Bling It Like You Own It: Custom Sparkle Browbands

I have a thing for sparkle browbands. I have even had existential crises about having more browbands than bridles and which ones to use on more than one occasion. But instead of wallowing in sparkles and indecision, I'm going to put my in-depth knowledge of the browband world to work for you. I'm going to talk about browbands of many different styles and price points, and by the end of this post, your eyes might be seared out of their sockets by all the bling.

just a normal day

There are several price ranges for browbands--the affordable, $0-$65ish, the mid-range $80-$120ish, and then the high end love-it-or-leave-it $150+. I realize that my taste is not the same as everyone else's, but for their opinions, you'll need to read their blogs. Or they can comment below.

Dark Jewel Designs

i like options

First, let's talk affordable. There are lots of options in the >$100 price bracket. My hands-down, no-question, no-competitor favorite here is Dark Jewel Designs. Amelia runs the shop and is freaking amazing at what she does. I've reviewed her work before and in the times I've worked with her since, I've had equally excellent interactions. Per her etsy, a fully custom browband with two interchangeable bead strands will run you around $50 and if you have no taste (like me), she has albums full of finished work you can peruse and copy.

model shot

If you want something simple, changeable, or just want to dip your toe in the sparkle market, this is absolutely where to go. I've had my older browband from her for several years and it still looks fantastic. There are other people who knock off her designs, but they really aren't any cheaper and the service is terrible so I'm confused why that's a thing.

for every occasion!

There are other entrants in the >$100 crowd, but I have yet to be impressed with a single one. They mostly look cheap to me. Amelia hits the balance of affordable and classy, plus you get two great looks for one low price. I'll keep on sending people to her as long as she makes browbands. (And now stock pins and bracelets, I believe).

Browbands with Bling

pretty

If you want a little something more and can commit to a color, my favorite maker in the $85-120 price range is Browbands with Bling. Katharine runs the place in the way only a no-nonsense down-to-earth Jersey girl can. Actual quote: "You said [color] and I threw up in my mouth a little bit". She carries a range of pre-made designs and can customize on the spot.

so cool #puncentral

She's also been around for quite some time and is less likely to just fold it up and disappear like a more fly-by-night operator who comes and goes. I like the designs and the materials for her stuff and my overall impression is very positive.

fabulous

I got my browband from a booth she had at Rebecca Farm, but you can also custom order anything and she's great to work with. I did a custom order for my trainer around Christmas and had the product in my hand within days of finalizing the order. She offers straight, swoops, and v-style browbands. Mine is a V because it looked cool and I wanted it. My trainer loooooves this browband and tends to use it for all C's training rides, so it's gotten a lot of use and still looks fantastic.

Again, this is a wide price range and there are a lot of options out there, most notably the Equiture and PS of Sweden megabling look. I haven't had Equiture, have had PS and I'll say this: it's very flashy and pretty fun. I prefer a little more complexity to my sparkle looks rather than straight-up I'LL SHOW YOU BLING, but that's 100% a personal thing and ymmv.

the megabling look

Topline Leather

i have a problem

If you're committed to the bling life and want to hit the lux end of things, Topline Leather is where it's at ("lit AF" is the term, I think). A few old school bloggers out there might remember Meghann from when she was one of us, but now she's a supplier to the stars. Like. Legit. I think one of her browbands was at the Olympics? It's pretty awesome.

fancy!

Anyways. She carries nothing in stock and everything is full custom and if you come up with a new design, you get to name it. She also has incredible taste, which is perfect for people like me who never know what the hell we actually want. I gave her super vague guidelines for my first one ("i like sparkles") and she came up with my all-time-favorite browband, which is now called the Absolute Courage and yeah, Hawley Bennett has one for Jollybo. #sparklegameonpoint

#nailedit

The thing I love most about my Topline browbands is that I can ride in my dark indoor at night in the winter and they still catch every possible light and sparkle. LOVE. Need that. Meghann is gonna be annoyed if I don't put this in, so I'll say that she uses real swarovski stuff, not the easily-discolored and -less sparkly Czech crystals, plus everything is hand stitched. Her wait list is INSANE but oh so worth it.

Parting Thoughts

I've had a few other browbands from other makers here and there, but these are the ones I keep coming back to. Quality products. Solid service. Excellent value. Superb sparkle. I have placed more than one paid order with each of them and do not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who asks.

PS and yes, if you're wondering, my hardest choice every day is WHICH SPARKLES GO WITH THIS OUTFIT. So many sparkles. So little time.

The Firstiest First World Problem

I've been in need of some distraction lately, so I'm sure you're all super shocked I turned to obsessing over tack. 

It's.... happened before... in case you were wondering why I all of a sudden have two patent leather cavessons and a new twist on a blue padded piece, well, that was last month's distraction that just happened to arrive. Don't judge.

