I mean, mid-February is basically spring in Texas, so it makes sense. I volunteered at an event yesterday from 7:30-4:30, and only remembered to slap on a little sunscreen at noon when I turned in the materials for one job and picked up the materials for the next. Thank goodness for sunshirts, but the left side of my face and both of my hands are pretty pink today. Awkward sunburns are a basic part of equestrian life, right?

I was originally going to enter this show, but… um… totally forgot to send my entry in until a couple weeks before. By that point there was a wait list a mile long so I didn’t even bother, and instead emailed the volunteer coordinator and offered myself up for the day. Then of course last week there was a chance of rain in the forecast and a ton of people scratched at the last minute (we need to talk, Texas eventers, I mean come on…) so I actually WOULD have gotten in. But oh well. And all of that was completely for nothing, really, because the weather was absolutely perfect and the footing held up really well.

Originally I was supposed to work Bit Check in the morning and then XC jump judge in the afternoon, but then they needed someone to fill in as a Warmup Steward for dressage and I got plugged into that hole. I used to get the little morning jobs that were un-eff-up-able (like scoresheet runner) but this one was like… legit responsibility. I got stuck in some traffic just a few minutes away from the venue and took the opportunity to review the job description again.

Pine Hill has the absolute best volunteer program. They have videos about each job, as  well as in-depth written instructions. You know your assignments at least a couple days in advance, so you can review all of the materials before you get there and show up feeling a little more educated and confident about what you need to do. Plus there’s a nifty rewards program for their volunteers where you earn various little pieces of  “Pine Hill” gear as you accumulate hours. In my previous years as an eventer I’d done pretty much the bare minimum of volunteering, and mainly just as an XC jump judge (because that’s the easiest and most fun job if you’re an eventer). I’ve really enjoyed getting more involved in volunteering over the last year though, and I’ve definitely developed a greater appreciation of and respect for all of the people that are necessary to make an event happen. We are a sport that relies very heavily on a large force of volunteers, it’s really so important.

I survived the morning as Warmup Steward without any real issues, thanks to riders being on point and paying attention. We wrapped up about 10 minutes early, which gave me ample time to hike back up the hill, pee, grab my chair, and go pick up my stuff for jump judging. I’ve pretty much never been at a jump that had many problems before, so when I saw that I had the water I was like “oh boy”. And there were definitely a few issues there throughout the day, a couple falls and some refusals, but all things considered it went pretty well. It’s extra fun to watch the water at a show that has a lot of green horses or less experienced riders… there were tons of very excited GOOD BOY’s and GOOD GIRL’s and celebrations when riders were proud of how their mount handled it. I’ve been there and know how that feels, so it’s cute to watch.

It was a long day, leaving my house at 5:30am and getting home at 6:30pm. I was tiiiiiiiiiiiired when I got home… like… more tired than if I had actually shown. It was worth it though. You can’t ask for much more than a beautiful day spent amongst friends and horses, even if I am a little bit pink (in patches) today.

Before we get into today’s post, don’t forget that Riding Warehouse is having their 15% off President’s Day sale and Luxe Eq is having a sale on white shirts and breeches! Buy yourself something nice and call it a belated Valentine’s Day present.

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Alright, time to get down to business. I’ve had my Ego7 boots in heavy use for almost 6 months now, and the Tucci’s in less regular use for closer to a year. A lot of people have been asking how they’re holding up, especially the Ego7’s, and I think we’re far enough in at this point to where I can give a good assessment. First up, the Ego7 (I have the brown Orion).

I wanted these boots for a few main reasons:

1) I really love my Tucci’s, and Ego7 is designed by the same guy.

2) I wanted a darker chocolate brown boot this time, since I didn’t really like the way that my lighter brown boots had worn over time.

3) They had a ton of size options. Most of the other “off the rack” brown boots are way too short for me.

I bought these while we were over in Germany. No one here had the brown ones yet, and it was cheaper to buy them over there. Not knowing how their sizing ran, I probably would not have just bought them online from overseas, but since we were there I took advantage of the opportunity.

Overall I’m really happy with how these are holding up. I wear them daily (and sometimes on XC at shows), don’t take very good care of them, and they still look really good. They were so damn tight for the first few weeks that I’m honestly kind of shocked the zippers and elastic gusset held up to that. They really shouldn’t have. I have no freaking idea how that German guy at the tack shop got those things zipped up over my jeans the day that I bought them, because Jesus H it was a struggle in the beginning just for me to get them zipped over breeches. It kind of defied the laws of physics there for a while.

