Thoroughly Bred

I took some quick snaps yesterday before I headed out to watch horse racing at the Happy Valley Racetrack in Hong Kong. I forgot to show you my new mini purse, tiny like the one I posted about before. I found this Japanese label called Ambient, and I've been stocking up on some not-some-basic basics. *Warning* long post!

Like this pair of paneled, stretchy riding pants. And these cuffed platform Elizabeth and James-ish booties. Both by Ambient.

For such a simple outfit, normally I would play up the accessories. Since I'm away, I didn't bring much. I did spice things up with my custom made, perfectly round shades (kinda like these Lanvin sunnies that I coveted). If you look closely, the frame looks as though it was made from dark grained wood. My lovely friends at Fox Optical were kind enough to create this one-of-a-kind piece for me.

There's also a lovely story behind my new coral with yellow and white diamonds ring, from my mother. I'll have to save that for another post.

Now, on to the horse racing. We had the corporate box through my dad, and we enjoyed a full dinner buffet. Some of the dishes included tandoori salmon, curry lamb, roast pork loin, and coconut prawns. It was delicious.

We were taken down to the concourse level for one of the races. We got to watch the horses warm up; it was awesome to see them so up close. Then, we watched the race right next to the track at the finish line. As the horses thundered towards the finish line, the level of excitement from the crowd was deafening. I couldn't get any pictures of the horses as they were going so fast. All I know is I would give just about anything to have a go around the track full steam on a thoroughbred. I'll just have to imagine that the next time I ride around the track at Southlands.

We came home with our tummies full and pockets empty since none of us won on our bets. I took some videos of the race and warm-up below. Please excuse the crappy music - I don't have any music here with me.

Outfit:
Deconstructed grey tee, from Hong Kong
Stretchy skinny riding pants and cuffed boots, Ambient
Vest, mom's
Round black sunnies, custom creation using Mitsu Cairo frames

Back in the Saddle

Happy (Black) Friday and weekend, mes amis! I've successfully made it through most of today without buying ANYTHING online even though I've been so tempted by all the black Friday deals. I just about hit Checkout on the pair of Lanvin sunglasses that I've been eyeing for months now but I remembered that I'm going to the FreshOut sale tomorrow and also, I need to keep some money around because I'm finally back in the saddle again.

I haven't ridden regularly since the pony I was leasing, Miss Fancy, was sold (see me and Miss Fancy at a horse show here, riding on the beach here, and some more jumping action here). I tried out several horses, and the pictures you see here is a horse that I did not end up taking. She was a real cutie pie with the prettiest eyes.

Above and Below: Me trying to ride properly after a 3 month absence. This pretty mare wasn't really listening to me! I could barely walk the next two days.

Up next I tried a dark Warmblood gelding named Ned. My hubby found a note on my desk which I had doodled hubby's name and also "Ned" with hearts all over. He said, "LIVIE! Who's Ned?". Hee hee.

Below: This paint horse has the cutest eyes!

Third time was the charm and I found my match. My new horse is called Sandra Dee (Sandy), and she's another chestnut mare. She's a Holsteiner/Thoroughbred cross, and I'm starting next weekend. I can't wait!

All this means I need some new (stylish) winter riding clothes. Like the cozy Gersemi puffy coat below.

Or this Goode Rider puffy parka.

I am kinda in love with this tacky and ever so slightly cheesy horse printed fleece by Outback Trading. I think it can look kinda cool in an ugly sweater sort of way.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Anyone score great deals today for Black Friday? Or are you all saving up for Christmas?

Flying High at the Southlands Classic

We did it - Miss Fancy and I successfully competed in the Southlands Summer Classic Hunter Jumper Show this past weekend and I am quite pleased with the results. It's been a whirlwind, starting with show preparation last Thursday (lots of cleaning, wiping, braiding, picking etc.), and heading straight into competition on Friday morning and again Saturday. It was very hot and sunny on both days, and I was cooking underneath that pin-stripe jacket and black helmet. I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally after Friday, and I had to drag my butt out of bed on Saturday to do it all over again. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

It's something I've worked hard for, and it was a goal to get through a major show and compete at the jumper level for the first time (Jumpers being the competition based on the speed and accuracy through a course of fences - fastest and cleanest rider wins). When it was my turn to tackle the 10 jumps, I was so nervous and sick to my stomach. What if I went off course? What if I missed a fence?

I took a deep breath and lumbered in a lofty canter towards the first fence - Miss Fancy picked up on my anxiety and she was not as speedy as usual over the first 3 jumps. As I cleared the first few fences, I gained more confidence and soon I was flying through the rest of the course. When it was all over, the announcer said I had made it into the jump-off! As there's no time in between your first round and the jump off, I stared down hard at the jumps and went for it. I went hard at the last series of jumps and to my own surprise, I had a huge grin on my face. I couldn't believe I had done it! Not only that, but I was in 2nd place!

I didn't end up winning that class, but it doesn't matter. What's important to me is that I went through with it and did better than I expected. Miss Fancy gave me a chance to win and I held nothing back.

I fared better in a few other classes, placing in 3 of them (we got ribbons - yay!). It didn't matter that I had burnt my brand new show shirt on the shoulder the night before in my attempt to iron it (wore it anyways - the judges can't see under my jacket!); it didn't matter that I didn't win a 1st, 2nd or 3rd. It was so much fun and very satisfying to know I had reached this, a long-time goal.

And my husband says, "All that work and money spent for a few dollar-store ribbons?"