Anyways. I have a lot of bridles. Despite what most people think, I'm not a hoarder and I like to keep my options open, so I'd like to have somewhat less bridles. That means I have to tally up the bridles/looks I have and then decide what stays and what goes.

Let's start easy--

BROWN BRIDLES:

Haha well our open show debut prompted this second-most-recent (I think? I lost count) addition to the collection.

yup

Horse size Dover Circuit bridle. Tobacco leather, fancy stitched, plain cavesson, traditional crown. Got it for a screaming deal and this reminds me, I said I'd do a craft project and dye it. Maybe next month. Don't hold your breath. 

Also in the brown category:

do you remember this one? Had it forever.

Cob size Nunn Finer figure eight in havana with stainless buckles. If you're sitting over there like "wtf sb I've never seen this bridles before", well, you have. It just usually looks like this:

frankenbridle

with the custom race noseband and sweet Dark Jewel Designs gameday browband 

OR

topline

this with the fancy Topline Leather sparkles and ebay-find cavesson for when mamma needs a standing, which is always. 

Believe it or not, that's all the brown bridles I own right now. Excluding my western bridle which is sort of tan colored. Whatever. It only half counts. You don't get a pic.

BLACK BRIDLES

Despite my early-life loathing of black leather, I now own quite a lot of it. I'll try to go in order of what I've had the longest, but my memory is only so good.

red barn

There's my Red Barn Capriole bridle, which I think was my first legit dressage bridle that was not PS of Sweden? I don't remember. Anyways. Very classic look. Very conservative. It's the dressage bridle your mother would want you to buy. Accommodates a flash (which I have) and the unused tabs really don't bother me. 

Shown here with my birthday browband from Browbands With Bling. 

I guess next up would be my dressage Frankenbridle.

topline

This bridle is some mishmash of random parts--I think it might be horse size bobby's crown, cob size bobby's cheeks, super legit retro noseband from an enabling friend, and of course one of my crown jewels, the Absolute Courage browband from Topline Leather. Yeah it's named after him. ;-) 

Hmmmm probably next would be Otto, who was already introduced via his own personal blog post, but here goes:

otto

Otto is of course a cool retro Otto Schumaucher bridle with a traditional crown and crank cavesson but no flash. Otto rocks the self-colored braid on the nose and brow and is the only bridle I own with no sparkles. Fun fact: I even bought a pair of plaited (not braided) reins to go with Otto because it seemed like the thing at the time. I like Otto. 

Then there's this contraption:

not my franken

A friend gave me a very fancy custom-made-for-her-horse patent monocrown noseband because it was not made well and didn't fit her horse. I had to borrow a monocrown headstall off her to try it on C. I left the flash on and added sparkles and if you notice he looks a little cranky, it's because even my superstar model OTTB eventually gets tired of head shots. Honestly, I really like the crown this bridle hangs on (but it's a little too big for C) and I'm less in love with the noseband? 

I dunno. Patent is new for me. 

But you can't just try one patent nose, can you?? 

I mean, I was pretty enchanted with the one I tried on C last winter. Noted: I never owned this bridle and haven't actually bought it for myself yet. Do love how it looks on his head.

Fancy!

So that one isn't/wasn't mine, but this one is. I call him Bachelor #1.

whoops

Let's just say I was stress shopping and there was potentially more than one bachelor coming home so they got numbers. Um. It escalated from there and I'll explain later. This is totally a knockoff of that super trendy Otto you see running around dressage shows. I found it on British eBay, tracked it to a uk tack shop I'd never heard of, and got a screaming deal on it. Padded crank, monocrown, decent leather, has a flash, yada yada. Did not love my shopping experience and didn't really have time to get enamored with this bridle. (Hint: if you want it, buy it from me or eBay. Don't waste you life at the tack shop.)

This happened next:

ooooooooo

See, I just so happen to be friends with my browband ladies and one of them heard I was looking for something cool and different and colored and custom and she sent me to Uisce Saddlery.  Never heard of them? Me either. 

However, another friend piled on with the recommendation and when I sent an inquiry on a specific item, the response was prompt, articulate, and polite. Oh and the price was KILLER. OH AND I GOT A FULL CUSTOM PIECE IN 10 DAYS. Not kidding. From inquiry email to product arriving at my door step was ten days. Quality is good, service was incredible, 10/10 I owe them a proper blog write up. 

But see, that's a lot of bridles for a horse who goes in one bit and a snaffle bridle and no flash and don't want his cranks cranked. Plus, as a working adult ammy, I'd like to have 1-2 (ok fine let's be real it's me) 2-3 bridles at the barn to maintain vs trying to clean an entire tack shop's worth of booty every couple weeks.

So. For a dressage horse in a snaffle bridle. What's your favorite and why? What would you sell and what would you keep? 

