[Fear]
If there's one thing I've learned in my limited time hanging around the eventing crowd, it is that they are 1) scrappy and 2) willing to share and help each other out.
I know in order to start our
Here's what I have:
• Dressage bridle and saddle (plus saddle pad and show clothes for me)
Dressage phase: CHECK!!
• Close contact hunter saddle ( I do need a better saddle pad)
• Figure 8 nose band bridle
• Running martingale
• Hunter show clothes for me
• Helmet (duh)
Show jumping phase: CHECK!
Here's what I think I "need" to be able to compete cross country.
• A vest. Taking recommendations, but my mother has promised me one for my birthday at the end of August. Yay!! I am going to the local tack store to try some on and see what I like.
• A medical arm band
• Better boots for the horse. All I have are foo-foo fuzzy white dressage velcro boots as well as white polo wraps. Uh .. probably not going to hold up on cross country. Although we would look fancy prancing around in our white gear. Again, any recommendations on good solid boots? I do have the awesome sheep skin open front jumping boots for stadium jumping. But again, probably not going to cut it on CC.
• My own "colors." I've picked my CC colors. Which was incredibly fun to do and now I am able to let loose my inner child and tell the DQ in me to shut the hell up. I didn't pick anything obnoxious, but I'm amped now to be able to color coordinate when shopping for stuff. Oh it's the little things in life, eh?
• A watch. Is this needed at the very starter levels? Or can I put this off until we reach Novice?
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| $300+ ... *cough cough* |
• A breastplate? I have a fancy hunter-ring one, but it's more for show and not really function. Is this needed at the lower levels? I see a lot of folks with the 5-point breastplate but lordy is that thing expensive. We may have to put that on a Christmas list.
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| oops, wrong kind of gut. |
• Guts. (I was going to put BALLS but I wanted to include an art element and ... uh ... well this is mostly a family-friendly blog. Ok not really. But I didn't want testicles on my blog. Unless there is a really good reason!)
You do not need a watch. In fact I recommend against wearing a watch for your first HTs. Ride a nice rhythm and don't worry about the time. Riding a planned course to time is a separate skill, don't worry about it.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need a fancy breastplate. you don't need a breastplate at all unless 1. you attach a running martingale to it (which I do) or 2. your saddle has a tendency to slip back in awkward situations.
I use hard cover boots. I have Veredus open front boots that I like at the speedbump level. They are good protection from over reaching. Dover has something similar for about $40. I don't mind if they get a rub over a small fence. Pick your feet up!
I have never dealt with upper level protection myself. My friends who do use wrap around leather boots that look like armor.
I like the Roma ProTek splint boots for hinds, protects against striking. Again, if you drag your feet on a jump- pick up your feet!
Wear a vest around for a while in the store, they get more comfortable, more or less, after you wear them a while.
Have fun!
oh oh oh - what colors did you pick?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is the eventer - competing at Beg Nov level this season. We got her a Tipperary vest and she loves it - says it is comfortable and not restrictive. My recommendation would be to go somewhere to have one fitted - I would have went too big if I would have bought hers on my own.
ReplyDeleteHappy shopping!!!
I have a Tipperary vest and cannot recommend it enough. I haven had it lon enough to wear it in hot weather yet (I'm from Sydney) but apparently it is the coolest one out there.
ReplyDeleteWwolf brushing boots and 3m tape are your friends. Wwolf's are cheap.
ReplyDeleteFor a watch, I recommend a cheapie Timex Ironman from Target -- this is what I use and it really helps me to get a feel for time and to keep track of where I am on my schedule.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people do use the Tipp vests, but I prefer something with solid foam, as they're more protective and you never know what you will land on! For the same price, I HIGHLY recommend the Rodney Powell, it's super comfy and molds to your body.
Breastplates -- I'm not a fan of the 5-point, too much crap on the horse and seems like half of them are just people trying to be trendy. I think a simple polo breastcollar is much more effective and simpler to deal with to boot. I picked up a nice elastic one for $35 from horseloverz.com and have been using it for 2-3 years now!
Eventing rules, LOL!!!