I don’t own tall English boots… but I wish I did. I like the way they look. I’d like to learn to ride (maybe) a jumper or hunter or dressage horse. I love to watch these kinds of events and I marvel at the beautiful clothes…
So imagine my surprise when I was in Las Vegas on our way home from Wyoming, when a musician friend (who has no horse association) mentioned to me that their friend started a ‘boot crown’ company (in Vegas).
Me: “What is a boot crown?”
Friend: “I’m not sure, but it goes on English boots – you know, for horses.”
Me: “Uhh, I’m not picturing it… send me the website.”
And he did.
Click to go to the website
COOL IDEA, RIGHT? AND YOU CAN SPECIAL ORDER!
Here is what the website said:
Boot Crowns are designed by two dressage aficionados, Patrica and Edie for English riders of all disciplines.
They are proudly made in the USA by real leather craftsmen. Each pair is unique, made completely by hand using the finest materials and assembly techniques.
I hunted all over the website and I think they would be open to any design.
Here is all the contact information and the FB PAGE.
Blue Diamond, Nevada 89161
Click to go to the website.
THE BOOT CROWN STORY…
It’s a great question! We got the idea for what we now call Boot Crowns (new equestrian accessory) in March of 2017 at the FEI World Cup in Omaha, NE. We are both big equestrian fans and dressage riders and so we went to Omaha to see Isabel Werth, Laura Graves along with major Jumper riders perform at the highest level.
In addition to the world class riding, the shopping was fabulous! While I was buying some new custom boots with options for the embellishment at the top of the boot, like many others I faced the prospect of spending a lot of money on riding boot decorations – then hating the result or having it quickly go out of style.
While I was hemming and hawing, Pattie looked at a sample ring of decoration materials, colors and other options and had the incredible idea to make swapable “tops” that could work with virtually any boot. A concept and company was born! We went home to Las Vegas with lots of ideas and thoughts about how a product like “swapable boot tops” for a new equestrian accessory category could work.
We researched, and then created/tested several product prototypes and learned along the way. We worked with some artisans that we liked, but nothing was quite perfect. We went through 5+ generations of prototypes before we landed where we are today. We knew that we had to have a manufacturer that could scale to good volume while maintaining the highest level of quality, and we insisted on a “Made in the USA” product. But we got there — in October 2017, we finalized the design and selected vendors for the designs you see today. Boot Crowns are a new product category in the Horse Accessory and Equestrian Accessory for Custom Boots markets.
Here are just some of the discoveries and decisions we made along the way:
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Left and right Boot Crowns with a pronounced “dip” for the Spanish top and to enable the rider to be able to bend their knee
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Purple suede as our signature branding
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Adjustable clip and velcro closure for use in all English riding disciplines
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“Wave” design with the lower line of the Boot Crown mirroring the upper line
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Initial designs with something for everyone — and seemingly almost too large embellishments that work best at a distance, as we repeated to ourselves “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear”
We think our story is fun and interesting. We’ve been friends since college, and now we are business partners, scratching our itch to create innovative products and hang out with our horses. Much more to come!
Edie and Patricia
IF YOU PURCHASE A PAIR, PLEASE SEND ME A PIC OF YOU IN YOUR FANCY CROWNS!!
EMERGENCY BUCKET FUND! 49 MINI HORSES IN DESPERATE CONDITIONS – Vets have been on scene! Emergency BUCKET FUND! Please, they need immediate help! CLICK HERE for the story. CLICK HERE to donate!
