This is a quick follow on from yesterday; i forgot to mention shoes… obviously more specifically riding boots. I already knew that long boots would be impossible for me to find. I just didn’t think finding Jodhpur boots or even yard boots would also be a problem, i don’t consider myself to have particularly big feet but they are wide and in order to find anything remotely comfortable I’ve had to go for a size 8 in the past. People who like the long toed shoes won’t relate to this but i have a thing about big shoes they freak me out if i wear them, I’m convinced i might as well put a red nose on and be a clown. That’s why i always choose rounded shoes, plus i just know i would trip over them. Even Ugg style boots i manage to trip over on occasion. The problem i have with Jodhpur type boots is the getting them on and breaking them in, they really do feel like my feet are being tortured.

I can’t tell you how many pairs of boots i have tried on, it must be hundred’s, i was at Horse of the year once and key word here  ‘tried’ to try on every pair of boots there…. i esp. liked the look of Ariat. I swear you have to be Cinderella to wear those boots, they were so narrow. At another show i tried on Tuffa boots but wasn’t totally convinced, however when i got home i decided to order some of eBay…. the ones i got were a different style to the ones i tried on (same size) but they just wouldn’t fit… i then got into a hoo haa with the man who makes Equitector boots… these boots aren’t the prettiest but they are lovely and soft so soft i had to keep touching them, whilst at Hickstead he measured my feet and then he was convinced the ones that would fit me were a size 9… I was very polite and said ‘i would come back once I’d lost some weight’, to which he replied ‘your feet don’t change size’ hmmm hopefully i will show him this year when i go.

I would just like to point out that Mountain horse boots are good, but a little too chunky and they didn’t last long at all, in only just a few weeks they looked like i had been wearing them for years. I have finally settled on a brand that I’m now on my third pair of Mark Todd; I’ve even got the winter boots. They aren’t the cheapest i think about £60 but they are warm, supportive, don’t rub, waterproof and I’ve been wearing this particular pair for few months now. And they don’t look that worn, that is after you take the mud and shavings off.

I’ve never actually owned a nice pair of leather riding boots, when i rode as a teenager; i had muckers (blue ones) and a pair of rubber riding boots. I eventually managed to wangle some brown Jodhpur boots out of my parents. so a pair of leather boots is like the holy grail to me… only problem is not only do i want a pair of leather riding boots, i now also want a pair of Dubarry style ones for kicking around the yard in. I’ve been reading that Fuller Fillies have bought out a boot that is in high demand at mo, which I will definitely be checking out as soon as my calves are small enough

Not only can i not wait to ride Nas, i also can’t wait to ride in leather riding boots.