And I say, "Absfuckinlutely!".

A few more pics of the show below.


Below: Back at the barn after a long, but rewarding day.

Below: Briggs, a cute Appaloosa owned by a friend also at the show.

Thanks to Totem Photographics and my dear friend Melissa for these wonderful pictures.

Get Your Leather On

It's already June which means I'm just over 6 weeks away from my horse show at the Southlands Riding Club - yay! I had another great horse weekend, and my good friend Melissa came out to the barn to hang out. It was kind of a windy day and Fancy was being quite spirited (to put it mildly).

I had trouble doing the liverpool jump (over a small pool of water) and at first she stopped and ran out on me. Melissa got a few funny pictures of that. When I eventually got her to go over, she leapt across it like it was a raging fire, not a 2 inch deep plastic pan of water. I think I grabbed some mane. After that she was ok going over it.


We let her loose in the cross country field too and I did some small stuff - logs, fences and tires.


Outfit:
Urban Outfitters striped sleeveless shirt vest
Lululemon yoga top
Greenhawk blue riding breeches
Ariat lace up paddock boots
Half-chaps, from the Dog and Pony Shop

Lil Miss Fancy

My friends Sarah and Shanah put together this video of me jumping Miss Fancy at the riding club. Special thanks to Shanah's man Pete for the editing and awesome music. The second Rodeo jump was my first 2'9 - Yippee! Fancy just loves jumping and we had so much fun in this lesson.

More riding fun this weekend as Melissa is coming to Southlands again to watch me jump Fancy. Hopefully more pics and vids to come.

Chestnuts Have All the Fun

I'm having a fab Victoria Day long weekend so far, and yesterday my hubby came out to Southlands to watch me ride Miss Fancy and take some snaps. We hit the Van Dusen Garden Classic British Motorbike and Car show right after my riding lesson, so we did do some boy stuff in our day. Pics and review of the car show to come.

As for Fancy and I, we've been schooling jumps 2'9 - 3' - I was so excited when I did my first one! There's a 2 and 3/4 Phase eventing show coming up at the club, and I'm thinking about competing in it. Miss Fancy and I have been doing some x-country stuff and she just loves it.

I also went out to the Dog and Pony Shop last weekend and picked up some fancy new breeches by Trainer's Choice. I love them! I pulled out an old Polo by Ralph Lauren shirt and found a vintage belt that used to belong to my mom. My coach said I looked really dapper.






Riding outfit:
Polo by Ralph Lauren
Side zip olive breeches by Trainer's Choice
Tall field boots by Ariat
Studded brown oversized bag by Betsey Johnson
Vintage Belt
Riding helmet by Charles Owen
Wayfarers by Rayban

Silverado and Nitro - My Two Favorite Greys

I had so much fun on the weekend playing with Silver and Nitro at Melissa's barn.  We had a beautiful sunny day, and we both took turns riding Silver, and then Melissa on Nitro.  Hopefully we can go on the trails together in the summer time, but only after I can somewhat control Silver!

Horse Play

It's the weekend and that is horse time for me.   This weekend will be packed with equine activities: natural horsemanship class with Miss Fancy Saturday morning, then ride (maybe along the trails if it's nice out and practice some jumps - show season is coming up).  On Sunday, I'm heading out to my good friend Melissa's barn in Maple Ridge to watch her ride her two beautiful Arabians, Silver and Nitro, and then it's off to the Quarterhorse Bazaar at Thunderbird in Langley.  It's gonna be so fun!  I'll be getting lots of snaps of my two favorite grey ponies (Silver and Nitro) and might even hop on Silver for a little bit to see how far his training has come.

Here's a couple pics of the minis from last weekend.  At one point, all four of these guys were surrounding me!  I tried to get a pic but it's nearly impossible to rein in four miniature horses especially when they won't stop moving.   They also kept trying to get into the shed where all the supplies are kept!  They know where the food is.

Yearning for Stylish Equestrian Wear

I have always struggled to find really stylish equestrian apparel.  Everywhere I look, it's all the same-old, same-old - nothing really unique and designer.  Sure, I love the well made quality and preppy looks from Pikeur, Arista, Harry Hall, and Ariat, but there's nothing out there that spoke to the horsey stylista in me.  Enough of the gore-tex Mountain Horse wear, and clashing pink, blue and green striped Joules polos already!

That is, until I came across O'Halloran.  This is what one could wear riding with royalty in Ireland on a mock hunt, and you would look hot doing so (Hello Prince Harry!).   O'Halloran also carried a regular fashion line, including this beautiful long duster, and a bolero made out of a "rich terracotta fabric".  The O'Halloran lady is aristocratic, yet ever so slightly rebellious in the details.

Sadly, O'Halloran is no longer in business as the founder, Cathleen O'Halloran-Cordova, sustained a serious riding accident in 2006 from which she is still recovering.  I sincerely wish her all the best.  Until O'Halloran returns, I will have to continue my search.

Some more looks:

Beautiful full-seat breeches with a Gucci-esque bit-belt.

Beautiful herringbone shadbelly vest with navy suede collar.

All images from http://www.ohalloranco.com/

Beautiful Saturday

Enjoying a beautiful Saturday thus far with the mild weather and sunshine. Went on a lovely trail ride this morning with Miss Fancy after a morning jumpathon lesson. Took some snaps of the minis too at the barn. Now I've got a fruit crumble baking in the oven (my first attempt). Let's hope that goes as well!