Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Just over two years ago, I bought the TuffRider Baroque Dress Tall Boots. You can see my original review here. A few weeks ago, someone wondered how they were holding up and asked me to do a follow up review. I thought that was a great idea until I had a zipper blow out last week. Whomp whomp. Even with the zipper failure, I would still buy these boots again. I ended up with the TuffRiders after my Ariat Volants fell apart. I paid nearly $500 for the Volants and got less than three years use out of them. You can see that post here. For $500, I expected more than two years and nine months of wear. The Volants literally fell apart. On the other hand, the TuffRiders look good for a year and a half of wear. They're dirty in these photos, but they're completely undamaged with the exception of the zipper. Unlike the Volants, the sole has remained tightly attached, and there are no tears or splitting in the leather. They show plenty of wear of course, but I school in them nearly seven days a week. I don't put them on until I am ready to ride, but if I ride both horses on the same day, I don't take them off between rides. The one area where I did notice some wear was in the color on the toes. Our summers are quite hot; last year we had nearly 70 days that were in the triple digits. Our winters are also quite mild with far more sunny days than rainy. My boots are in the sun far more often than not. With all of that exposure to the sun, I wasn't that surprised to see the color fading slightly. And really, it's not terribly obvious. You have to look closely to see it.
I have enjoyed these boots, especially for $161.95. They were super comfy right out of the box, and they never gave me a single rub or blister. If you're looking for a budget friendly boot, I'd recommend the TuffRiders. When I went back to the Riding Warehouse to buy them again, I saw that TuffRider still makes the Baroques, but they have since come out with a similar version that has a few more bells and whistles. That review coming soon! Comments are closed.
|
About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
|