kentucky swag + loot + booty

Let's talk shopping, yes?? One of the best parts of going to the Land Rover Kentucky 3DE is the HUGE trade fair. Literally everything imaginable is there, with so many tantalizingly shiny leathery odds and ends all just begging for that impulse purchase haha.

the official merch always feels so $$$$, but then again it's nice to have something to remember!

Luckily (or unluckily, I guess, depending on your perspective), I've worked really hard to change my spending and purchasing habits over the last year and have moooostly trained out the impulsiveness. Mostly lol.

Y'all already know that my finances basically karate kicked my teeth in last summer, and it's taken months of careful discipline to return to a place of stasis. Still tho. This trip has been on my horizon for months and months as well, so I more or less prepared myself. And set aside a little slush fund with basically no strings attached (aside from my ingrained ruthless practicality lol....).

One major help in resisting temptation is.... Most of the items are essentially regular price. Deals can be found for sure -- but you have to look for them. And it's wise to do price checks as you go. Bc let's be real, is it really worth carrying around that giant saddle pad when it's regular price and your luggage is already stuffed to bursting?

clockwise from top left: white leather bridle tag from the Amerigo booth; signed photo of Andrea Baxter & Indy 500 (that sadly got ripped in transit, ugh); Equipe patent leather crank noseband with rolled leather cheeks (100% the best deal of the weekend); and gift-with-purchase coozie from Ride Heels Down

There ARE deals tho. Like in the form of discounts applied when multiple items are purchased (ie, "buy 2 get 1 free" or "buy 2 get 10% off" etc), or gifts with purchase -- like the coozie above, that came with a tee below.

Or goodies that get marked down on the final day of the event. Like the snazzy white leather bridle tag above that I allllmost bought at $20, but decided against. Since I already have the $8 plastic Dover version that works perfectly well (even tho it's a lot uglier than this). But on Sunday when the price was reduced to $15??? OK FINE, twist my arm why don't you haha. #forrealtho

OR, discounts can be found in the form of either used goods (esp leather stuff), discontinued items (Professionals Choice almost always has giant bins of discontinued boots), or "seconds" goods that were maybe not in their originally intended form. Like the Equipe noseband above that was missing its flash strap and marked for sale for $25.

I gotta be honest, I'm highly skeptical of that price tag. The full bridle was $350, and a booth next door had a nearly identical patent noseband for $80. The tag was handwritten so I wonder if the "2" was actually a "7." But when I asked the rep, she said nope, it's $25. So. Uh, obviously I snatched that right up haha! I've been lusting after patent leather for YEARS now, so it kinda felt like destiny lol.

left: Arista light weight jacket; right: official LRK3DE 5* t-shirt. should theoretically not become "vintage" too too quickly, unlike my 4* baseball hat from last year haha

I'm not usually much of an "attire" girl, to be honest. Most of the tech-y type shirts and stuff that I ride in are from Marshalls or TJ Maxx etc where you can find all manner of sporty tennis / golf / yoga / running tops at steep discounts. It's hard coughing up $50+ for a shirt when I know there's similar stuff to be found for ~$15. But, ya know, maybe that's just me haha.

Regardless, I *did* end up buying a bit of attire this year, but tried to limit it to the stuff that was either priced competitively, or was stuff I wouldn't find anywhere else. Like that Arista jacket above was on sale. Tho uh, my impressions of it since purchase are that you get what you pay for haha. The zipper in particular feels pretty delicate. But it's cute and it's not destined for the barn so perhaps it'll last well enough anyway.

The t-shirt was a no-brainer too, right? Like, you gotta get at least some official gear haha. I got a baseball cap last year that I love and wear constantly. Tho, turns out, it's already "vintage" bc it's for the 4* haha. Funny how that happens... And who knows, at some point in the future there will be a new title sponsor and this "Land Rover" tee will be outdated too!

biggest splurge of the weekend, this pretty blue-ish gray sporty RJ Classics Harmony mesh show coat. lighting in the photos doesn't do the color justice

I wasn't necessarily planning to buy a show coat over the weekend, but definitely had my eyes peeled. The sad fact is that none of my pretty Horseware show coats (either the French blue or the berry) fit me any more, and my local seamstress was a bit unsure that she could tailor it the way I envisioned.

So. Those coats are for sale (size L, asking $55 shipped if anybody is interested email me at fraidycat.eventing at gmail!) sold, and I've been casually hunting for my next coat.

This RJ Classics Harmony mesh show coat caught my eye immediately. And I really liked the fit of it, esp bc it is a little longer on me and seems well suited to my particular dimensions. Again tho, I was a little reluctant to buy the first thing I saw, so I tried on a few other jackets elsewhere (like the similar coat from Kerrits).

But this one had the best fit for me. So. I went back and got it haha. Can't wait to bust it out at a show! I like that the color is sorta different, but still conservative and subtle in a way.

And true story - I actually almost went overboard and envisioned this jacket with the gray One-K helmet, and even went so far as to try them on together (my immense regrets that there are no pics of this!). But it turns out that the two grays were different tones, one cool and one warm. Oh well!

i just really really like this graphic, tho kinda wish i had gotten a smaller size. oh well!