Ultimately I do think I needed a size bigger in the calf, and a smidge taller height (I like my boots really tall, so these are fine but… could be taller). They’ve stretched now and I can zip them without too much effort, but the left ankle remains a little bit tighter than I prefer, and I can’t get them zipped over my thicker winter breeches. If you fall in between calf sizes according to the chart, I’d recommend sizing up.

They’re comfortable boots though, and while the leather isn’t what I would consider top end, it’s appropriate for the price range. The design on these boots is pretty great, from the three-level spur rest to the full lining to the comfort tongue inside the back of the ankle. The dark chocolate brown color is definitely easier to maintain than my old lighter brown boots used to be. The color is still perfectly uniform, no rubs or fading anywhere, and I’ve been especially impressed with how durable the E-Tex inner calf panel is holding up. I was a little skeptical of that feature since it’s a synthetic material, but it’s got literally ZERO wear. None. It’s not even worn smooth, the grain is still perfectly intact. I dunno what that shit is… Teflon coated with unicorn poop or something, but I feel pretty confident saying that these things are going to wear like iron. For a mid-range boot, they’ve definitely been a solid buy for me so far.

As for the Tucci’s, well… they’re everything good about the Ego7 but take the comfort up a notch, increase the leather quality, and add a whole bunch of ridiculously amazing Italian decadence. The Ego7’s are solid boots but the Tucci’s somehow manage to take rugged durability and combine it with pure luxury. Sure, they took a little longer to break in than something like a Parlanti, but they also won’t fall apart in a year either. I can wear them all day at a horse show with no complaints – hell, I’ve even walked XC in them and not even realized it. They are absolutely beautiful, impeccably made, really comfortable, extremely durable, and the fit is perfect. I wore them daily for a few months after I got them, before I got the Ego7, and then set them aside to save for shows (although sometimes I wear them for lessons or on cold days with my winter breeches since the Ego7 don’t fit over them).

You can customize the Tucci’s a few different ways with different colors or finishes… I got the Marilyn model with a navy plain leather top, and while it seems like a lot of detail, it’s actually quite subtle. You can’t see all the punch/wingtip detailing or the navy until you’re up close. They’re definitely “wild” by hunter ring standards, but for the rest of the world they’re kind of the perfect mix between fun and conservative. I get compliments on these things all the time.

Yeah sure, all the punch detailing is a little more work to keep clean. I added a toothbrush to my boot cleaning/polishing kit and it’s worked just fine. Totally worth the 2% of extra effort for me, but if you don’t like that there is a regular field boot or regular dress boot model that are both just as nice. I love these boots so much that it’s a little ridiculous, and I’m especially impressed by how well they’re holding up. My favorite feature is the snap system that holds the zipper in place at the top. It’s genius, it’s easy, and it works. If I could afford it I would get the brown Marilyn’s too and call it a complete collection. They are head and shoulders above my previous Ariat Monocos, without a doubt. Worth every penny. If you’re looking for a solid, high end boot that is beautiful and comfortable yet also rugged enough to last a long time, definitely look at Tucci.

It’s no secret that I love my boys. We all love our ponies, right? And our dogs, and cats, and donkeys, and goats, and whatever else may be in a horse person’s menagerie. I’ve noticed that we tend to collect animals. We also tend to collect art of our favorite animals. Everything from the more typical paintings and drawings, to the more “creative” like, um… crochet ponies or glassware or socks or jewelry or belts. Yes, I think those things totally count as art too.

Throughout the years I have accumulated all of those things, related to one horse or another (and, somehow, lots of stuff featuring the corgi). If you can put my horse or my horse’s name on it, I probably want it. In my world there is no such thing as too many ponies. Henry and Presto wallpaper? Let’s do it, the whole house. The SO might disagree on that one though. Party pooper.

Currently I’ve really got most of my horse-related art on the walls in the guest room. Most of my paintings from Michelle are in there, with some of Henry’s ribbons. Another bedroom (that we currently use as storage) has a charcoal drawing of one of my old horses, and my favorite photo of Sadie hangs in the hallway between the entryway and our bedroom.

I’ve also got a couple of glasses that Michelle painted, featuring Presto and Henry. Having a friend that likes to paint for fun (and is super good at it!!!) is a huge perk. If I lived alone I would probably ask her to paint a life-size canvas of both boys for every room in the house and just call it a day. I’m kidding. Probably. (no I’m not)

There are also the Hamer & Clay ornaments, of which I have a decent collection going.

The one thing I don’t have is tattoos of my horses, mostly because a) if I started putting all my horses on my body I would run out of space, b) I haven’t come across an artist that I trust enough to really capture them accurately. I do have a tattoo of A horse, but it’s Fledge, the first flying horse of Narnia. Because if the rest of this post hasn’t convinced you that I am a nerd, the quarter sleeve devoted to literature (actually all but one of my tattoos are devoted to some kind of literature…) will surely do it.

