Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Andrea Wetzel on August 16, 2009 at 11:28pm

I wear Cavallos, the make is the "Piaffe" cut and I LOVE them!
It only took a week to break them in and they are so comfortable. I'm in them for a quite a few hours each day and have had no problems with them at all.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on August 22, 2009 at 10:18am

Hi, Camille:

The first thing I need to know is your budget for dressage boots. They can run from $200 to $4,000, so there's a very big range.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Camille on August 22, 2009 at 10:31am

My budget is between $200-$1000.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mary Bargerstock on August 22, 2009 at 11:02am

You can buy Ariat which runs about $400 last time I checked or you can custom order boots from a good tack store. I paid $750 for a custom pair of Vogels. If you are on a budget I would go with the Ariats.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on August 26, 2009 at 10:00am

Hi, Camille:

Mary's given you good advice. I ride in Ariat Hunter Dress Boots (w/o zipper), and have a number of clients who ride in them as well (all the way to GP). They look good, wear well, and break in easily, and you can get them in Canada with a semi-custom fit for about $400. The Ariat dressage boot has a square toe (currently in fashion, but no one notices when you're riding) and is twice as much money for a semi-custom fit and is much harder to break in. I have a pair of full-custom Dehners, which I paid $750 for 25 years ago, and which still fit beautifully and which I still wear (they still look good as well). I had a pair of full custom Konigs, which never fit (were too short in the leg, too tight in the leg, and 2 sizes too large in the foot) for which I paid $1100, and eventually sold to a client (whom they did fit) for $500. I know too many people whose "full custom" boots arrive from Europe and don't fit at all to go that route again. I might look at semi-custom Petries or Cavallos, or perhaps even Konigs as part of store stock, and purchase them, but I will not (and don't advise clients to either) bother with custom boots out of Europe. I have one friend who was measured for her "full custom" boots at a top store in Holland, and when they arrived they didn't fit at all either. I have had much more success with Dehner and Vogel, both of whom make a beautiful product.

On other word of advice, if you go for a zipper, don't purchase boots with the zip already installed in the back, a zip in the front offset towards the inside of the shin will last much longer and be invisible when riding. I've had front zips put in some of our Ariat boots, and they last much longer than the original Ariat back zip.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Evolution Equine on September 9, 2009 at 10:39pm

If you have the money to get a good (re: pricier) pair, I would recommend Petries. I have previously bought Konigs and Petries and much prefer the latter. I think the look of the Cavallos are fabulous as well, but I cannot comment on how they are to wear.

• ▶ Reply