Submitted by Stacey Maloney, Team Easyboot 2012 Member
When I came across the application for Team Easyboot 2012 I filled it out hoping for the best, but not expecting much. While I may have been a regular user of Easyboots I wasn’t much else beyond a relatively novice competitive trail participant, barefoot trimmer of only my own horses and trail riding enthusiast. Surely there were professional individuals out there much more qualified than myself to be part of Team Easyboot who had amazing connections in the farrier, veterinary and distance riding worlds, and I was just little old me.
Low and behold they chose me to be part of the team and I see why now, because that is was TE2012 is all about; having people from all parts of the horse industry involved on the same playing field from the professionals to the recreational riders. They gave us an open forum where we could discuss troubles, experiences, experiments and success we’ve all had in our booting journey. Learning from other’s mistakes and success was what was most helpful for me. It was great to be able to share my experiences with my peers simply by wearing, riding and competing with a product I believe in. I got to help a few friends fit their horses with their first pair of boots and I always got a good giggle catching fellow competitors staring at my horses feet as we’re trucking down the CTR trail.
I guess I haven’t really changed my booting protocol much as Easyboot Epics have always and still do fit my needs. If we ever move up to 50 mile competitions you can bet I’m going to try gluing after all the encouragement I’ve seen via other team members this year.
I started the year with one older pair of Easyboot Epics for my competitive mare. Since then she’s been fitted for boots all the way around. Also, two of my other horses got Epics of their very own originally to aid in the healing of hoof injuries but are now used on a regular basis when riding. We couldn’t tackle the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada without them.
I think the biggest change I’ve seen over this year is that I’ve stopped under estimating what my horses and myself can accomplish. In the past you would have frequently heard me say oh she’s “just a trail horse, just a paint horses, formerly just a dude horse”, but my goodness, I don’t know what I was thinking because that’s the best kind of horse.
We moved up a division in our CTR club this year and are competing against some tough opponents. We just finished the final CTR of the season on October 14 with an awesome score which should put us right in line to be eligible for year-end provincial high point horse and rider awards. We also are up for our first 250 mile award.
Thank you to Team Easyboot 2012 for taking us along for your ride and being along with us for our ride.
Stacey Maloney
