my collection of riding tights

/ Ashley Wingert / 5 Comments
Dear Ashley, We are out of space in your drawer. You do not
need to add to your collection. Sincerely, Your Tights

Completely shameless confession: I love riding tights. Even before I got into distance riding, I had several pairs of tights with funky-patterned side stripes I would use for schooling and riding lessons. As evidenced by the above, once I got into distance riding, my fashion sense took on very much of a “no holds barred color explosion” type of flavor. I also wear them for more than just riding: I’ll wear them under sweats in the winter when I need an extra layer, or as a more comfortable alternative to jeans on days I’m just hanging around the house.

I’ve gotten my tights from a variety of sources and I really like them all for different reasons. At the very least, having multiple brands allows me to rotate through them — very handy at the Prescott ride when day one’s tights rubbed on the inside of my knee, so I switched to a different type on day two.
I also tend to hold on to my tights for a very long time, reluctantly disposing of them only after they’ve reached the point where I might as well just go ride in my underwear, they’ve gotten so see-through.
tights from Evelyn the Tights Lady

The two pairs of denim-looking tights are my newest acquisition from Evelyn, bought at the AERC Convention in February. One pair are solid lycra with a denim print, and the other are a heavier, more cotton-woven type of material with the look and a tiny bit of a feel of denim. The lycra ones are nice and cool for the summer. The denim ones are a perfect fall/spring weight and very comfortable. The solid purple cotton and “fireworks factory explosion” ones are several years old now, and the patterned ones have been through a number of rides and holding up well. The solid purple ones are a cotton blend of some kind, which is nice and lightweight for summer.

I finally got to meet Evelyn in person at the Convention and paw through the racks of wonderful, wild, outrageous patterns. I thought bringing home the denim ones was a rather conservative move on my part…but Evelyn’s promised to look for some wild orange fabrics for me as well. :)
Love these…Evelyn is definitely one of my go-to sources on tights.
Tropical Riders
EnduraCool on left; PrixTec on right

I’m kind of on the fence about the Tropical Riders. The brown pair on the left are wonderful. They’re the “EnduraCool” model, I believe. I picked them up a number of years ago…probably 6 or 7?…on sale at one of my local tack stores. As you can see from the rather interesting color variegation on them, I’ve worn them a lot. The lower leg is still the original color, from always being covered by half chaps, and the upper waist area is the same way from always being covered with a shirt. But the middle part…welcome to the “Arizona sun effect.” They’ve also got a couple of small holes…but they’re so comfortable and great for the summer that I refuse to give them up until they’re in shreds.

The orange ones on the right, I’m not too sure about. They’re the “PrixTec” variety. I know one thing for sure: I don’t like the full-seat. It’s not even the grip in the saddle part — nice, but unnecessary, as it turns out — but I don’t like how much extra weight and lack of breathability the extra material adds, and it makes them fit a little funky. I’m not wild about the fact the cotton material seems to be pilling around the lower leg and ankle area after only a few wears/washes.
Will get another pair of the “EnduraCool” variety if I can ever find another pair on sale again.
Irideon Issentials

The most boring tights I own…but I can’t get rid of them. They wear like iron. The black pair on the right are at least 7 or 8 years old and don’t even have a hole in them. (And they’ve seen a lot of miles.) The grey pair aren’t much newer, at least 5 or 6 years old. They have a couple of tiny holes on the side of one knee. They’re made of some kind of microfiber polyester, so have fantastic grip. They’re acceptable all year round, but can get a little hot in the summer. They do have a funky outer seam that I have to watch for — if it gets placed under my half chaps the wrong way, it’ll press right into my shins and do some interesting pressure things. Black goes with everything, so I can wear my more colorful and interesting shirts with these.

Kerrits Klassic Performance

I’m pretty sure these are the “Klassic Performance” variety. These are another pair that have seen a lot of miles and have the wear to prove it, but I don’t have the heart to chuck them quite yet. The bottoms of them are permanently stained from when I was breaking in my new black half chaps and sumemr sweat + new suede = dye leak. There are a couple of holes in them. The thigh area is starting to stretch out and get a little threadbare. But they’re some of the coolest summer tights I have and are still super-comfortable. The only problem with these is the tan color. From a distance, ride photos have a bit of a “Lady Godiva” effect. Hmmm.