Do socks count as art? I say yes. My Henry XC-face socks (officially my “cross country day” socks for 2018) remain, in my opinion, one of the best things I’ve ever bought. Yes, put my pony’s picture on items of apparel, please and thank you. The best part of these bad boys is the reaction people have when they first notice them.

Last month Because Pony had a sale on her digital drawings, and once I saw how cute Hillary‘s turned out, I had to commission two of my own. I mean… who wouldn’t want little cartoon interpretations of their horses? Okay fine, maybe I’m a child. But when you have horses as, um, expressive as my two nerds, it’s kind of fitting. And I have to say, she absolutely nailed both of them.

There’s screaming Presto:

And derping Henry:

Now I’m trying to decide what to do with the files. I could have them printed and framed, I just don’t know where exactly I’d put them. I did already order a nice vinyl sticker of each of them, to put on my Stanley trunk. They definitely make great stickers. These are so cute though, I feel like they need more physical representation than that. So…what to do, what to do?

What kind of art do you guys have of your ponies? Any fun new “outside the box” stuff out there that I definitely NEED?

So, I kind of accidentally set up a vet appointment for Henry’s SI injections ON his birthday. When I was on the phone with the receptionist I didn’t actually look at the date when she said “next Tuesday”, I just jumped at the chance to a) get a farm call, b) be the first one of the day. So, oops. My bad. Umm… happy birthday Henny?

But all was not lost. Just because he got two sharp stabs in the back (sorry bro) doesn’t mean it was all bad. In fact, if you ask Henry I bet he would say he had a great birfday. Let’s break it down “by the numbers” style. All total, he got:

14 – NickerMakers, his most favorite of the “cheap” treats, and one German Horse Muffin. Honestly this isn’t too many more than he gets on any normal day, because rotten.

1 – Quick trip to Drunktown via his favorite recreational drug, xylazene.

50 – ml’s of Adequan ordered, because why not just get the big bottle, am I right? 🙄 For real, that shit is expensive enough to make my stomach hurt a little so enjoy the golden joint lube, horse. Jk you’re a unicorn and I love you, you can have anything you need.

2 – ultrasound-guided SI injections, left and right. Yes they count as a gift. Okay, maybe it’s a gift for both of us.

3 – new fan club members (the vet and his two assistants) who got 0% of his wrath (for some reason he doesn’t seem to mind the giant disgusting horrifying needle of the SI injections) and 100% of his begging-for-cookies faces. The entire time. Even through the drugs he can still beg. He’s a professional.

24 – blissful hours of total R&R complete with room service. He has to stay in his stall for a day after the injections, but the weather was super cold and rainy and gross so he would have been stuck inside anyway. However since he had a “procedure”, he got some special treatment.

90 – seconds of quick turnout for a nice roll in the sandy arena before the vet showed up

1000 – lbs of hay consumed. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating, but he had a big thick flake of alfalfa and three flakes of coastal for breakfast alone. Oinker.

So, ya know… maybe he could have done without the stabby parts, but it wasn’t all bad?

Y’all. Guess who’s ELEVEN today?

Oh, and it’s his 11th birthday too.

I’m not typically the type to randomly dress horses in costume, but he is without a doubt the Strangest Thing I know and I couldn’t resist this perfectly timed opportunity. Of course, if you’re not a fan of the show Stranger Things then none of this makes sense. Get thee to Netflix, STAT.

Also please note that I got the Thick and Fluffy waffles, because Henry is both thick and fluffy.

But back to the birthday thing… can we please stop the forward progression of time? I mean… eleven? How did this happen so fast?

He’s so mature these days in a lot of ways, but he still likes to spook at the most boring of inanimate objects and crowhop around the field on brisk days. For example, after our little photo shoot I got on him bareback in his sidepull and we did a quick w/t/c ride complete with half pass, shoulder in, 10m circles, and lengthenings. He was a champ. Then we took a walk down the road and he had a grand time pretending to be terrified of a tree. I couldn’t help but chuckle. He knows when it’s time to be serious and when it’s not, and he definitely makes the most of the “not”.

He remains super weird and full of that trademark goofy personality, pretty much always begging for cookies. Fairly confident that none of those things will ever change, thank goodness. He is totally 100% rotten but it’s okay, he deserves it. Cheeky little shit. I’ve never had a horse quite like him and he puts a smile on my face, without fail, every single day.

Also, for the record, he seemed to enjoy wearing the wig. Gotta admit, he’s pretty cute as a blonde.

Happy Birthday, Henny! Here’s to many more.