One of my last posts covered the amazing fact that Capone and I can canter!! It’s been a long time coming and I am just over the moon that I have full use of my horse. I realized after a bit of time that my riding has now reached a point where I need to think about a saddle. I am not in a position to buy a custom saddle for Capone and I, so I’ve been peeking around at various options that are treeless, cheap used saddles, or bareback pads to keep working on my balance. I ultimately weighed the options on my big whiteboard and went with a bareback pad and some other add ons.

I ran a small poll on Twitter as I was deciding between the Thinline bareback pad, and the Intrepid Comfort Plus one. Everyone said Thinline (it was like 3 votes), but the actual consensus in the comments was the gummy seat was pretty slippery as I suspected from the photos. I decided on the Intrepid Comfort Plus in black. I bought it off Amazon since I had some left over Christmas gift cards, and it should be here by the 2nd of May. It is fairly expensive ($110) given that I can ride without tack just fine, but I do need a girth to ride with the actual gift (maybe giftS) that are also on the way. I ended up grabbing the pad with free shipping for about $45 which is a steal, I’m so thankful for Amazon cards.

To go with the bareback. pad (Let’s be honest)

Because I couldn’t help myself, I also snagged 2 new tack sets for Capone and I to use this summer interchangeably. I have recently been introduced to Equestrian Stockholm and PS of Sweden, two luxury tack companies who have huge social media accounts. I have been following them for a while for giveaways and such, but never bought any of their items because they’re definitely higher end. They also price their items in Euros so I don’t usually do the conversion, which is actually a pretty good way to prevent me from buying things. I first became captivated by the Equestrian Stockholm “Emerald” set, and found out that it was very sold out and a restock was not going to happen anytime soon so I had to pivot. Since then they actually have started a slow roll out of certain items in the collection, but the pads won’t be in until today and I’ve already placed my order for other pads elsewhere.

I went on to Smartpak because they were set to have the two pads I wanted in stock a few days ago, only to find they weren’t actually in stock at all and the date kept getting pushed back. I also noticed that they had the dressage cut, but the colors were flipped on the website. (Literally I became so hyper fixated on this set, I could tell what pad color it was from photos and other peoples posts.) I went ahead and gave them a ring following an email, and cleared up a bunch of questions I had. Basically I was right and they didn’t have a set date for their restock so that’s why the date kept fluctuating, and I let her know that the site listed the colors backwards and she happily sent that off to IT for them to fix. I noticed a lot of people selling these pads got the “wrong” color in the mail, and I’m betting this is why.

The first set I got is in “Sea”, it’s a nice blue with a teal/turquoise trim accented by a twisted rope trimmed frame separating the two components to highlight their colors. I had to get the matching ear bonnet because the chances of it selling out were high. The PS of Sweden bonnets have two main types of fabric, a crocheted breathable mesh over the head, and a moisture wicking anti microbial material over the ears . They also include a small patch of the saddle pad satin for the color accent/match where the logo is. There are matching polos for this set, but I don’t use wraps so I didn’t feel the need to buy $50 wraps with how much I spent already. I am hoping they release bell boots and dressage brushing boots in this color though, that would be a dream.

The second set I got is in the inverse colors as “Sea”, and it’s called “Petrol”. It’s a captivating deep teal color that’s very reminiscent of the San Jose Sharks teal, with the same twisted trim breaking up the “Sea” color trim on the outside of the pad. I also snagged the matching bonnet for this set because I was really scared of not investing in the whole set, and missing out on a beautiful set down the line.

To match all of these beautiful things, I got a new charm from My Charmed Horse. They posted it online, and I immediately snagged it for $15 with shipping. This is the new “wave” charm, and Capone and I were even reposted for using/buying it!!

After all is said and done, I’ve spent probably close to $400 on all of this. I wanted to celebrate the steps coming in the near future, and the giant leaps I’ve already made to get where I am now. This purchase will inspire new growth and stir up more confidence and independence. I can’t wait to see where Capone and I go with our connection and riding abilities.