As I walked around the trade show I tried to take a picture whenever anything caught my eye – for good or for bad. I figured if it caught my attention it was worth a look. Since the shop I was there with really only does apparel, we didn’t buy any tack. But I think anyone who has basically ever read this blog knows how much I love tack, especially interesting tack. There wasn’t a lot to be found that really caught my attention (nothing like my beloved PS of Sweden bridles anyway) but I thought a few pieces were worth sharing.

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a raised padded fancy stitched Micklem. I didn’t notice any difference in the leather quality, and the choice of stitching pattern is… interesting… but it looks like they’ve finally dressed it up a bit. They still have the regular flat utilitarian looking one as well.

The other bridle in the Horseware booth had a little bit different side piece on the noseband than normal. Otherwise it was very standard looking.

The most “different” looking bridle was definitely this one from Nunn Finer. Don’t ask me, I have no idea. That’s a whole lot of straps.

Yup, sparkly glittery bridles, not just confined to the browband. I think the idea here is to blind the judge and force them to give you better scores. Either way, you sure can’t miss these things. I saw lots of patent on dressage bridles as well. All of these people who used to only do plain jane black and white have gone off the rails! And, hey – more power to them because it gives me something to take pictures of.

It was pretty hard to miss this saddle from Pariani, with it’s rubbery feeling anti-slip knees and panels. It’s called the Pro Grip, which seems obvious. It definitely had an interesting feel, like little rubbery spikes (not actually spiked, but rounded tip).

Who loves colored piping? Prestige does. I don’t know if I’d ever be that brave, but it’s a cool option. Their irons are kinda like if Jin and MDC had a stirrup iron baby.

Yup, those awesome and very economical eventer pads from PRI are available in sea blue and hot pink. That’s the same pad I bought from BoB in navy… although they don’t carry these two colors. For $38 it’s a nice pad and I know several friends that would love the sea blue. Maybe someone will stock it?

On to helmets! Remember that lace KEP? One K is in on it, too. Not actual lace though, just a printed pattern.

Samshield has a center leather option with a pattern very reminiscent of lace. I, of course, loved it. But to be honest I sort of fell all over myself in love at the Samshield booth anyway. Megan opened an account with them so Julian demonstrated how to do a proper fitting, with me as the lucky guinea pig, and he showed all the liners, all the options, all the differences between models, how the vent system works, the key design points, etc. The Premium is like heaven on my head. And oh my god the OPTIONS. I couldn’t even. Samshield on the list of eventual must haves? Yes.

The picture that I tried to take for this option came out awful but I loved it so much I have to mention it, so here’s a stock pic from their website. This is the new Shimmer option for the center that I thought was to-die-for pretty… it almost has a wet look to it in the light. It glimmers without being glittery and is fun and unique without being garish. Totally gorgeous. I also got to try on the different glove models and thought the navy color was really pretty. Although IMO, everything they have is really pretty – always elegantly finished with a real high end look. Absolutely nothing here looks cheap.

The other new thing from Samshield is their XC helmet. I admit, my first thought was “Spartan”. It has a really unique look that I think people will either love or hate, but either way you have to admit the features are well engineered. First – the ventilation was amazing. No exaggeration. Second – it was so lightweight it felt like you weren’t even wearing a helmet. Since it’s made of carbon fiber it’s super strong but very light at the same time.  This thing has safety ratings out the wazoo. Pictured is the blue one but it also comes in black.

One K seems to be going the way of the Samshield, trying to offer lots of options in that center area, and crystals along the edges. It looks a lot cheaper and less elegantly done than Samshield, but they’re trying to fill that niche in a lower price bracket so I guess that’s the point.

Tomorrow – apparel and boots!