PS What if I just kept one bridle at the barn. Can you imagine? Would you even recognize me? DO PEOPLE EVEN DO THAT? 

Tack Hos Gone Wild

Hellooooooo internet... It's been a while. I'd say I've missed you, but sort been mid-crisis on a lot of things lately, so not so much on the internetting, much less the missing thereof.

Let's just say it's been an expensive few weeks.

Here's why:

One of my awesome browband ladies (I have two. Because ho.) contacted me a while back and offered to ship me a second that she'd made and disliked but didn't want to disassemble. Obviously, I said "yes".

topline leather goodies!!

Or something less professional and with more hearts and sparkles.

The only catch was that it was on brown leather and Courage only sort of has a brown bridle (and the browband on that bridle was purchased from my other browband lady for very specific reasons and I don't fancy taking it apart). Thus, I pressured Lindsey into helping me on the brown bridle 2.0 search well before the browband arrived.

fancy!

Courage somewhat-compliantly modeled several different brown bridles for me, then we threw on Lindsey's cool new dressage bridle for giggles.

less compliant

By the time we were done, my phone looked like this:

only one of many screens

And we'd definitely established that none of the bridles were quite right.

the pretties!

Then the beautiful browband showed up (love.) and I tried it on the brown bridle I do have. It's supposed to be a Nunn Finer figure eight, but I frankened it out long ago. Sadly, as much as I love my blue noseband with my blue and orange browband, it was uh... less than stunning with pink. 

eww

That started a flurry of searching for the perfect brown bridle at the perfect price, which netted me these things:

ebay steal: smartpak cavesson for $20

ETT-special plaited reins to match otto (wasn't looking, but hey)

invictus half pad because reasons and a coupon

Of those options, the one on top MIGHT solve my problem but apparently it was shipped by mule train. And then the mules went lame. And died. Or cannibalized each other. Probably all those options. Regardless, it's not here yet. 

I tried riding with the figure eight but due to some genius decision making that I'm going to blame on stress, I forgot to bring my running martingale out with it and let's just say that bolty OTTBs in the fall do not go without martingales. Particularly not when they aren't being ridden regularly and a storm is blowing in. See, I sometimes make good decisions, just usually not until a string of bad ones already happened.

fanceh

Which is to say. I barely saw my horse last week. I have a metric ton (actual figure) of fancy shit for him to play with. I've barely touched any of it. And basically every day is Christmas at my house until all this stuff shows up! 

Because once I got all pumped about bridle searching, I ran across a decent looking knock off of the modern Otto Schumacher bridle I've been drooling on since forever and then I ordered that too!

never had patent before

It obviously won't match the new browband, but I have a bonus black browband at the moment plus it comes with it's own and yeah, really can't explain this one other than to say I deserved it after the week I had. It's also not here yet, but given I ordered through a British tack shop in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I don't expect it til next week anyways.

I guess y'all can just be glad that I didn't also purchase this amazing critter from the hospital gift shop.

so stylish! such personality!

Trust me, I considered it.

Tack Ho Memoir: My Favorite Bridles

As blogger Emma pointed out, every time I give y'all a tack room tour, the major bridle players have changed. That fact is as true as ever. HOWEVER. 

I hardly even dare say this, but my collection is starting to find a little stability.

It started with my jump bridle. I had a few different things, none of which I was really happy with. I got a Nunn Finer Figure eight bridle as the result of a trade with a friend when I first got Courage. I ride Courage in a standing martingale pretty regularly, so I swapped the figure eight for a custom race noseband from Ocala Tack Shack (in blue with diamond cutouts, because obviously) and then added in my amazing team spirit custom sparkle browband from Dark Jewel Designs (srsly best sparkle bang for your $ on the market).

Oh, and an awesome custom bridle charm from Straight Shot Metal, because she really is the best at those.

AND because the PS of Sweden Running martingale attachment is GLITTERALLY the best thing EVAR (tm) for those of us who need help from time to time, I also use the PS of Sweden softie reins that are rubber lined with hand stops and PS martingale stops AND CLIPS. I love clips SO MUCH.

It's totally franken-ed-to-death, but I ADORE this bridle. It hits all the high points and is so freaking useful. And gorgeous, in it's own special way. Even when I panic about adulting and clearing inventory, this bridle stays. It's not really sale-able in it's current state and I don't need it to be. It's totally custom to me and if I still have it in 30 years, GREAT.

um hello gorgeous

But y'all have seen my absurd dressage bridle turnover lately. And then Alyssa went and bought another dressage bridle that's GORGEOUS and too small for her horse and she let Courage try it on.

I"ll be honest. I am not a white padding kind of girl. I like it on horses like Valegro and Totilas, but I've just never felt it on a horse of mine. I even had one for a while (like... 5 or 6 years ago, so I forgive you for not remembering) and I just didn't love it.

But this bridle is great. Also not mine.

