Fixing Up Leather Boots!

[JAK]

Middle daughter (13 but tall & elegant for her age, with a 'ladies' figure!) is refusing point blank to wear jodphur boots in any shape or form, whether it is 'correct' for showing or not!
Am not exactly flush with cash at the mo & have decided to look for a decent secondhand pair of leather boots for her, as I think her everyday rubber ones will look a bit 'cheap' next to a nice tweed (may have found a very nice secondhand one), so don't want to spoil the picture!

OH is very competent with his hands (now, now ladies! LOL) & has offered to spend time re-colouring/re-generating rub marks & worn patches!
He is more than capable of doing this but wondered if there were any products you could recommend that would be most suitable for boots or that would make the job a little easier?

Also, are there any boot styles I should avoid that would be a showing 'faux pas', e.g. certain cuts?

 

[Dovorian]

For showing straight cut tops are generally considered 'correct' but they should be worn with a garter strap. I have not seen any of the moder 'dressage' cut boots with a garter strap, so maybe that another useful task for OH - you can get replacement garter straps pretty easily I should think and the keeper could be made from light coloured tape if fine leather is hard to come by.

On the refurb side - I used some leather restorer sold for antique furniture/car seats and it worked pretty well on the inside 'faded leg' bits.

 

[JAK]

Oh ta, OH reckons a week to do it properly but worth it in the end hopefully! Would be wary of buying new for a child anyway, as their feet are still growing at that age!

Is only for local shows but she wants to look 'nice' & glared somewhat when I suggested she dress 'down' & 'younger' (cute kid on hairy pony! lol) & prefers to look more 'grown-up', no matter how disadvantageous that they be!

 

[Dovorian]

Been through that mill!!! JB's were definitely out from about 11 years old onwards.... until recently, mega expensive Ariat's and gaiters came on the scene. You will never win so just accept it and stay poor.

 

[TGM]

Straight cut boots are best for showing - and best without logos or tabs on them. If you have difficulty finding second hand, then Loveson do a leather riding boot for £55:

http://www.robinsons-uk.com/products/Productdetail.asp?ProductCode=21418

Obviously not top quality but good enough for a teenager at local level!

 

[JAK]

[ QUOTE ]
Been through that mill!!! JB's were definitely out from about 11 years old onwards....

[/ QUOTE ]
Tried the blatant 'You'll look stupid!' (defiant reply of 'I don't care!'), followed by slyly suggesting how well she could do in yellow jodphurs, little jodphur boots & pigtails, sat on her cute hairy pony.......the murderous look I received said that was clearly not an option & she would rather stand last in line on every outing!

 

[JAK]

Cheers & thanks for the link!

 

[Dovorian]

Aha, that's another one...... what is canary as opposed to yellow? We've traipsed in and out of every single retailer at Windsor Show trying to find acceptably canary jods, by sheer coincidence the most expensive were 'brill' because they had a full seat and looked 'adult', they were also not in my mind really canary!

 

[Snowberry]

We bought some lovely Sergio Grassi (SP) long boots from ebay - they were immaculate, hardly worn at all and I paid a tenner for them!!

However, I now know whey they were hardly worn, it take 3 of us pinning Hattie down to get them off. Ben sits on her, Becci holds her from behind and I pull like mad without pulling her legs off!!

Apart from that they were a real bargain!

 

[JAK]

[ QUOTE ]
Aha, that's another one...... what is canary as opposed to yellow? We've traipsed in and out of every single retailer at Windsor Show trying to find acceptably canary jods, by sheer coincidence the most expensive were 'brill' because they had a full seat and looked 'adult', they were also not in my mind really canary!

[/ QUOTE ]
LMAO - aren't kids wonderful?

'Canary' seems to unfortunately vary from garish yellow to pale custard, doesn't it? Certainly, the more expensive ones do seem to be of a less nausea-inducing colour than the cheapo ones I have to say!

 

[JAK]

[ QUOTE ]
We bought some lovely Sergio Grassi (SP) long boots from ebay - they were immaculate, hardly worn at all and I paid a tenner for them!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Blimey, that was the bargain of the century then! LOL

[ QUOTE ]
However, I now know whey they were hardly worn, it take 3 of us pinning Hattie down to get them off. Ben sits on her, Becci holds her from behind and I pull like mad without pulling her legs off!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Ah well, 'no pain, no gain' eh?

 

[Emily99]

How about job boots and gaitors? Gives the impression of long boots but cheaper?