behind starting BRC in the first place was to make breeding info more accessible and help raise public interest/help increase knowledge.
The level of interest was a complete surprise to me for sure, but it’s also invigorating. If people are excited about this, I want to make sure that what they’re getting is something worth the excitement. Plus if I’m going to dedicate my time and energy to it and put my brand name on it, I want it to be something that I’m really proud of and pleased with. Not boring, not half-assed, not decent, but I literally want every document to be THE BEST I can do.
Which is how something that was originally conceptualized as being fairly simple in design and maybe 3-5 pages long has ended up being… um, not that. I dunno who’s surprised to hear that, but I’m sure not. I spent a relatively embarrassing amount of time tweaking the template, playing with layout and colors and the flow of the document, and what I wanted on each page. Charts, infographics… you name it, it’s probably in there. Once I popped I couldn’t stop. And do you know how many times I changed the navy by like the tiniest shade? Yeah no I’m not gonna tell you, you’ll have me committed. Did I completely miss Foal Friday last week because I was so focused on that? Indeed I did. Didn’t even realize it until Sunday. I’ll make it up to you this week, I promise.
But once I got the template in place (I mean, as much in place as it can be, every report will be a bit different depending on where the research takes me) I was finally off and running. The first two reports are now complete and have been delivered, and I’m currently working on the third. And so far, I’m actually enjoying myself. This is the fun nerd shit that I LOVE, following endless rabbit trails into oblivion, and it’s extra fun when I stumble across a juicy little tidbit of info that I know the owner will be excited about. On the other hand, I’ve also prooooobably underestimated how much time I’m really going to end up spending on these. I’m going to have to rethink the price point a bit, lest I end up not even paying myself minimum wage (which is how it’s trending at the moment). I’m certainly not trying to get rich by doing these, but also it’s a lot of effort and at the end of the day I have to make it at least somewhat worth my time in order to justify it at all.
Once I finish the rest of this first batch I’ll have a better idea of just how long they’re taking on average but I do know that so far they’ve ended up being 7-9 pages rather than 3-5. Technically I could scale it back but then it’s not as thorough as I want it to be, and if it’s not thorough why even bother?
We’ll open up spots for more reports in July but again in a limited number (the last thing I want to do is overpromise and underdeliver) and probably will end up having to raise the price a little bit. On one hand I don’t want to do that at all, because I want people excited about breeding and I want people to have this information. But I also have to be careful how much of myself I’m giving away. Honestly not a bad problem to have though, since in my head I thought we’d be lucky to sell 5 in the first month at all, so… I’ll take it! It’s been really fun to bring the idea to life.
But Will There Be Tacos
The truly gross heat finally made it to Florida last week and now I’m officially willing to say that it’s hot. Still doesn’t have that “searing the insides of your lungs” quality that Texas has, but by the time I’m done riding in the morning I am well and truly soaked with sweat, usually dripping a trail behind me wherever I go.
Because of that, we’ve made some adjustments to our routine.
I’ve started riding earlier, and then feeding after I ride. This means I’m on the first horse by 6:30 and they get fed around 9. I go out at 5:50ish, throw them a flake of alfalfa, come back in and eat breakfast and change, and then go back out to grab the first horse. They’re still getting used to this, and seem slightly offended to be the last horses on the farm to get fed. Presto in particular was PISSED AS HELL the first day.
He had a tantrum of fairly epic proportions that day. It’s hard being 5. I told him he should write a letter to the ASPCA, maybe they’d come save him from this clearly abusive situation.
I’ve also upped their salt intake and started soaking some pellets to go in their meals. Presto and Gemma are excellent sweaters, which is great, but they also do sweat A LOT in the humidity, so I want to make sure they’re staying hydrated. Henry of course is not a great sweater, so as soon as it gets above 90 degrees he has to come inside, get hosed off, and stand in front of his fans eating hay all afternoon like the absolutely rotten princess that he is. And since he has to come in, they all have to come in, so they’re all rotten princesses by default. Afternoon shower with a buffet and nap time in front of a fan. These other half-feral 24/7 pasture dwellers around here wouldn’t even know what to do with that.
I’ve also backed off on the intensity of their rides a bit. I’m still riding them as often, but I’m careful not to get them too hot. Gemma and Presto cope with it pretty well, but I’m definitely quite careful with Henry. On the days that I ride him, I always ride him first, and I keep the actual “work” parts of his rides short and sweet.
