From: Ann
Dear Jessica, nobody else has been able to help me so I am turning to horse-sense because you always seem to know everything! :)
I started riding five years ago at the age of 32, and I love it and will never give it up. I love dressage and will be happy to spend the rest of my life getting better at it day by day. My problem is that I would now like to go to some shows, and I cannot find any boots to fit my legs. I am 5'6" with "normal" length lower legs, but their shape is strange. I took ballet for many years and have very, very large calf muscles that refuse to go away! I don't mind their appearance, but the problem with riding boots is that nothing fits me. I tried on almost all the boots in a large tack shop last week, to see what size I would need, and the mens 8 with wide calf was the only one that fit my calves!!! But my feet and ankles were positively swimming in those boots (I wear a 7 1/2 women's) and although the calves just fit, I could put a fist in the top of the boot next to my knee. Help! Someone suggested Ariat boots, but someone else said that they weren't legal for shows.
Waiting and wearing riding sneakers and polo wraps. :(
Ann
Hi Ann! I sympathize -- a LOT of us took ballet and have the muscles to prove it. ;-) I don't think the Ariats, even the extra-wide ones, will be wide enough for you. The widest ones measure 17" in the calves. Plus, as you say, your interest is in showing, and you will need real boots for that (too bad, as the Ariats are so comfortable -- I wish they were considered proper for showing!).
Obviously your best bet would be custom boots, but those are very expensive; still, if you send your measurements to Dehner or Vogel, you could get boots made to fit. HOWEVER they might well have to include a gusset or zipper, just because of the difference in size between your calf and your knee. So I have another suggestion!
Many bootmakers offer what they call "semi-custom" boots, which means that you order by your foot size and leg height and calf width. Several of my students have "semi-custom" Effinghams and like them very much. The traditional way to deal with a large calf is by stretching the calves of the boots, and by adding an elastic insert or gusset at the top of the boot, and you may find that these are useful and necessary measures, but I think that in your case, you would also need to have YOUR boots made with zippers. Before you make a face, LOOK at a pair of dress boots! There is a covered seam that runs all the way up the back, and that's where the zippers go -- they are virtually invisible in the finished boot. And zippers not only make the boots easy to put on and take off, they are essential for riders with legs like yours -- this is really the only way for you to have boots that will fit your foot and ankle and calf without also having a huge gap at the knee.
Many makers of "semi-custom" boots will install such zippers at a low charge, and some bootmakers will put zips in the boots you already own for a fee that is generally less than $100.
There is a bit of trouble and expense involved, but at the end of it you should have a pair of comfortable, good-looking boots that you can wear to shows. And large calf muscles DO make it very easy to use your legs effectively and quietly, so as soon as you have boots that fit, those dancer's legs of your will be assets!
Jessica
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