November 1, 2014

I am not a very girly girl.  I do not own a lot of nice clothes.  I mostly wear t-shirt and yoga pants, and just about everything has a stain of some type on it.  I do not have a big shoe collection.  I generally have one pair of shoes for each need.  One pair of sneakers, one pair of Muck Boots, one pair of Jodhpur boots, one pair of snow boots, and a pair of sandals.  Easy.

About two years ago I fell in love with the Dublin River Boot.  And just about all of the other boots of the similar style dubbed “yard boots”, “country boots”, “lifestyle boots” or whatever title you want to brand the fashion with.  I hemmed and hauled, “do I really *need* them”, no I didn’t really need them.  I spent months thinking about this.  I looked at the different brands, Dubarry clearly out of my league, Dublin, quality and priced accordingly, Sussex, eh…  This went on for well over a year.  I spent a few weeks in England seeing everyone and their dog wearing yard boots in a large variety of styles, and my feet kept begging me and assuring me that yeah, they can pull off that look too.  And look how dry and protected from mud they would be, while still being cool looking.

A few months after returning home I tramped on into the local tack store, and tried the Dublin River Boots, which I had decided after much deliberation were my favs.  I put the left boot on and it looked so good.  Then I attempted to put on the right boot.  It was a no go.  My stupid scar tissue filled kankle refused to bend into the boot.  I wanted to cry, but instead, I put the boots back in the box, returned them to the shelf and stalked out of the store in shame and defeat with my stupid feet wearing their usual stupid sneakers.

I quickly recovered, and went on an internet-window-shopping binge.  There had to be some of these boots with zippers.  I mean, come on, I am certainly not the only horse rider with previous riding injuries that led to ankles that do not bend properly.  I dug deep, and finally found a pair out of the UK, with a zipper up the back.  They were much more field boot looking, and certainly could pass for ‘tall boots’, but they did look cool.  Of course they were only available from the UK, which required some shipping, and I would not be able to return them affordably if the footbed was too narrow. So again, deliberation, I felt way too girly, and I decided to table the topic.  My feet cried.

This summer Dublin came out with the Wide Calf River Boots.  They only added 2cm to the calf, but I thought that might just be enough space to force my ankle in.  I spent a few months doing ankle bends in anticipation, and waiting to see if any other new styles hit the market that I would prefer.  In October, I decided it was go time.  I shopped around and found Smartpak offered free return shipping, just incase, and placed my order.

The next three days were filled with ridiculous amounts of package tracking checks.  The minute they arrived at my door I started sweating.  I opened the box and felt the soft leather.  I pulled the left one on, and admired my foot and leg.  Then I went to work on the right boot.  It took a little work, and changing to my thinnest sock, but I got the bastard on.  I am not going to lie, I had sweat beading on my forehead and my husband asked me if I was “ok” and if I “needed any help” more than once.  But I got it on, and it looked and felt so good.  I strutted around the house, striking poses in my new boots and kept them on for the rest of the evening.

I have now been wearing them for about a week.  I have ridden in them , I wore them to work, I have been doing my barn chores and house work in them, and I love them.  I even got compliments at work from non horsey co-workers.  Each of those co-workers won a gold star in my book.  I love them.  they are soft and sturdy and so well made.  They are quality footwear.

They are getting Considerably easier to get on, and I am sure in another few weeks of wearing them I’ll manage to boot my right foot without breaking a sweat or a single grunt.