Outfitting~

Up front~

Well, it's been HOT!  Just too hot for me to want to ride...   There's Tevis - my favorite horse/rider team were unable to start, but I still have several friends riding to keep an eye on!  One of our WTRDD riders, Lisa Preston is currently at 89th!  Go Lisa!   Bare Bones going on down in the Capitol Forest - the first time since it's inception that I've missed it.  The heat of course is a factor, not having a saddle ready is the other.

Rear of the panel~

Reactor Panel asked Tolklat to make fitted booties/pads for the panels.  Woolback on the bottom, with a Cordura top.  My saddle came with a used set to try & they seem to work great.  The best aspect is that they completely cover & protect the panels.  Once the break-in period is over, I plan to keep them on & start using the Supracore pad under - next to Farah.  Still love the way the Supracore performs.

Front of the Panel~

I couldn't get the Stowaway front pack in black, Riding Warehouse said the manufacturer is unable to get black fabric currently, so had to settle for brown :-(   Could not find it through any other source either...  It's almost more bag than I want - but that's the choice if you want to carry water bottles up front. 

Yes, brown trial fenders don't look good... Will replace with black.

There was more than enough room for the stuff I carry.  May order the streamlined version - if I can get it with a bottle holder on one side.  Bony Pony received my order from Tory yesterday.  Love the grab strap, the headstall crown piece has to be shortened - that will take a full week.  I returned the breast collar - holes were punched unevenly & just didn't like the "English" style. 

Spoke to Gail Hought just before she left for Tevis & if you can believe - she was out of black beta strap!  My reins - are special order, since I like 1".  I added a breast collar & running attachment.  Hope I don't have to wait forever for those.  It's a good thing we had our booth at the tack sale this spring & made enough money to cover all of this!

From the front~

I decided to insure the saddle too...  My insurance agent with State Farm, was able to offer me some comprehensive insurance at a reasonable price.  Call Andy @425-742-9304 - (tell him I sent you) if you would like more information.

Look forward to my next ride to see how all this works on the trail!

Tack Sale!

Our Booth!

Well, it started like this...  I bought a saddle from a friend - that I didn't need, wouldn't fit - but was so darn pretty, old & original by Colorado Saddlery.  After keeping it for a year - we took it up to the Bony Pony to see if we could consign it.  They - in turn - mentioned their yearly tack sale to be held at the Skagit County Fairgrounds.  For $50. we could have a booth & not have to pay any commissions on anything we sold.  Really?  We thought about it on the way home & decided - what the heck - we'd do it!

Headstall - sold!

I spent last week digging through the tack room, tack trunk & scrounging up everything I could find that I thought might sell.  We ended up with more than I thought!  We were up early & to the fairgrounds early & set up on time!  There were people lined up & waiting at 10 a.m. when the sale started.  We really had fun - seeing a few friends, meeting people, talking tack & horses!  Always favorite topics.  :-)

It felt really good to see people walk away with things that they really wanted & could use.  A cute little girl bought the headstall above & her smile said it all!  We had four old helmets - one was my original Range Rider!  It sold, as did the small Troxel!  We gave Butch's old Lidlocker away to a guy who's wife had talked him into five-acres & a couple off the track Thoroughbreds!  (We figured he might need it :-)  My Numnah dressage shaped wool pad from New Zealand was purchased by a lady who also took Joyce's contact info.  She's going to have Joyce trim it to match the new saddle she purchased!  It had been in the track truck for almost 20-years!

Finally, just in the last few minutes of day - a lady came back & bought that saddle!  She said it was the nicest in the sale & it truly was.  I doubled my money on it, which worked for us!     Now that I'm motivated - I'm going to get the rest of the blankets & one Very nice saddle pad listed on eBay. All in all, the day was a great success - we made enough to put a big dent in the cost of the saddle I ordered almost a year ago & still hope to receive one of these days!