Crazy Legs tights

The two wild prints on the left are solid lycra.. The side-stripe ones are lycra stripes with some kind of tech-performance solid fabric. This is my other go-to source for something other than off-the-rack, tack-store tights. The ones on the right are my newest pair, and the print is some funky shimmery snakeskin-effect type of fabric…very wild. (And enough orange in it to go with my whole orange color scheme.) Also been very happy with these so far as well

Not pictured: Winter riding tights, because they’ve been put away in my closet until next winter. One pair are Crazy Legs, the other Irideon Wind Pro. Like the Crazy Legs. The Wind Pro, I use more as winter sweats than for actual riding, because they’re bootcut, which, as it turns out, I don’t care all that much for in the saddle, especially when paired with half chaps. I love the Wind Pro material, though, and will probably look for another pair next winter in a more fitted style.

What I love about all of these tights and their manufacturers: They’re made in the US. Yes, even the Irideon and Kerrits. That makes me extremely happy that something I buy and get so much wear out of ties in so strongly with my efforts to get as much of what I buy as possible made in the US. And I really like supporting the small businesses like Evelyn and Crazy Legs: hard-working people and personal friends who are innovative and quality-driven.
I’It appears that I’m out of drawer space now…but that doesn’t stop me from keeping one eye open for any good deals I might stumble across along the way. Because there’s always room for more tights.

pony therapy

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

Saturday was definitely a Good Day at the barn. The pony and I had a very productive arena session, actively working for over an hour, without her usual ‘tude about the arena. The past couple of rides have been very good for her, both mentally and physically. Hopefully the imminent arrival of summer won’t do too much to dissuade people from wanting to keep getting out and trail riding some more.

And despite the threats…I didn’t actually give her a full soap bath. She got a thorough hosing down, and her hair coat is thin enough once again that I didn’t necessarily feel the need to break out the shampoo. (Just ignore the yellowish tail…)

I still think she’s world’s cutest little mover.

Despite the fact she’ll be 20 this month, overall, she’s doing really well. The vet was out to do spring shots on Monday and he was happy with how she looks. She’s on a perpetual diet, but despite the fact her workload has been drastically cut from what I was several years ago, she doesn’t weigh any more than when we were competing. The biggest difference I see is a little more pasture belly and a few less toned muscles…but she’s earned her competition retirement.

Rockin’ her two-tones.

I’m very excited to be testing an up-and-coming Renegade design. These are the bright green boots that have been seen in my (and some other Renegade endurance riders) ride photos this season. They’re currently being testing in the roughest conditions we can find — the endurance trail — and will be released later this year. The most exciting part is, they fit Mimi perfectly right out of the box. And boots that small? Adorable.

I’ll have more information about the new boots the closer we get to releasing them, but for now, based on testing them since earlier this year, with almost 200 competition miles + training miles in them, I’m very happy with what I’m seeing.

Drying out, post-bath.

Finally, photographic proof that I’m pretty sure my luggage rack has never actually been used for its intended purpose. And while I might not necessarily recommend this for a weekend-long way to secure your pony at ridecamp, it does make a great temporary hitching post for the one who really only needs the illusion of being tied off, but will make a break for it on a ground tie if someone isn’t immediately in the vicinity.

bring on the weekend

/ Ashley Wingert / 1 Comment

I’m ready for a couple of days of pony therapy + kitchen therapy.

Most weeks, my reaction is, “Oh, weekend. Okay.”

This week, my reaction is a little closer to, “Oh, weekend. Weekend! Ohmigoshwherehaveyoubeenallmylife?!?“

With daytime temperatures pegging close enough to be called “near-summer,” I think a proper bath for the filthy pony is in order. That’ll strip off the last hangers-on of her winter coat, and take care of some of the stains that have been on there since…um…October.

And I’ve found a couple of recipes I want to try this weekend…hand-kneading some bread dough sounds like a really good idea right now.

Gooey chick-flick that requires no brain-power is on the agenda for tonight…no more thoughts about vehicles, mechanics, and all the other various and sundry of the week.

Hi. My turn for fun and games this weekend?

Lessons Learned: Prescott Edition

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

Some rides are easier than others. At Sonoita, for whatever reason, everything went really smooth and I found myself wrapped up for the evening by 8PM and with time to even watch TV on Steph’s portable DVD player. Prescott, not so much, as I found myself back to my “standard operating procedure” of feeling like I had way too much stuff to do and not enough time in an evening to get it all done before the next day, then finally crawling into bed around 10PM.

No idea what the difference was, other than maybe more socialization at Prescott? Hey, if it means a slightly later night…so be it. Rides are my social life, so I’m going to enjoy that time.

I touched on it before, but the theme of this weekend was “flexibility.” So many plans ends up changing along the way, and so for a self-admitted control freak who prides herself on her planning and preparation, it was a real exercise in relaxing and going with it, especially since it was mostly stuff I had absolutely no control over anyway. This ride season has been really good in getting me to lighten up and not be quite as intense about rides. I’m still my detail-oriented self (love my lists and Post-It notes), but I’m learning it’s not necessarily the end of the world if some minor thing gets forgotten or doesn’t get done.

