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| If you're keeping score: red saddle, chocolate girth, black bridle, Woof Wear front boots and Majyk Equipe hind boots. Ballin'. |
And while even 4* eventers are cool with mismatched tack:
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| He's not my favorite person as a person, but Andrew Nicholson regularly rides in mismatched tack. |
I've lived long enough in the architectural capital of the Midwest to be able to appreciate the effect that aesthetics have on a community/person, even if it's hard to quantify. It shows personal pride in yourself, your preparation and your horse when you come out looking the part.
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| I pass this on house my way to and from work every day. Love love love this town! |
But I have to focus on what matters at this stage in my life: becoming a better rider and getting out from under my husband's student loan debt. Keeping it in perspective: I'm lucky to have a horse (especially this horse), I'm lucky to have a bridle (any bridle), I'm lucky to have a saddle (especially one that fits us both), and I am grateful for all of that, full stop. The non-matchingness doesn't bother me anymore, it's sort of becoming my jam at this point. My only complaint is that I don't know whether to hunt for a black, red or chocolate used breastplate on eBay. Hmm...
Someday I'll have matching tack, but in the meantime, Connor and I are going to continue to rock the hodgepodge look, put our horse money mainly toward clinics, events and lessons, and slowly, ever so slowly, start to match.
I know this subject is heresy to some people, so I won't be offended if you tell me I'm doing it wrong in the comments!
I'm with ya. Granted at this point I have accumulated so much tack I basically have a matching set in every color, but that's an entirely different problem. Who cares what you look like though, I'm like you and would rather put money towards lessons and clinics.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not a bad priority at all to look the part, we're just at that point where we have to choose.
DeleteConnor is so cute no one will notice that you don't match!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks! I secretly hope he's distractingly cute for just that reason.
DeleteI use pretty much all black gear, so I usually always match. That being said, I've purposely done it this way. I actually got rid of several pieces of tack because they didn't match. My current girth bothered me so much (not only because it didn't match but also because it was stiff and hard and I just hated it...) that I ordered something different in lieu of the skull cap I wanted.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this practice extends into many parts of my life. My own wardrobe, my work desk, my books, silverware, etc etc. Pretty sure it's just a personality quirk I have :) I envy people who don't feel as strongly about it as I do!
So you are not hip on this trend to have mismatched silverware and dining room chairs then? Haha. The orange-slowly-becoming-red saddle is my sticking point. I didn't have a choice on color, it fit us both so well, but it's not something I want to keep forever so I'm not going to match anything to it - also partially because orange-slowly-becoming-red is hard to match.
DeleteStart with your saddle and slowly match out from there. I'm lucky that I only have one set of tack to worry about!
ReplyDeleteYou are! The saddle is the problem, I don't want to keep it forever but will have it for another few years most likely. I've always disliked the color and don't want to match anything to it, but it fits us both. Oh well!
DeleteI don't think I've ever had matching tack. My bridle for my hackamore is composed of about three different colors and brands. Own the ghetto-ness. Own it!
ReplyDeleteYou are my hero. I will!
DeleteHahaha! You're my hero, too!!
DeleteYou get a pass for cute privilege!
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks
DeleteBeen there...done that. Some day I plan to have beautiful matching tack too! :)
ReplyDeleteStart with the pony, then move to tack. I like your style. ;-)
DeleteIn the epic words of Tim Gunn, I think Connor "makes it work" :)
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, ANTM!
DeleteI say you do what what's best for YOU.
ReplyDeleteMismatched tack? If anyone is judging you based on the color of your tack - then they have some serious growing up to do. Now granted, when people have purple bridles and zebra polos and neon colors, I do get a little.... confused. I just think horses look so good in average, conservative colors - it lets me see the horse, not the tack.
I totally agree with you, I'm a conservative colored person all the way, which my trainer is grateful for.
DeleteI think the bigger insult here is Connor's tucked in forelock. ;)
ReplyDeleteThink of it this way: your saddle matches your horse's coat, so really it's only the bridle and girth that don't match. Right?!
Right right, except I would kill to get rid of that orange-turning-red saddle.
DeleteAnd I can't help it if my delicate flower doesn't like his forelock to touch his ears!
Connor is super offended that his tack doesn't match. I can totally tell. ;)
ReplyDeleteHe does look a little perturbed, doesn't he? Haha.
DeleteI vote you should hunt for chocolate breastplate - chocolate leather looks so luxurious and expensive! And it would look cute on Connor!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity - why is Andrew Nicholson not your favourite person as a person - I have always admired him as a rider and am curious as to whether he is a bad person now lol!
PS: I ride my mare in a brown saddle and black bridle and it drives me insaaane. Thanks for putting into perspective what's really important - lessons, competitions and improving! :D *cheesy grin*
He's just always struck me wrong in interviews, unnecessarily crass.
DeleteYes, that's exactly it! I'm not advocating totally abandoning reasonable standards of turnout, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Lol, matching, most of us just wish to achieve that! Personally I like too many different colors to stick all with one. Sometimes its a purple day. sometimes its whatever's clean. The saddle fits and bridle works, someday it can all match. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, though I am not a color person! Whatever's clean and fits is how I do it. Good for you!
DeleteI've done the mismatched tack thing before. It drives me crazy when it is me but then I realized that I never really notice on someone else. I'm much too busy looking at the pretty horses and Connor is especially distracting!
ReplyDeleteYeah...the first time I did it was at GDHT last year when I had just gotten the black Micklem but had the brown Stackhouse, and my trainer was like "Go in whatever Connor likes best, you're here to ride well," and I was like "...*blink blink* you can do that? At a show?" I've come to realize that nobody really cares, since then. To each his own, especially in eventing.
DeleteI have tons of matching tack and no horse. I'll take non matching and a cute cob any day! It is nice you have things that fit so well, and no one in eventing will judge you. One of the many reasons eventing is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI'm posting today based on insipartion from this post! I linked to you! :)
ReplyDeleteI love matching, haha! Thankfully, I've managed to pick up every piece of tack I own either used or on clearance. All of my stuff is dark brown and hunter green, I really want to splurge on white splints and white mecate reins for my birthday, haha!
ReplyDeleteI had a black bridle for several years with brown reins :) My husband dyed the reins black for my first show! Whatever it takes, Jen!
ReplyDelete