The O.G.

When I left the endurance world for dressage, I slowly but surely began accumulating various pieces of tack. I've bought at least four dressage saddles, several dozen pads, at least a dozen bridles, and every type of bell boot, splint boot, and polo wrap they make. The one and only piece of tack that I never replaced were my stirrups.

MDC Sport Classic - left

Having ridden in endurance stirrups that had a massively wide base, a thick foam footbed, and a design that flexed when a horse was trotting, typical Fillis irons received a hard no from me. None of my trainers liked my choice of stirrups - the MDC Sport Classic, but I have loved them from the very first ride. I was at the mounting block the other day though and noticed how deeply worn the footbed of my stirrups has become. The grippy texture on both stirrups has been worn smooth over nearly the entire surface. It looks like I might put a wee bit more weight in the right stirrup, but I am pretty impressed by how evenly I must ride.

Right

I bought these stirrups in 2011. Back then they ran about $180. As I was looking at new ones, I was surprised to see that they're only about $200 today. I did a quick Google search and saw that today I would need to spend $1.36 to equal the purchasing power of 2011's dollar. Had the stirrups kept up with inflation, they would be selling for about $244 today instead of just $199.95. That means those stirrups I bought 12 years ago were pretty expensive!

Of all of the pieces of dressage tack that I have bought in the past 12 years, those stirrups are the only thing that I still have. I love them as much (or more) today as I did back in 2011. Back when I was young and hip - which was never, things were old school, not original gangster.

​Keeping up with the times ...