As with every ride, some things worked and some things didn’t. Between Sonoita and Prescott, I changed around some major elements of my saddle set-up: the seat cover and the stirrups.

First, I switched my full sheepskin cover out for a Supracor seat cover. What I liked about it: Not having the full sheepskin on the sides of the saddle made it just a little narrower and that much easier for me to put my leg on the horse; the stiffer Supracor material “filled in” some of the extra seat space and made the rise seem less steep; that Supracor is cushy.

Unfortunately, it ended up not working for 50 miles. There was just too much of an edge where the seat cover ended on the sides, and it was definitely turning into somewhat of a chaffing spot. Also, having the sides of my saddle uncovered meant that my knee patches of my tights rubbed against the leather knee blocks of my saddle, and for whatever reason, they squeaked. I hate squeaky noises like that, so that was highly annoying. Plus, my full sheepskin kept my saddle really clean and scratch-free.

Fortunately, I brought all of my “originals” of the things I’d changed out with me, so it was a fairly simple matter of switching out the seat covers between days one and two.

The other thing I changed was my stirrups. I’d been looking at the Cloud Stirrups for a while — my father used to use them, and I could never get over how big and clunky they were — but after exhausting several other options, they looked like my best shot, especially when I found a set of them advertised on the Endurance.net classifieds for a great deal.

I love them. Yes, they’re heavier than I’m used to…but it seems like they balance out the weight of my saddle. And they look less clunky in black. But looks and weight aside, they’re comfortable. I’m still kind of playing with stirrup leather length — because they’re heavier and more stable, they stay in place better and I don’t have to rely on a shorter leg position for stability — but I’m really happy with them.

I must be a real endurance rider now: I got my first actual clothing/tack rub and finally had an actual need for BodyGlide. The intersection between the stitching across the knee patches on one pair of tights + half chaps + stirrup leather was just the wrong combination and I ended up with a rub on the inside bend of my left knee, and could feel another rub starting on the same place on my right knee. Fortunately, this happened on day one when the vet hold was back in camp, so I was able to slather with BodyGlide (lazy endurance rider couldn’t be bothered to remove her half chaps and boots to change tights) and it didn’t really get much worse the rest of the day. As part of my planning, I’d brought three completely different brands of tights with me, so the tights I wore on day two didn’t have stitching in the same location. I also had my full sheepskin cover back on, and riding a completely different horse with different movement and positioning in the saddle.

irish horse had asked about the logistics of riding what was originally going to be three different horses, and how my tack set-up would change. Surprisingly, not that much. I’d tried my saddle on all but Liberty and it worked; including the same saddle pad. Rocco and Kasha both wear the same bit and their bridles are adjusted the same. Liberty wears an s-hackamore, which is the same set-up I use on Mimi, so all I have to do there is adjust size settings. Ditto on the breastcollar — just adjust settings. So far, they all like my mohair girth and it fits all of them. Liberty is the one horse my saddle ultimately won’t work on — it’s a little bit too narrow and she was slightly sore back on her loins by the time we finished. (She’s a tank, at least as wide as Mimi.)

I wish I would have had time to braid Liberty’s mane. I don’t think it made a huge difference in her cooling down, but it’s long and fine, and kept getting caught under the breastcollar/saddle pad/saddle packs/reins. I even spent the last 15 minutes at the vet check rummaging through my crew bag looking for something to use as a hair tie. (The only thing I found that might have worked was shoelaces. I figured we’d gotten that far and were still okay, so just left it. I now have a pack of braiding bands and a mane comb stuck in the crew bag.)

I did pretty good in the food department. Ride meals were outstanding, provided by a mobile catering company. Dinner Saturday night was BBQ ribs or chicken (ribs for me!), and Sunday was beef burgandy on pasta. The chocolate cupcakes with almond butter whipped cream were so good. I made my homemade meat sauce marinara with spaghetti for Friday night — always a hit — and had leftovers of that for Saturday lunch. Breakfast we discussed already, with the conclusion that “cottage cheese is good.” I still love the Succeed! electrolytes and the Clip2 energy drink: I went through three of those over the weekend. All things vanilla or orange-flavored work the best for me. Lemon-flavored GU Chomps tasted good going down, but lemon-flavored burps aren’t all that much fun later.

And the biggest thing for me in finishing a ride still feeling good? Riding good horses who don’t thrash me to bits or give me ulcer-causing worries. Thank Liberty, Rocco, Gina, and Stephanie for a great weekend and two great rides!