Chuck Pinnell - Master Leather Craftsman in Virginia

Last week I ventured over to Crozet, Virginia to see Chuck Pinnell. Chuck makes belts, chaps, leather bracelets, all kinds of stuff, all by hand. The buckles are silver, also made by hand and he sources his leather all over the world. Expensive? Of course?  An heirloom?  Absolutely.  He caters to the sporting crowd, but you don't have to subscribe to Garden and Gun to love his wares. 

 The orange belt was my favorite.

 He makes cuffs, wallets, card holders, all kinds of things.

The cuffs with the fox are divine and would make a great present for someone who loves to fox hunt.  He can make these in most any color. The fox can be silver, gold or even with "eyes" if you are willing to pony up a bit more.  

Chuck is known for his chaps and half-chaps (we ride in them) and they are by far the BEST and they will last forever. Mine are nine years old and with a little refurbishing, will last me another ten.  But if you want something custom, with the best craftsmanship, the best leather selection then Chuck is the man.  See his website here.

He can make wonderful belts and handbags for your needlepoint projects.  See his website for wonderful photos of his chaps, needlepoint belts, bags, and belts. And tell Santa about Chuck!

New Needlepoint

It's finally getting cold outside, at least in the evenings here in Virginia.  Now that we're off daylight savings time, I get a lot of stitching in, at least for the next few months.  I am loving these designs from Lycette. You can see her collection here.  Po's Point carries her line and you can purchase these canvases here.

Kerry Millikin - From Olympic Medalist to Incredible Artist

The name Kerry Millikin may ring familiar to those who follow eventing.  In her day, Kerry was an accomplished Olympian, winning a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics in Eventing.   She's now retired from the horse world but she is equally accomplished in the studio, the art studio.

Kerry's sister, Liz, an accomplished rider as well, is a dear friend, and I visited her this past week on her lovely farm just outside of Middleburg, Virginia. Liz still rides and events (she has completed four stars all over the world) and buys and sells horses.  She has a great eye for a horse.

Kerry is in the red coat. Her horse, Out and About, called "Outie" was an incredible animal.

 

You can see Kerry's work here. It's amazing how talented Kerry is.  Happy Saturday!

Breeders' Cup Bonanza

For horse racing fans, this weekend is the Super Bowl.  Two glorious days of the best of the best in horse racing start late this afternoon at Santa Anita in California.  While the vision of American Pharoah taking down the older boys at Keeneland in the weekend's highlight, the Classic, is now a fading memory (and one that will never be forgotten), and won't repeat itself in any way, at least the Chromie fans will have something to cheer about.  California Chrome, remember him, will be racing to make is own history as he continues to add staggering figures to his bank account, now in excess of $13 million.

 (California Chrome)

He is the winningest horse in history, and he's not done yet.  He's the 1 to 1 favorite (as of yesterday at least) to win the Classic on Saturday night although he'll have some others nipping at his heels.  If he doesn't win it'll be an upset but stranger things have happened.  Keep your eye on Arrogate.  He won the Travers in amazing style in August and he's trained by Bob Baffert. Can he win the Classic again this year? 

(Arrogate)

The best race of the weekend, is today, the Distaff.  The 3-year-old filly, Songbird, is unbeaten in 11 starts including the Breeders' Cup Filly Juvenille as a 2-year-old last year but today she will race with the older fillies where she'll meet two of the best in history, Beholder (winner of two Eclipse Awards) and Stellar Wind.  

(Songbird)

Songbird has won her races by a combined 60 1/2 lengths and she's never won by fewer than 3 3/4 lengths. But her skeptics argue she's been beating an ordinary crop of sophomore fillies. Her jockey, Mike Smith, feels she has what it takes and he would know. "I've been very blessed to have ridden so many great horses during my career," said the all-time winningest Breeders' Cup rider with 22 victories. "No question, Songbird is such a special filly. So was Zenyatta ... but I can say that for a horse at her age, Songbird has the fastest cruising speed of any of them."


Beholder's jockey, Gary Stevens, says his horse is the best horse he's ever ridden, male or female. She'll be going for her second victory in the Distaff after her win in 2013.  Stevens, who has won 10 Breeders' Cup races, including the Distaff three times, is impressed by the quality of this year's eight-horse lineup.

