This weeks theme on #ITWBN is "I cant live without my...." and I have to say I cant live without my river boots or wellies, especially in this weather.
Only last Sunday night the girls and I sat down to watch old showjumping and hunting dvds of the days gone by. We laughed and laughed at ourselves and the excitement and screaming when someone went double clear or when you met a nice stone wall out hunting. As we watched the good oul days we talked about our old ways, one being our footwear. When we were kids with no money and our parents were sick of spending more money on ponies, we used to wear our riding boots to shreds (literally)! We all wore our uber cool Aigle rubber (rank) boots as if it was a secret fashion club. Then one of us would start to complain of wet socks and run to the kitchen to grab a Flynns of Lackage plastic bag and slip it over the sock putting your foot back into the boots hoping to buy some time before the wet would creep in again. This could last for weeks with maybe 3 - 4 bags on each foot and then if one of your trusted stable buddies was worse off than you lent a bag in a time of great need. Then along came the government duty of 22c for plastic bags which broke our little pony hearts, how on earth would we survive? But alas every cloud has a silver lining...the reusable bag. We would rob a bag for each foot and it would save wearing a few bags and on the plus side they didnt rip so easily. This would keep going until your mother would notice starting to go lame and your toes coming out through the top of the boots, you were marched into the local tack shop and awarded with a brand spanking new pair of Aigles...just as good as Santy. When I reflect on it now I doubt our parents were begrudging us of boots, we probably enjoyed the bag drama (sometimes). When we evetually got paying jobs and out into the real world with more variety of boots we burnt the oul faithful Aigle boots and began to act like normal human beings.
So after that intro it leads me to the whole point of this entry, proper footwear. I have tried and tested loads of different boots and wellies in my years. I have learnt that lovely fancy leather boots cant stick this wet weather so after ruining many a pair I have made myself have two (or more) sets of boots in the tackroom at all times. I have my leather boots for out on the horses and then my yard boots.
My favourite yard boot is a purchase made by Shane Christmas 12 (with the help of thetackroom.ie) and they are the Dublin River Eskimo Boot. After a full year of putting them through their paces with trying to avoid the saddle with them on I have to say they still look like new. They are so cosy in winter with no need for an extra pair of socks and cool enough in summer to stick on between your classes at a show or washing your horse, etc. They get a big thumbs up from me. They can be purchased off www.thetackroom.ie
Next on my list are Joules wellies. I am on my 4th pair. I had a cool short ankle pair which I lost to a fall 2 summers ago. While I was lying in the sand ring after myself and a lovely mare taking a tumble (I was her air bag!) I lay there balling crying not because I couldnt move my leg but crying because Mary was cutting these fab wellies off my fat cankle (Not the first time Iv cried over boots being cut off from a fall!) So ever since then I was on the look out for new Joules. I came upon my current ones at the Dublin Horse Show and tried them on...they were made for me as I always try to tell myself. I cant resist the design and patterns Joules make. Nicest surprise was the price tag...€55 down to €22.50...nice one. I adore them and dont feel too much like a farmer in them while Im running around Dunnes on the way home from the yard. Joules have an amazing range of wellies on their website www.joules.com and are stocked worldwide. I love how they constantly change and update their styles.
So there is my weeks blog on "I couldnt live without my Boots!"