So much happened in the last 4 days, I’m going to have to break it up into a few posts. I have lots of pictures of some of the cool/interesting/weird things I saw at AETA but I still need to finish uploading and resizing those, so for today I’ll cover everything non-AETA that went on during my trip. I do want to say though – what a learning experience. It was really cool to be able to see and touch and try on so many different things, talk to the reps (some of which were amazing and some of which were not), and get a feel for what the different brands are all about. With some of them the conversation segued into me being a blogger, and while a few of them looked at me like I was from another planet, others became more interested in talking to me. It’s enlightening to see who realizes just how important the power of an internet and social media presence can be, and who really wants to be involved. We’ll talk about that more tomorrow. Moving on…

I arrived in Philly on Friday around noon, with the kind of descent and landing that leaves you reaching for a barf bag. For a minute I was pretty sure I might puke with all the rolling around and dropping we did, but luckily that was avoided. After some aimless wandering around the airport I found the right shuttle and got my rental car, then immediately set off to meet my friend Michele so we could hit a couple tack shops. I’ve known Michele for a long time but haven’t seen her since she moved from TX to Delaware… I think Sadie was 2 when she left so somewhere around 5-6 years. I love her, it was really nice to catch up and do some shopping with her (she thinks I’m a bad influence but I have no idea what she’s talking about). After an awesome lunch we hit Bit of Britain. I’d been to the mobile at Fair Hill many years ago but never their brick and mortar, and I really wanted to see if they had a jockey whip in my colors. Not only did they have navy and white, they also had navy and yellow. I’ve been thinking of adding some yellow in to help distinguish myself from the sea of other bay thoroughbreds wearing navy, so I figured the whip was a sign. I grabbed that, a navy eventer pad (they only had one left in the size I needed so I figured that was also a sign), some yellow laces for my Tipperary, and a few other little things. Of course, I’m an idiot and accidentally left the laces at the hotel so I’m going to have to buy more. Fail.

Then we quickly headed over to Rick’s before they closed. I’ve heard a lot about this place being a maze of amazingness, with a really impressive collection of used saddles, so I figured it was something I had to see. We only got there half an hour before they closed so our exploring time was limited, but it did not disappoint. It was almost like an equestrian fun house. Every room seemed to lead to yet another room, with stairs leading to yet another room, and so on and so on. It would be easy to spend all day in there. We hustled up to the used saddles – there were 3 rooms of those with just about every brand you can imagine, from the cheapest of cheap to the very top of high end. I wasted no time grabbing the dressage saddles that appealed to me so I could sit in them. No surprise – the only one I liked was the only French saddle in the room, a Hermes. At least my love for French and Italian things is really consistent?

On Saturday I finished at AETA around mid-afternoon, and since I was so close (literally minutes away) from Valley Forge, I couldn’t resist popping in there to see it. Of course I’m also winter-stupid, so I opted for the walking tour even though it was 25 degrees. Besides freezing my ass off and fleeing back to my car for the much warmer driving tour about halfway through, I failed to realize the kind of windburn that can occur in those conditions until I was back in my hotel room and my face looked like The Walking Dead. Oops, lesson learned. But Valley Forge was REALLY cool – I highly recommend popping in for a visit if you’re a history buff and find yourself in the area.

Then it was off to meet Emily, Allison, Pam and Jenn for dinner. I think Emily is the only one of us that got a picture so she’ll have to share that, but it was really nice to meet everyone in person and get a sense of who they really are behind the blog. Or in Pam’s case, behind the business. Many thanks to her for continuing to be so supportive of the blogging community.

I picked up Megan, the owner of Luxe EQ, from the airport around midnight and then for some reason we stayed up until 2am talking. Our early appointments at AETA the next day were rough but we don’t get to see each other as much since she moved to Houston so it was nice to catch up even at the expense of proper sleep. On Sunday night we went to the AETA dinner and chatted with some (new-to-me) friends from other shops. Many buffet desserts were eaten and laughs were had. They also had the Super Bowl up on a couple big screens, and while I couldn’t care less about football, this white girl just about lost her mind when Missy Elliot showed up. My love for Missy runs deep. Finally someone decent in a halftime show! After our appointments on Monday Megan and I stopped on the way to the airport and got a Philly Cheesesteak… we figured it was something vital to experience since we’d come all that way. It was great, but holy cow, I don’t think I’ll be hungry again for a week.

Overall it was a great time and all the non-AETA time was filled with friends, food, and exploration. Not a bad way to spend a long weekend! Tomorrow we’ll delve into AETA itself and all the stuff.

