Tent Sale Tack Haul

Dover Saddlery Tent Sale. The two weekends a year that I save up my money for and go shopping for nothing but horsey things. Well…there are plenty of other horsey shopping sprees, but none this big. Every year I make up a list, set a budget, and head to Plaistow, NH. And every year I ignore my list and blow my budget. Oops.

This year was a little different. I only had three major things on my need list, a tiny budget with no wiggle room, and was fighting the crowd all by myself. Only this time there was no crowd and nothing to fight over. What used to be a tent chock-full of “amazing deal” products that were usually returns or exchanges, turned into a tent of “overstock” products at a lower price than normal. Despite the disappointment and lack of selection, I still came home with some good deals after a bit of digging.

Charles Owen Helmet Deodorizer – My schooling helmet has recently taken on a highly unappealing stench that likes to cling to my hair after wearing it for a few hours, so this was on my MUST GET list even if it wasn’t under the tent. I don’t really know if it will work or if I will like the smell of it, but anything is better than smelling like something died in my helmet bag. Retails for $10.99

DuraMectin Paste – Because Ax needs to be wormed. Retails for $1.99

Equalizer Comfort Girth – Ax has become a buffalo over the past few months of kinda-sorta being in work which has caused his current girth to be WAY TOO SMALL. Basically, I just needed something cheap that would last for a bit until he returns to normal horse size and will then be used as a back up. Thankfully, someone spotted this one on the racks even though it was supposed to be under the tent. SCORE! Retails for $34.99

Rider’s International All Purpose Pad (with double piping and a monogram) – Yes, I know that it is not my monogram. No, I do not care because it was C-H-E-A-P thanks to the tent! With Ax being such a sweaty pig, I find myself with a lot of dirty, sweaty pads and not many clean ones until I finally get around to throwing them in all in the wash. Plus I love the look of a brand-new, clean white pad. No, this was not on my list. No, I do not need anymore saddle pads. Yes, my mom is going to kill me once she reads this and sees that I bought another pad. Retails for $39.99 plus monogramming for $9.99

Eskadron Flexisoft AiR Front Boots – I am thanking the horse shopping gods for these things! I wasn’t looking for new front boots since I recently purchased a used pair of the old fashion Equifits over the summer, but when I saw these at such a cheap price under the tent I couldn’t just leave them there! They were definitely used and returned since I found them caked in dirt, but it was nothing a toss in the wash wouldn’t fix. Retail for $149.99

Eskadron Flexisoft AiR Hind Boots – I actually was on the lookout for new hind boots, but they were only on my WANT list. These were sitting right next to the fronts and were just as dirty, so someone must have returned their whole set. Their loss is my gain! Retail for $109.99

It ended up being a pretty successful Tent Sale after a little digging for the good stuff. Out of six items, I found four of them under the tent at AMAZING deals. I would have paid $357.93 if I had paid full retail price for everything, but I ended up only paying $128.98! I saved $228.95; a 64% savings!

-TC