Rolex, some shopping!

ROLEX!!!  Yesterday was our annual trip to Rolex  The shopping was so great we totally missed all of the dressage tests but one, I plan on catching up on some of the dressage today while I'm home waiting for XC to start.

The weather was FANTASTIC, although it doesn't like it will be as nice today!

I'm not a huge spender, it helps that I just bought a truck and trailer, so I did lots and lots of window shopping!

Here are a few things I loved but DID NOT buy.

The Alexus riding top by Smartpak.  First, duhhhh, purple!  This is a tech fabric shirt with a UPF rating so you're good in the sun.  The stand up collar buttons up under your dressage coat to provide a very traditional look but folds down and shows some nice color on the neck, plus the slimming color contrast side panels.  Loved it!

The Romfh lace show shirt another very traditional show shirt with some non traditional flare under the arms acting as nice ventilation.  The lace was soft and could only be seen without a coat, although I think this was a little "risque" to wear without one.

The Fits Ruffle Show Shirt  I really loved the waffle weave texture and having your stock tie built right in!

I liked the ventilated mesh back of the FITS show coat, a smart idea when you want to wear your coat for dressage and it's a summer day.

I sat in a bunch of saddles, just because.  I wanted to sit in the CWD saddles since so many people have been swooning over them and I wanted to figure out why.  I liked the saddles, but I didn't find anything SPECIAL about them for me at least.  They felt fine to sit in, but nothing that said "you will be at PSG in two months."

I loved the feel of a Stackhouse similar to this one.  It was made of this interesting suede like material that you were supposed to oil and make it look like normal leather while retaining the grippy texture.  These saddles are entirely custom, made by the owners of the company and they are produced to your exact measurements and your horse's measurements separate.  I liked that it was a smaller company who could be more focused on each buyer and not on mass producing almost identical saddles.    It did mean that all of the saddles I sat in were total customs so none made exactly for me, although I think if you sat in enough you'd get a good idea of what saddle worked for you.  This saddle was a work of art, and I love the flap design.  Very unique.

I LOVED the innovative design of the Bliss of London Paramour  Dressage saddle.  Sometimes I'm disappointed in monoflap saddles because even though there is only one layer, the leather is so thick it doesn't really make a difference.  The Paramour saddle had a thinner panel of leather and one of the reps put her hand underneath the flap and you could clearly feel it.  The flap really felt almost extraneous which I really enjoyed, something to keep my breeches from getting sweaty, but not enough to put a mountain between me and my horse.   My favorite part is that little dip between the seat of the saddle/the panels and your leg, it gave this ultra close contact feel as the supportive seat dropped away under your thigh to provide a great feel of your horse.  The thigh block also felt supportive but not restrictive, I'm a big fan of being able to feel like I can move around in my saddle when I need to.  With the hoop tree I think this would be a great saddle for someone on a wider barreled horse without making the twist so wide it was uncomfortable.

I hope everyone liked my reviews and I'll continue to add more as I remember all of the great things I saw!