We’ve also taken the opportunity to do a lot of hacking. Gemma and Presto have both had an excursion in the “snackamore” now, and they were both very good. Gemma loves to explore, and we’ve been checking out the big empty front pasture and it’s little mini-swamp. I’m determined to find a gator but so far no luck. Since Henry is a more trustworthy and very road-broke horse, I’ve been walking him farther and farther down the roads in each direction, exploring the neighborhood. He thinks that’s pretty fun.
This past weekend was the first Saturday night GP of the summer season, so I met up with a local friend at WEC for tacos and showjumping. That’s my version of a fantastic social outing. Granted, my friend suggested the showjumping, I suggested the tacos… I have priorities, ok? I got there at 6:30, made a beeline for the taco place, and by 7 I was settling into my seat with a lap full of food. I wasn’t sure how packed it would be since it was the first one of the summer (on one hand, it’s been a few months since the last Saturday night GP, on the other hand, the first week or two of this series isn’t as highly attended) but there were plenty of seats. We got front and center right by the triple combination and I was definitely living my best life. The tacos alone were enough to make me happy. WEC does a pretty darn decent food game, I gotta be honest, pretty much everything I’ve had from the various restaurants there has been good. The taco place is my favorite though.
Yesterday afternoon we finally got some rain, which helped cool things down tremendously. Once that storm passed it dropped the temperature 20 blessed degrees. It was glorious. I’d brought the horses in during the storm, and when I went to turn them back out they were all WILD AF. Even Henry was doing dolphin laps in his paddock.
Today is a little cooler, which is nice, because it’s farrier day. Off to meet him now. Hope everyone else had a great weekend and isn’t melting too badly, wherever you are!
Review Battle Royale: Schooling Breeches Edition
Wooo boy, everyone’s favorite thing! Well ok, it’s a love/hate relationship really, isn’t it? Breeches are fun and we love collecting them in all the colors, but also finding just the right fabric, fit, and features for you can be… annoying AF. Like how many pairs of breeches do you own that are aaallllmost perfect, but not quite? I don’t think I have yet to even find exactly the PERFECT pair. Especially because most people’s bodies and weight fluctuate, which affects fit, plus if you’re anything like me you go through phases of what you like to wear, PLUS the changing seasons… I’m not sure the ONE perfect pair of breeches exists. Not to mention the fact that we all have different preferences, shapes, sizes, climates, etc. Luckily there are A LOT of options on the market, and it’s more and more possible to find something to suit just about anyone and any scenario. The bad part is, there are A LOT of options on the market. It can be overwhelming.
I’ve always got an eye out for ones that I might like to try, so I figured… let’s go through my current collection and talk about them, what I like and don’t like, and then do the impossible task of trying to pick a favorite. It’s a Battle Royale, we gotta be ruthless like that. I’m not touching the tights for this one, I don’t feel like that’s quite an apples to apples comparison for me, so, this is just the breeches and just the ones that are in my schooling collection, not the show breeches. I have some that are definitely not your typical Ariat, Dover, TS, Smartpak, Romfh, or whatever else is popular these days so maybe there are some hidden gems in here for someone. I’ve talked about some of them before, but not all of them, and my opinion has probably morphed a bit based on others, so… let’s just do a reboot.
These are a newer addition to the fleet, my “splurge” item from Kentucky. I had zero intention of buying this and felt a lot of guilt about it for a couple days afterward, but that all evaporated pretty quickly once I rode in them a couple times. These are just… chef’s kiss. The fabric is stretchy and comfortable, thin enough to not be too hot, but also not so thin that they show every ass dimple. The green color is PERFECT (almost no one gets green right, I swear) and I quite like the silver glitter trim. Every single time I post pics with these someone asks me what they are. I love them. The downside is that they’re expensive… regular retail is $290, but creative googling can find them for less sometimes. I have to say though, I think they’re worth it. I love them. They’re European sizing, so add 10 to your normal US size (I’m a 28 US/38 Euro).
I have two pairs of these and really like them. They’re definitely an Equiline dupe, but honestly I like them more. The fabric is way better and I think the fit is more suitable for a fuller-figured (read: has thigh meat) person. The price point is also significantly better at $130 USD regular price. The bad news is that you can only buy these from Epplejeck, which is in the Netherlands. The good news is, they have sales ALL THE TIME and their shipping is reasonable. I have two complaints about these: 1) I wish they came in knee patch. Luckily the full seat is not very grippy so I’m fine with it, but I still prefer knee patch in general. 2) I wish they came in more/better colors without the contrasting trim. It makes it hard for my brain to put acceptable outfits together with the rose gold trim on my navy and burgundy ones. They do say that these run small – I wear a 40. For how much they cost, they’re really nice pants.
