Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Equestrian At Hart Blog Hop: Equestrian wardrobe

L. Williams' graphics are the best.
Hillary of Equestrian At Hart has taken up the blog hop mantle, and I am thrilled. I thoroughly enjoy getting to know fellow horse bloggers through these things. Plus, it never hurts to have a topic to write about (or an excuse to put a tacked up dinosaur logo on the blog). 

Hillary asks: I want to know about what you ride in and why? 

My winter equestrian wardrobe is a good deal more stylish and interesting than my summer one. In the summer, my primary objective is to not have a heat stroke while I'm at the barn.

Ariat field boots, Falcon Northwest hat, Dublin breeches,
Adidas Climalite socks, AriatTek polo
Ariat field boots, Polo hat, OnCourse breeches, AriatTek
polo
Ariat field boots, Polo hat, OnCourse breeches, Oil Capital
of the World tee from Boomtown Tees
Ariat field boots, Safeguard hat, Dublin breeches, Old Navy
tee
As you can see, I always wear field boots and breeches when I ride, even when it's painfully hot out. Why? Years ago, I begged my parents for a pair of half chaps because I was young and thought they were super cool. I received a beautiful pair of Ariat half chaps for Christmas and spent many enjoyable hours riding my horses in them. Then I went to the first show of the spring, and my lower leg slid all over the place because my boots didn't have the wonderfully grippy suede that my half chaps did. I was terribly uncomfortable, and from that day forward I swore I'd school in the same things I'd show in.

I'm also really into hats. The disgusting, faded Polo cap is my favorite by far; I have at least two dozen others that I wear sparingly. I try to match my hat to the rest of my outfit. Wearing a hat catches a lot of sweat and keeps the sun out of my face. I wear a helmet when I ride, but you'll find me in a hat if I'm not on a horse.

As for shirts, I like technical fabrics, so I'll frequently borrow Nike DriFit shirts from my running gear. The AriatTek polos are fantastic- lightweight, flattering, and comfortable. I snagged these two from Tack of the Day about a year ago.

The Adidas Climalite socks are excellent; they're on the thick side, but keep your feet dry and cool through even the longest, hottest days at the barn. I also like the Tredstep Pure UltraCool socks, which are thinner than the Adidas.

And, of course, I can't write about what I wear to the barn without mentioning my faithful sunglasses and Croakies.


These are a cheap pair of aviators from Buckle. I've managed to keep up with them for a whole year thanks to the Croakies. I never lose them, because they're around my neck. I never sit on them. I never put them somewhere a horse can step on them. Plus, I always look super freaking cool. And that's what's really important, right?!

11 comments:

Hillary said...

Love how you laid out your outfits! I didn't even consider my winter wardrobe...

Aoife said...

Winter wardrobe will totes have to be a separate post - soz lady. :p
I had one in the works last year - but thankfully the weather didn't get cold enough here to whip it out, so it has been sitting in my drafts since then; biding it's time until i unleash it on the unsuspecting blogosphere in due course.

I too love baseball hats for when i am not in my helmet as i invariably get awful helmet hair - although i only have the one...yeah I be nasty & i'm ok with that! :p

As a patriotic Irish person I love how Dublin & Tredstep got mentioned in this post -#sorrynotsorry

L.Williams said...

Dude, I love your hat collection and thank you for the compliment on my doodles :)

SheMovedtoTexas said...

I have the same half chap problem you referenced. I ride in them 90% of the time, and have to get the field boots out to practice when I knwo I'm going to be showing because I hate them so much!

Anonymous said...

Those AriatTek polos sound great! I need croakies. My sunglasses always fall off my face/head/shirt as I bending over doing whatever.

Stephanie said...

Haha, thanks! I don't have a full length mirror in my house, or any mirrors at the barn, so I figured laying them out would be easier than asking Johnny to take half a dozen pictures!

Stephanie said...

I have awful, awful helmet hair too!!

I hate the Dublin breeches, but they were free from a friend and don't have any holes in them (yet). The Tredstep socks, on the other hand, are AMAZING!!

Stephanie said...

Maybe one day I can own a hat with one of your doodles on it!!

Stephanie said...

The struggle is real, yo!!

Wilbur, Ellie, and Emily said...

Yeah croAkies!!! Agree 100% on the half chap dilemma. Tall boots all the way!

Austen said...

I totally steal from my running shirts for barnwear, too. Of course, I've been known to go straight from a long run to the barn without even changing my shirt. (Did I just admit that? Gross...) Those socks sound awesome, I'm going to have to check them out. Thick socks are a must for me...

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