Madison ist not Pikeur

When I was a senior in college, my best friend, Trisha, and I drove down to Boulder to attend a sale at a tack shop. The first thing we did when we got there was fill out cards for the free raffle. Neither of us expected to win, but literally, two minutes later, I heard my name being paged. I'd won a free pair of Pikeur breeches.

At that point in time, my regular riding clothes were an old, cheap pair of chaps over blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Stylish

The Pikeurs were a huge step up. So much so, I didn't really know what to do with them.

I rode in them a few times, of course, but they seemed "too good" for the kind of riding I was doing. I didn't want to ruin them, so kept them safely tucked away for some future that never really happened.

I still have those Pikeurs. They are almost brand new, and I will never fit into them again. What a waste.

Today when I got to work, my boss told me that I had won a free pair of Madison tall boots in an employees' only drawing that I hadn't even known about.

My new boots - look at them!

These are far and away the nicest, best fitting boots I've ever owned. There's a real temptation to tuck them away and keep them nice for some future time when Olive and I might enter a show. 

It could happen. Maybe.

But I have learned my lesson. Instead of saving these boots for something that might never happen, I'm going to  ride in them. And not just once or twice - I'm going to ride in them a lot a lot. I'm going to use them with my Western saddle, and I'm going to wear them until there's duct tape on the soles. It's going to be glorious. I can't wait.