Decisions, Decisions....

What to wear!! Always a girls hardest decision;) My problem stems from having nothing to wear, really nothing to wear. See the last time I showed western was in 1998 and boy have the trends changed. Back then vests and slinky's were in. My favorite outfit was a purple vest and slinky that I bought while I was at the AQHYA World show in 1997. And for showmanship, it was so much easier - a blazer and pants. See I visited Sergeants while I was in Ft. Worth and got a really good deal on this burgundy blazer and *gasp* tuxedo shirt. This was during the time when I drooled over the Hobby Horse catalog and begged my parents for some of the vests and jackets. I remember there was this sequined jacket that I wanted soooo badly. Just think we went from sequins to crystals! This was also during the time that State Line Tack actually sold decent stuff at good prices and you could buy HH from there. So my FIRST western outfits were HH vests with corresponding tuxedo shirts. And on the hot days I would throw on a starched button up and just go show! And since there were no crystals back then, things were a lot cheaper.

But here I am, present day, trying to decide what I want. Maybe it has to do with trying to make sure I get that perfect outfit on a shoestring budget. I have kept my eyes open for months, just waiting for that perfect used outfit that magically happens to be in my size and exactly what I want AND in my price range, but nothing. I have even been looking at the ready to wear stuff, but everything in my size is soooo, well not me. See I am tall and somewhat big boned, so that makes me a large in tops. My shoulders don't help much either. But I swear all the larges, to me, are select looking, not something for a twenty something. Maybe I am at the awkward stage where I DON'T want to dress like a youth, but don't want to look old either. Let me take something back, I have found some rail shirts that I absolutely love at Show Diva, Connie's and Dazzling Designs, but I am not going to shell out $700 for two yards of Lycra and some crystals.

So I have basically come to the conclusion that I will have to have my clothes custom made. I would much rather pay $150 for someone to make a rail shirt for me and then I will add the crystals to it. But actually deciding what I want is much harder then I thought.

Some ideas I have:

Rail Shirts
I know for a fact that I need at least one stretchy rail shirt for now. I know I want a double lapel collar. I finally convinced myself that I do not want cuffs, as I have been told they are going out of style now. Just picking the fabric is the hard part. See I want a white/black print, but have been unable to find anything that I love or even like. I also want a white shirt with holograms in silver on it as well. The following prints I have been thinking about as well.


These two are the same print, but just different colors. I think red will look better on Woody then the blue though.

I really like the print below as it is a border print and I think it would make a really neat shirt. Plus it is more red then black. I already will be wearing black chaps, a black hat and be on a dark bay, do I really need more black?!?

Rail Jackets
I would like a really classy white lace jacket. Of course I would want the body lined, but I don't want the sleeves to be and I want the edges to be scalloped and go over my chaps. I would also like a simple jacket in the following type fabric:

I love this print, now I just need to find it in a upholstery type fabric so there is some weight to it.
Showmanship Outfit
The hardest decision for my showmanship outfit is the color decision. I already know the style I am looking for. Something simple like this:
In a color similar to this:
Which is eggplant. I love the jacket above, but don't have the $3000 to spend on it!!

So these are the issues I am faced with....I guess I really have it narrowed down, just need to get the finalize on the fabric and just get it done!! I hope to have something started within the next month....crossing fingers....

But I do have a jacket on the way!!! I was lucky and found a Connie's Custom jacket for like 1/3 of the price brand new, not to mention in my size!!! It was not something that I was like....oh my god I love it, BUT I like it and will work with what I have. And something is better then nothing!


So really all I is to get my chaps made and I am ready to go!!

Woody
Still haven't started loping Woody yet. Connie thought he was looking better yesterday so I am sure by this Friday we will start, not to mention that I am having Jana do acupuncture on him so he should feel a lot better!

I did come across someone on PH that has a horse that had a sciatic nerve injury also. She used a Equine Physiotherapist, which is basically like a sports medicine therapist for horses. She made the mistake of not working her horse when they noticed a problem which caused muscle atrophy. She was advised that it would take a year for the horse to move correctly. It turned out to take 8 months to get the horse going correctly. The PHT would advise her of specific exercises to do to rebuild the muscle and come out to massage him every two weeks. She is located in Canada, but I am awaiting a call from the PHT to see if she can recommend me to someone in my area. So let's see how this goes!

Christina