Hello & Happy Spring!
Your new SmartPak catalog will be arriving soon. With so many amazing products (designed and selected just for you and your horses) how do you know where to start shopping? Let me help get you started in the right direction with my must-haves for Spring.
Piper Breeches
Like a potato chip, you can’t have just one! Refresh your schooling wardrobe with one in every color. At this price, how could you resist?
(154 reviews)
(216 reviews)
2. Alexus Sweater Soft Shell Hoodie & Vest
Is it a soft shell or is it a sweater?! It looks and feels like a sweater but has the features of a soft shell. Waterproof, windproof and breathable…this triple threat will protect you from the elements all while helping you look like a million bucks.
(4 reviews)
(4 reviews)3. RJ Classics Washington Xtreme Soft Shell Hunt Coat
Perfect for any discipline! All the features and technologies you would expect to find in coats that are 3x this price.
(7 reviews)4. Samshield Helmet
The comfort is unparalleled and the styling is impeccable – I’m obsessed.
(28 reviews)5. Tredstep Raphael Tall Boots
Why have we cleaned and polished around laces for all these years? The Dressage crowd had it right, lace free is the way to go! Appropriate for either jumping or dancing between the letters, these boots are sure to become your new favorites.
(21 reviews)A Peek in Melissa’s Tack Trunk
These are the little things that make life in the barn easier. I absolutely can not live without them.
1. SmartWorks Lavendar Utility Balm
This stuff has become my go to solution for all kinds of problems like blanket rubs, dry skin, and scrapes. And…it smells absolutely DIVINE.
2. Moser Mini Arco Clippers
My personal solution to giant, loud horse eating clippers, these little beauties plow through even the toughtest trim job quietly without complaining.
3. Roeckl Chester Gloves
My go to glove for showing in all seasons. Long lasting, easy care, looks great. Couldn’t ask for more.
4. & 5. Effax Boot Polish and Speedy Leather Shine
These tools absolutely changed my life. The polish comes in an amazing applicator that prevents me from getting black polish all over myself and everything in my general vicinity. The Speedy Leather Shine puts that “military” shine on my boots even between polishes. It is like my own personal secret weapon.
(14 reviews)Melissa fills us in…
Some of us call her Melissa, others, “MH,” and a select few affectionately refer to her as “Hammie.” She’s Melissa Hamlet, our VP of Merchandising. She oversees the fabulous team of riders and SmartPakers that works hard every day to source, select and even design the latest and greatest gear. Here’s a little more about Melissa…
When and where did you start riding? “I started riding when I was 7 in Leesburg, VA at Maintree Farm.”
What is the most exciting thing you’ve ever done on horseback? “Fox hunting in VA, in a snowstorm, jumping over a coop literally into a river during a snowstorm while my helmet was falling in my eyes is a close tie for the weekend I spent riding cutting horses in Oklahoma with Bill Riddle.”
How many animals do you currently own? “3 cats (Oliver, Stoli and Vincent), 1 dog (Gimli) and 1 horse (Drago).”
Melissa as a rider: I grew up in Virginia and started riding when I was about 7. I never looked back...riding and horses have been a part of who I am since that first ride all of those years ago. I’ve fox hunted a little but have spent most of my time competing in Hunters and Equitation. I rode on the IHSA Team in college and even competed in some IHSA Alumni classes after graduation. These days you’ll find me in the Adult Hunters, Hunter Derbies and Adult Equitation. Melissa as a SmartPaker: As VP of Merchandising, it is my job to oversee all of our product selection and development. Me and my team travel the world to find and develop things we think are worthy of being in your barns, on your bodies and on your horses. How cool is that?!
(53 reviews)
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