Despite the fact that I got an Espoir show coat last fall at Maryland (I’m seeing a trend with 5*’s causing me to buy shit) these breeches really weren’t on my radar at all until recently. I know the US distributor for the brand, and when Hillary and I were getting ready to do our white breeches vlog for Patreon she offered to send us a pair of the whites to borrow for that. When I got them out of the package I thought I would hate them, so imagine my extreme surprise when they turned out to be my favorite (and a favorite of the group of us involved in the try-ons in general). They’re just… so neat. The stock photos do them no justice whatsoever. The design and cut is nothing I’ve seen on another breech, it makes them extremely flattering and comfortable. The fabric is stretchy but still has structure to it. I LOVE the glitter piping details and the cell phone pocket on the side. My only complaint is that I think the waistband could be a touch wider. Still though, I liked the whites enough to get these in navy and black and I wear them A LOT. I do find the sizing to be a little off on the site though… these are Italian sizing, and in my experience a US 28 is an I-42 or I-44 depending on the brand. They say that their I-40 is a US 28, but… that’s not how they fit for me. I got my normal Italian size of I-42 and they’re perfect.
These could technically probably go in the leggings category too, but they do have a zipper and buttons so they call them a breech. I think of them as a bit of a hybrid – they have the styling and features of breeches but the fabric (and pockets) of tights. There’s a lot I like about these. They’re lightweight, super stretchy fabric, comfortable to wear, the mesh sock bottom is super breathable, I love having a cell phone pocket on each side, and they’re flattering. For true summer weather the fabric is hard to beat. There are a couple things I don’t like, though. Mainly having to do with the waist. I feel like they come up too high in the front, like they should be cut lower there. Once you’re sitting in the saddle the front rides up, and to me where it sits is annoying and makes an unflattering silhouette in the front. The waist also has a thin band of a elastic inside of it to help keep them up and I find that to be a little annoying too. These are still probably my favorite legging type breech that I’ve come across though, and at $90 the price is right. I have a Medium in these, but could probably size down to a Small… maybe that would help my annoyance with the rise (but not the annoyance with the elastic).
Horze Aubrey
I’ve talked about these before, and they’re still a staple in my collection. I don’t wear them as much as some of the others, but I do like them. The rise is a little higher than I prefer but the fabric and fit are good and they’re light enough for summer. To their credit, they’re holding up to my abuse well. I still don’t like the ridiculously long pockets but for a lower budget breech these are pretty solid. I think they have discontinued these, which Horze loves to do with literally anything I like, and yes I’m salty about it. As with most breeches in these brand, they run big – I wear a 26.
I just bought these off someone secondhand last week, but I’ve worn them a couple times so I wanted to at least include them since they’re so cheap. For the price, they’re pretty decent. The fabric is lightweight (is it the most flattering? No.) and they’re cut for people that have some curve to them, especially larger hips/thighs. They do run small IMO, unless the ones I got were shrunken somehow… the size 30 fits me pretty well, I think a 28 would be like sausage casing. They do stretch out when you wear them though, so there’s that. Are they in the same realm as my Harcour or Espoir? No. Do they wash as nicely as my others? No. Are they totally acceptable for a budget breech? I think so, yeah. Not bad, HKM. They won’t be a favorite but I’m not mad about them.
If you want stretchy, these are your jam. I like the fabric, although I wish it did have just a taaaad more structure. To be fair, the ones I have are a size too big now, so that’s probably not helping my feelings. I also think, like the Horze, that the rise is a little higher than I prefer, but they are advertised as high rise and I have learned I prefer a mid. They’re nice breeches, and in the solid middle of the road price range. They come in lots of colors too, which is always a plus. IMO they do run a bit long, for whatever that’s worth. I’ve liked them enough to keep them (which is saying a lot in and of itself because I’m annoyingly picky) but again they aren’t my go-to. If they were a size smaller and a mid-rise this might be a different conversation.
Gah this is hard. It’s taken me days of back and forth bickering with myself.
Espoir Inspire
In the end, it’s the pocket that gave the Espoirs that final nudge. I have become absolutely addicted to having that cell phone pocket when I’m riding, and it’s why I wear my Espoir breeches the most. The Harcour are an extremely close (like… by a HAIR) second. I think I like the fabric of the Harcour more (and the color… oh man the color is divine) but the styling and design of the Espoir is really genius. Naturally they’re both the most expensive members of my collection, because my ass has champagne taste. We’ve known this for a while.
breedrideevent.com 