Friday, August 30, 2013

Vintage Hermes

Hermes may be terribly expensive but if you dare to go there you can be assured that whatever you buy will hold its value probably forever and it won't go out of style.  1stdibbs proves this over and over again.  See what I found there:

This picture frame from the 1970's:


 
This great pillow:
 
 
This framed scarf is from the 1940's.
 






 
 
You can shop till you drop on 1stdibbs.  Highly recommend it but deep wallet and restraint are needed at all times.  Additional warning:  this can be habit forming with extreme negative outcomes.  Consult whomever! 
 




Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A Language All It's Own

I wrote this about ten years ago and thought it might be fun for the blog....

"Oxer" puzzled my mother. She thought it might be associated with the shirts father wears, the ones he buys only at Brooks Brothers.  The few times a decade she treks to a horse show to watch me ride she shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head when she hears someone scream "heads up over the oxer."  It's like being in another world with a language all it's own.  She never mastered it.

The ability to understand a vocabulary not found on Wikipedia or anywhere on the Internet for that matter is a feat that many of us "horse show lovers" conquer at an early age.  A horse-crazy 12-year old will know what a roll top or an oxer is long before she understands past participles.

Roll tops and oxers are types of jumps used in hunter-jumper courses.  An oxer is a wide jump made with two sets of standards and poles.  The poles are parallel and sometimes placed at the same height, but often the back poles are higher.  Then there are Swedish oxers (for advanced placement h-j speakers only).  Roll tops are typically bright green, two or three feet high and made of wood, mostly used in hunter courses.  The front part of a roll top curves in a semi-circle, meeting the back at a 90-degree angle.

 (In Michael Tang's lovely picture from the Capital Challenge Horse Show, Scott Stewart's horse is jumping an oxer).
 


(The dreaded green rolltop)

A scrim sheet is used at horse shows to cover a horse's body from withers to top of tail; keeping off flies, cooling the horse down or just simply for decorative purposes.  Sheets are in "stable colors" with monogram or better yet, from some prestigious horse show that displays date, title or possibly a year-end award. 


(Scrim sheet complete with prestigious horse show name and date)
 

A martingale is a leather strap that's buckled around a horse's neck near the withers (at the base of the neck) with a separate piece of leather running from the girth to the noseband of the bridle going through the strap around the neck.  A "standing martingale" keeps a horse's head from getting too high when it jumps (makes a prettier picture).  There are other types but we won't go there.

Have you heard of a breastplate?  A kimberwicke?  What about studs and caulks?  We aren't getting kinky, I promise.  A hackamore?  A breastplate is leather strap the goes around a horses' neck in a circle connecting at a 45-degree angle to another strap that attaches to the girth on both sides with the purpose of keeping the saddle from slipping back too far.  Often you see these used in the hunt field as it's common to ride for hours on end, giving the saddle lots of time to slip back. 




 

(A breastplate)



(A kimberwicke)
 

A kimberwicke is a type of bit that goes into the horse's mouth.  Studs and caulks can be thought of as "snow tires" for horses or certainly tires for inclement weather.  When the ground is muddy and slick the horse may need extra traction.  Studs and caulks are screwed into the shoes and taken out immediately after use in competition.  A hackamore is a bridle without a bit. Some horses don't go well in traditional bridles but these are not allowed in hunter competitions.

Now you should feel knowledgeable when those damned horse people start talking in a language all of its own. 

To Drive or Not to Drive.....


Driving mocs are not just for driving anymore.....in fact, most shoe designers are in on the act this fall so there's lots to chose from depending on your pocketbook or wallet.  One of the more reasonable choices is this blue suede version from C Wonder for under $100:

 They come in more colors and also in leather:


These are one of my favorites, from Patricia Green (you can buy these online), so comfy!
 


 
 
 
If your pocketbook allows try Italian, these Ferragamos are wonderful, but expensive:
 

 
If cost is not an issue these Manalo Blahniks will work perfectly this fall and beyond.
 
 



 
 
Tory Burch has a new version for fall......
 
 
 
 
 


And you can never go wong with Gucci!


Happy driving and happy Tuesday!







Monday, August 26, 2013

A Walk in the Country

Since running is not an option at present, I walk the running route.  It's amazing how much more you can take in when you slow down. Guess that's true of most everything.  This is my daily "walk in the park" country style. 






















Friday, August 23, 2013

What's in Your Tack Room?

Many people would love to see the interiors of the largest, most prestigious homes in your area. Right?  That's why we have house tours.  But others, like me, would also love to see the tack rooms inside some of the best barns, show stables, or even those of a weekend warrior like me.  So you want to know what's inside mine?  Take a look....let me warn you, it's not fancy!

We've had this old metal sign for years.  It hangs inside the barn when you first walk in, near where we groom the horses.


I keep some of the ribbons in the tack room.  Many have been thrown out.


I have some message boards right outside the tack room. The tri-color and the big purple ribbon are the ones Alfie won this summer, the first in late June right before I got hurt.



I took my saddles inside until I am riding again.  Lots of girths....


My small refrigerator comes in handy.





That's Sega's fake tail.  The kitchen cabinets came out of the house, along with the old counter tops.


My blankets and coolers are in plastic bags underneath..

This is the barn aisle. I have six large stalls..


It's an old barn, over 100 years, very cold in winter but I love it, warts and all...

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