I’m on my way to freezing cold Philly this morning for AETA! Yes I packed every long sleeve shirt and jacket that I own, which juuuust fits in a carry on, puffy jacket and vest included. I fear I am woefully unprepared. Oh well, we’ll call it an arctic adventure and keep the heat cranked in the hotel.

I wish I could say I had super detailed info on the daily omeprazole like I did with last weeks update, but basically it rained buckets last Fri/Sat, then we moved barns on Sun, then I didn’t go the barn Mon/Tues. So… I’ll just write what I can. He is super easy to dose and has been all along so I won’t even bother saying how we was for that part anymore. It must not taste that bad because he takes it willingly enough and swallows it on his own now.

Day 15 – Groomed

Really I just scrubbed the bird poop off his head (seriously), picked his feet, gave him his omeprazole, and left. He was pretty cheerful.

Day 16 – Groomed

Again “groom” is probably not quite accurate, I knocked the dust off with a towel (he didn’t protest, but he was also preoccupied with his rice bran) and gave him his omeprazole.

Day 17 – Moving day

He very happily and enthusiastically grazed for a while before we loaded up. He settled in really well but I still gave him a little bit extra of his meds that day, especially since it was still too wet for them to go out. Plus we did go on Walkabout and he chomped like hell on his bit for the first half, so although he didn’t express it beyond that, it did stress him out a little.

Day 18 – No barn

He still got his meds (YAY, a BO who can be trusted to give a horse it’s meds!)

Day 19 – No barn

He still got his meds (YAY, a BO who can be trusted to give a horse it’s meds!). It was also dry enough for them to be turned out. According to BO he ran a few mighty impressive laps around his turnout and then settled down into the round bale, which is pretty much where he’s been ever since.

Day 20 – Groomed and rode

What? I ride? Sometimes. He was good for grooming and tacking up, but I wore spurs which was a mistake. If he’s kinda fresh and you wear spurs, he just gets SUPER oversensitive and tight and backwards. That was my stupid mistake. Halfway through I ditched the spurs and he got better, but still never really felt that relaxed.

Day 21 – Groomed and rode

I think he has readjusted to life as a horse with lots of turnout, a round bale, and a buddy, because when I went to bring him in for dinner he was pretty much passed out asleep in the sun. I was slightly alarmed for a second because normally he comes to me in the pasture, but once I went and got him and he realized I had cookies he perked right up. I rode him in his sidepull and decided to jump him, since the day before he just kind of caved in on himself mentally, and the sidepull + jumping is his favorite thing. He was really fantastic in the flatwork and jumped everything in the ring without a second glance, including the skinny off a tight turn and a vertical on a pretty sharp angle. He was happy, he was bright, and didn’t even so much as flick an ear when I groomed him. He would like to petition USEA to allow bitless dressage, please.

Summary of week 3: he definitely remains better to groom and has started to put some bloom back on. Sometimes I think I definitely feel a difference under saddle, other days not. One more week on the 4x treatment dose, then 2 more weeks on the 2x.

I have noticed a definite trend lately in the collections from many equestrian apparel companies: lace.

Aztec Diamond has it on breeches

and a shirt

Valentine Equine clearly loves lace and has several shirts with it, ranging from more basic

to much more bold

while Fior da Liso‘s Lacie shirt is more subtle.

Even bigger companies like Equine Couture

Horseware

Animo

and Cavallo have items with lace.

There are also lace stock ties, ranging from a whole lot of lace like this one from Dameron

to just a hint of lace like this one from ShowChic

How about a show coat with lace on the collar like this one from Kentucky?

or lace boot socks, like these from Ariat

who also has a lace vest

You can even get a lace HELMET from KEP!

What do you think of the lace trend… would you wear any of these items? Personally I’m a huge fan of lace in general and would definitely like to have some of these things, but others are a bit too much even for me. I’d love to see more companies play around with lace on breeches… maybe just a little touch of it on the pockets? Especially if it was combined with leather – maybe lace backing on the pocket area and leather piping on the pocket edge? Someone get me a sewing machine. And fabric. And a person that can sew. And a designer.