"On paper, this is the best Distaff I've ridden in," he said. "But I can go back to 1988 with a great filly and a great mare in Winning Colors and Personal Ensign. I've been in some good Distaffs before. I don't want to take anything away from years past."

Stellar Wind has beaten Beholder in two of their three meetings, by a half-length in the Clement L. Hirsch on July 30 at Del Mar and by a neck in the Zenyatta at Santa Anita on Oct. 1. She's raced only three times this year.

Today's races will be on the NBC Sports Network starting at 5 pm EDT.  Tomorrow's races, excluding the Classic will be on the same network from 3 to 8 pm EDT.  The Classic will air on NBC from 8 to 9 pm EDT.  Tune in for some great racing.  The Breeders' Cup will stay in the West Coast in 2017 at Del Mar and will return East to Churchill Downs in 2018.  Hold on to your horses, it's going to be a great weekend!

Another Pomegranate Attic Sale

If you're an early Christmas shopper or if you're planning an extravagant holiday party then you might want to check out Pomegranate's new Attic Sale for some great bargains.

These fox napkins are now half price.

Add these felt fox napkin rings for your fox hunting friends.  These are just too cute.

These weekend bag will make the perfect gift for your horsey friends who travel a lot. See it here.

These horse-themed napkins are also half price.

I love these for the holidays. Add these to your tablescape, using white plates and a solid red or green placement for the perfect Christmas look.

These will also brighten your holiday table.

Happy Thursday!

Country Boots for Less

We all love Dubarry boots, but the price point is high, and doesn't fit the budget for many people.  There are other alternatives out there though for much less.

Ovation makes boots that look a lot like Dubarry and they are about half the price.  They make tall boots and mid-calf boots but I don't know how warm these boots are or if they hold up well.  I find that you have to dig a bit to find these boots in stock online in your size.  But if you dig enough you can find them.

These look a lot like Dubarry boots but for much less.  See them here.

I like these too.  See them here.

I love these which are deeply reduced at Dover right now. You can read a very thorough review of this boot here.  

These boots are very stylish and I would love to have a pair of these which are also on sale right now at Dover. See them here.

These Ariat boots are very similar to the Dubarry boot for about $100 less.  See them here.  You can buy them at Dover right now for about $200.  See them here at Dover.

These Ovation boots are also similar to Dubarry.  See them here.

Boots are made for walking, but also for looking stylish and comfortable in the country.

The 17,000 to 1 Long Shot

There are long shots and then there are long shots. Calumet Farms had likely the longest one imaginable with the colt Iron Liege.  He wasn't the favorite to win the Derby in 1958, but in the fall of 1953 Sports Illustrated approached B.A. and Jimmy Jones, the greatest trainers of the their day and the trainers at Calumet Farms in Lexington, KY with a proposal.  They asked them to pick a brood mare they thought most likely to produce a top race horse.  The magazine would then photograph the horse throughout their career.  It was agreed that Iron Maiden, a young War Admiral mare in foal to the famous stallion Bull Lea, would be the mother.  When the foal dropped the magazine was there.  He was named Iron Liege.

"It was a 17,000 to 1 shot that we had selected a mare who was to drop a Kentucky Derby winner for the cameraman," said trainer Jimmy Jones.  There were 17,000 foals born that year that were registered in 1954.  Ironically, Iron Liege was not the best horse Calumet had that year, he was the third best. General Duke was by far their best Derby bet but he was injured right before the Derby and never raced again.  General Duke was also by Bull Lea.  Second best was Barbizon the 2-year-old champion of 1956.  Barbizon had health troubles of his own and was eventually sold and became a top stallion and raced very little as a 3-year-old.

Bold Ruler, incidentally (the sire of Secretariat) was also racing this year and he was one of the Derby favorites.  Gallant Man was expected to win the Derby.  He ended up coming in second. 

The photo below is not great but there is Iron Liege with his mother and there he is three years later with the Derby roses. 

You can view the video here.  Great story isn't it and just in time for the Breeders' Cup this weekend.