Boot Shopping Horrors

I went to Leesburg, Virginia today to volunteer at the USDF Region 1 Youth Team Competition. It's a two day show, showcasing youth riders in Region 1 (MD, VA, and a few other states). I have to say going to a show like this makes me excited about the future of the sport. Despite having a long day I figured I had time to go by Saddle Liquidators and go boot shopping.

I've lost some weight, I figured hey I can find a cheap pair of tall boots I can ride and costume in.

I have to go back to Friday real quick. I went to Dover Saddlery for their tack shop. In the catalogs the Mountain Horse Firenze dress boots would fit me!!!!!!

Nope. She put me in a different Mt Horse, the ones with the back zipper, but size 10. They fit, but I wasn't a fan of how the expanded. So fail on that part.

So back to today. I got dressed in a pair of breeches and went tromping through Saddle Liquidator's stock of boots. They carried Ovations, Mt. Horse, Ariats, and a few other brands. Ovations were crappy.

I was appalled. I noticed a lot of tack shops starting to put them in clearance and I finally realized why. The leather quality is a sad state. These boots are all new. The most stress that's been put on the leather is people putting them on and zipping them up. They were so cracked and wrinkled. No wonder why they were 50% off.

When I saw the Made in India also was a note to be cautious. A lot of times tack that's made in India is really poor quality leather. Sometimes the leather is painted black, so they can chip and peel. There is a tack store near me that sells Made in India tack and it's just awful. Just doesn't hold up well. Another thing I noticed was the glue. Most boots the soles are glued on. The few Ovation boots I picked up had shoddy glue jobs. I checked Dover's review and a few people complained about the zipper, and one complained about the soles coming off. So just be wary with Ovations.

My search continues...