Champagne Tastes On a Beer Budget

I've been on a minimalism kick recently and for me that means owning one, high quality item for something you need rather than several cheaper versions. With that in mind I've been saving my pennies for nicer things rather than bargain shopping, at least for the important things. This is my current list.

Wardrobe Stuff

Asmar long sleeve polo in navy blue

Asmar compression top in black

Pikeur Crystal Competition Shirt in grey

Ariat Polka Dot Sunshirt

Ariat Volant S Zip Boot

Tack

PS of Sweden Bridle

Prestige Lucky in Tobacco (if it fits)

Another pair of People on Horses Dressage Boots - this time in Navy Patent

Mattes Euro Dressage Pads in ALL the colors

One of these Custom Wool Dress Sheets

Adventures in Shopping

I needed an adventure on Saturday so I decided to go to a local tack shop that's been around since 1907. It mainly has western tack but lots of horse care supplies and some English apparel and accessories. Mainly though I've never been there and someone at the barn was just talking about it plus I had the whole day and was looking for something fun to do. On the way there I changed plans a little and decided that I would go to Stone Ridge first. This is an amazing English tack shop that's really boutique and that caries some of my favorite brands including Asmar and Horze. It's a little further away but I had the whole day right!

I went there first and decided that since I was there I would do some shopping for show jackets. I've been planning out what I'm going to wear to show. I'm picky about this kind of stuff and while I have a little different and more modern style than what a lot of people in the area would wear, I also don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. I feel like it's a delicate balance especially since I have a pinto pony that's already pretty flashy.

Very much the color scheme I was thinking. Just add a little chestnut to the horse.

At first I was planning on basically going with black and white but I don't like the way that looks with my pony plus it's not really me. Then I started thinking about a navy coat, which I might still consider, but what I really like are some of the grey coats I've been seeing. I've been creating this to try to figure out what it will look like.



My first idea for a show outfit

 

My second and favorite option

I'm not going to be ready for a coat this year since I'm sure I'll just be doing schooling shows. It just doesn't make sense to invest in a rated show when I'm sure Katai will be a wild card this show season. However, I'd like to start picking out things to support this outfit. I've got a few things for this year but I'd like to start working on picking up a few things this year so that I don't have to deal with all of it next year. Things like a stock tie and/or another show shirt but I want to make sure that they'll work for next year as well.
With that in mind I wanted to try on a bunch of coats. I really didn't care if they were the right color or not since I'm not going to be in the market for anything out this year anyway and next year there will be different options. I was more curious if there were specific brands that fit me better than others. I already knew that Kerrits don't fit me well so I wanted to find some other options that do fit.

Grey Pikeur coat that I wanted to leave with. 

I found a couple of options that I really liked including a really nice grey Pikeur coat (no surprises there right) and a Horsewear jacket that actually fit really well and was much more in my price range. I also found a pair of Horze breeches that I needed to have (but was an adult for once and didn't buy) and an Asmar Equestrian show shirt that I've been wanting to try on. I would have probably bought that one but they didn't have my size. In the end I only bought a couple of necessities but I have plans to go back soon!

My sad final purchase. A replacement salt rock, brush therapy (more on this later) and a dressage dark chocolate