Despite the saying, spring never really sprang up this year—New England flopped back and forth between 40° and 80° for a month or so before finally settling on the warmer end of the spectrum. Even though I am a little upset about the lack of my favorite 70°-and-sunny weather, I made it through with some spring favorites.
ACE Equestrian Belt
I’m starting off my spring favorites with my new go-to belt from ACE Equestrian. You can read my whole review about it here, but it has basically a magical, stretchy wonder that is all I’ve worn the last two months and I’m not sad about it.
Ariat Challenge Contour Field Boots
When my old tall boots finally got a hole this winter, I had no choice but to invest in a new pair before Ax was really back into work. Because Ariat was redesigning a large portion of their boots, I happily picked up the “old style” Ariat Challenge Contours for a decent sale price and got to work breaking them in. Now, I’m reliving my square-toed dreams from before my old Monacos stopped zipping.
Pomms
When Ax came back into work, his distraction level was through the roof. The fact that we were finally able to ride outside didn’t help, so I resorted to my trusty Pomms to help keep him focused. Typically, when I’m schooling I’ll use the cat toys that are essentially the same thing for half the price, but I have the pink versions of the Pomms that are just so dang cute. I don’t use them every ride because I don’t want to have to rely on them in the future, but for those days when I’d really like him focused, they do the job wonderfully.
Polo Wraps
Back in March, Ax nicked himself on the side of his right hind cannon bone, which resulted in a bone bruise and a protruding scar. Since then, I haven’t been able to find a pair of hind boots that cover it enough to prevent it happening again, so I’ve gone back to using polos. I currently swap between my fancy Equifit T-Sport Wraps that are beautiful but hard to wash and my generic SmartPak Polo Wraps that aren’t as pretty but are much easier to keep clean. If anyone has any good polo wrap suggestions, let me know!
Photography
If you’ve seen my last few posts, you know that I went to Kentucky for Not-Rolex the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April. About a month before, I justified a much-needed upgrade and invested in a new camera lens. Although my wallet isn’t a fan, I love the thing and it pushed my love of photography to the next level. I still hesitate to call myself a photography and have yet to make any type of business page, but I’ve created an Instagram account for TMC Photography, which is what I am calling this photo-taking thing, as another outlet to share my photos.
Lush
In the past two months, I have bought more Lush products than I can count. It started with picking up a new facial cleanser and progressed as I found myself loving everything I tried. I’ve got an “equestrian’s skin care routine” post coming soon which features a few of my favorites, so stay tuned.
Vans Perf Leather Slip-Ons
I may need to rename this blog “Saddles and Slip-Ons.” These were a Valentine’s Day gift from my boyfriend and I have since picked them up in another color because I love them so much. They come in black and white, so they go with everything, they’re comfy, and they are so easy to slide on in the morning and I am running out the door. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Sperrys, but these are great, too.
Working Out
This came as a surprise to me—I actually don’t hate working out. It has been about three months of working out 3-4 times a week, and I can’t believe how much better, stronger, and more energized I feel. Instead of dreading going to the gym, I feel disappointed if I skip too many days a week. Who am I?
My Tattoo
At the beginning of March, I had a sudden urge to get my first tattoo. I knew what I wanted and where, so José and I headed into town one Saturday and an hour later I was inked. I went with a small, negative space “A” on the outside of my right ring finger (much against my artist’s warnings). Both of my horses, Ax and Angel, start with the letter, and that is the finger your rein goes through, so it just felt right.
Breeches & Boat Shoes 
Love the tattoo, what a cool idea. Unobtrusive, but so much meaning!
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Thank you!
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Curious why the artist warned against a finger tattoo? I can’t imagine they “rub off” so to speak.
On the polos I really like my BoT polos. They have therapeutic properties, and clean up pretty easy.
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I think a lot of the aversion to them has to do with the fact that hands are used and washed constantly, so they fade significantly and require quite a bit more upkeep/touch ups. I was basically just warned to be prepared to have it touched up yearly to keep it looking nice and that it may heal a bit funny (which it did) because of how the skin on your hands replaces.
As for polos, I actually have a pair of Back on Track polos and really don’t like them—they might be the first BoT product I hate. They almost always slide down, no matter what I do, and the final “around” with the velcro is always loose on the edges. Maybe I got a dud pair.
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