So that coat was definitely gonna be the "biggie" for the weekend price-wise haha, but I still had a bit of a hankerin for moar, ya know?? The "Ride Heels Down" booth had a TON of cute tees. So many cute graphics, I loved it! Actually, that was the same booth that had the "Good Studs Are Hard To Find" tee that we all obviously thought stud-finder Rachael ought to buy lol....

I ended up going with the tee above tho, same as the coozy pictured earlier. For whatever reason I just really like that design on the back. Possibly bc it's what I'm constantly saying to people anyway haha, might as well have it plastered on my shirt!

this set of boot bags was probably the second best deal of the weekend lol

This next one was actually a bit of a surprise purchase -- I didn't even see this booth until late on Sunday. They had all manner of useful travel and luggage type stuff, like saddle bags and covers, bridle bags, helmet bags, and these boot bags.

And... These are actually damn nice boot bags -- esp with that fuzzy lining. Considering my current system involves carrying boots wrapped in plastic bags stuffed inside my normal totes.... Seemed like maybe it was time for an upgrade haha. Gotta have a little luxury in life, right? Esp when that luxury is also #practical, my favorite ;)

clockwise from left: gift-with-purchase RJ Classics back pack (that is the absolute perfect size for trekking around on xc day haha); g-w-p thick chunky socks; Fuzzy's cat socks; and freebie Zocks for trying on a pair of Romfh breeches

Almost every vendor was giving out socks with purchases above a certain level. But like, actually pretty good socks too. Those maroon puppies look downright decadent for wintertime. And the Zocks I didn't even have to buy anything -- just had to try on those Romfh breeches I wrote about a couple days ago.

Which like, again -- those breeches were regular priced so even tho I loved them, it's a purchase that can wait a bit to see if a better deal arises etc. But I'll totally try them on to at least figure out my size haha, esp for a free pair of socks ;)

That backpack was a gift with purchase with the show coat (actually, so was a QHP garment bag, which will also be extremely helpful for show days) and is honestly one of my favorite things. It's the perfect size to fit a bunch of beverages and snacks, plus whatever other odds and ends you want to carry. But the small size and padded shoulder straps make it easy and comfortable to carry around. Sounds good to me, this pack will definitely get a lot of action!

possibly the highest priority purchase of the weekend - ice boots!!

Last purchase was something that's been at the top of my list for a long time now: ice boots. And actually I *almost* missed these, as they were hanging somewhat discretely amid a wall of other therapeutic type goodies.

I'm actually not super familiar with this company, but have a good impression of the design. The gel packs are so interesting bc even when they're not chilled, you can stick your arm inside and they feel cold. Which like, obviously feels promising that they'll hold onto the cold instead of heating up too fast.

these look pretty cool, the gel packs velcro on and can therefore be kept on ice separately from the outer wrap layer

My favorite part of the design is that the gel packs actually attach to the outer wrap via velcro -- so you can take the inner pack lining out separately to keep in a freezer or cooler. Definitely an advantage for those of us with limited space haha.

The boots aren't as long as other ice boots, but they look pretty fool proof. So we'll see how it goes. I just got a single pair, but if I really like them I may buy a second. Or, if they're not quite right, maybe I'll get a different style as the second pair to compare? We'll see haha, but I'm honestly pretty excited about these lol!

why yes indeed sir, i think i quite like it!

So maybe not the biggest haul in the history of Rolex Land Rover Kentucky, but I'm pretty pumped about each individual item. And didn't break the bank. So, #winning?

Obviously the very first thing I wanted to do after getting home was try that dapper patent noseband on Charlie <3 It's not adjusted or anything in that picture, and I didn't bother with moving the flash from my other noseband yet, but yea. I think it's a winner!

Maybe a horse with more chrome or a more flashy face or even a very refined face would not work as well with the bling of patent. But.... Charlie's head is not exactly what anybody on earth would call "refined" lol, and there's an awful lot of brown real estate to absorb some of the glitz.

let's be real tho, who wore it better?!? haha.... (maybe don't answer that LOL)

And now that we're home, there are a few more items on my list of "wants" --- most importantly, a new show shirt. I looked at a TON at the trade fair, and tried on a fair amount too, but didn't quite find anything that was quite right in my size or price point.

Ooh, and I need to get my leather halters repaired. It took every single ounce of restraint to not buy a new one at the trade fair (there were SO MANY OMG), but I have two perfectly good halters already that could both be repaired for less than the cost of one new. So.... That needs to happen haha.

Otherwise, tho, now that we've got all our fresh new gear, maybe it's time to get back out again to show it all off??? Lol.... In time, I suppose. In time.

What do you think -- is any of the above on your list too? Or have you tried any of that stuff before? Or is there anything else you were curious about at the Kentucky trade fair?

Boyd Martin & Tsetserleg's fast 'n clear 2nd place finish here

Oliver Townend & Cooley Master Class's winning round here

And for no other reason than "I want to," here are the links to show jumping rounds from Boyd Martin & Tsetserleg and Oliver Townend & Cooley Master Class, the second and first place finishers, respectively. Definitely check them out!!

Bc hey, maybe if shopping isn't your bag, at least there's fun media to watch, right???