I briefly considered buying one of my own.

But here's the thing:

it looks good with giant ribbons

I already have this Red Barn Capriole bridle headstall that I LOVE. It's the leather quality I like. It's the style I like. It looks fab on my horse. I got it for a tack-ho-appropriate deal on eBay this summer. It's a crank that I use like a cavesson. It has an option for a flash.

I even had some Red Barn reins I also snagged on eBay that I liked well enough. So like. Whole bridle. Same brand. Easy resale.

But then.

Because I am the ho-est of hos, I regularly (multiple times a week), search for random stuff I kind of want but don't need in the strictest sense. One of those things is reins. I found an unremarkable listing on eBay for "dressage reins". The essentials were all what I wanted (rubber lined, hand stops, rolled fronts, hook studs) and there was one tiny clue in one dark picture that was either really clever advertising or more likely, a missed opportunity on the seller's part.

can you see it?

I figured it was a $40 gamble I was willing to take. Glad I did. So glad.

(Well, at least I was glad until the first time I tried to put them ON anything and realized the the dimwitted Frenchies who put them together apparently have NO IDEA how to cut holes for hook studs that ACTUALLY WORK. I mean. People in India who have never seen a horse and use crappy ass leather can do it better than D'yon. Omg. It took two of us 15 minutes and an ungodly amount of swearing just to get them on. They are now staying on that bit. FOREVER.

I mean. I can now get them on and off, but that first time is not an experience I'd care to repeat.)

i give myself A+ for iphone pictures

All that was well and good (and long and drawn out), but it's still just another black dressage bridle like all the other ones.

HOWEVER.

This past summer, I ordered sparkles for it with the longest wait time I have EVER ENDURED for ANYTHING. Topline Leather has been on my radar but out of my price range for YEARS. But then I was up too late one night and so was she and I know her from back when she used to blog and OOPS THAT HAPPENED.

it's so beautiful

I have the worst time visualizing anything anyways and then she totally improvised and improved everything (with my knowledge/consent--she didn't just go totally rogue on me). I saw the pictures and REALLY liked it.

And then it got to my house and OMG YOU GUYS.

LOVE

It's perfect.

I have now almost fully Franken-bridled my dressage bridle and I'm happier with it than ever. I guess that's the secret for me? Instead of buying nice things, throw a bunch of unrelated ass-backwards stuff together and I will love it forever.

CLIP THIS HORSE

CONTEST REMINDER

Now that what I call a bundle of joy

HELLO BLOG PEOPLE

The Dark Jewel Designs browband contest closes in just under 27 hours. It's your last chance to get your entries in for a sweet prize. Just leave a comment on THE POST LINKED RIGHT HERE

Poof I have something in not-blue. Possibly I didn't pick it out.

Who wouldn't want a piece of this?

Contest closes at midnight on Sunday. (Let's face it--I won't log in til Monday afternoon, so as long as you get it in by then, you're really good to go.)

The 1,000th Post AKA CONTEST TME

Super excited for 1000 posts

It seems like possibly the nerdiest thing ever to have a blog about a strange niche topic with a whole 1000 posts, but here I am.

Rocking the nerdy.

Let's revisit the high points of five years of blogging and see how things have changed both in my horse life and through the blog. And then let's have a contest because I love contests and I can't ever seem to win them, but dammit, someone should. Read the end for details!

Ms Izzy learning to canter under saddle

I started this blog way back in June of 2009. I was newly married, in college, and I had a brand new horse of my very own. I was new to the horse blogging world, but I had kept a personal blog of sorts in highschool. I think that's now buried in the depths of the internet and I'm ok with it. Here's my first post ever on iamthesprinklerbandit: Starting with a little history

 It's really funny to me to look back at these posts now. I don't feel or think or sound like the same person any more. My blog reads like it's written by a clueless college student and it was. This was back before I discovered the joys of pictures in every post or developed my voice and writing style. Blogging is a process, that's for sure.

This is how you jump with three broken bones

Let's zoom ahead a couple of years to June of 2011. I was still working with Izzy, but I was mostly on my own. I took the mare XC schooling with a local trainer and I came away with several broken bones (arm and jaw in a couple places), despite my initial optimisim on the blog: We Conquer XC

This is a fascinating post for me to read. The whole era had me sort of juxtaposed between a lack luster junior career and finding my way as an adult ammy. I loved that mare and I believed the best about her, even though looking back I know that she was absolutely toxic for me. My voice as a blogger has definitely developed and I'm loving the incorporation of pictures, if not my position in any of those pictures. Win some, lose some.

Only the handsomest horse that ever was

2012 brought me to a more training-focused situation and more importantly, to the old man horse who would completely rock the very foundations of my world. Out with Izzy, in with Cuna and onward to my very favorite moments of the Sprinklerbandits blog! Here's the post where I finally accepted what was probably obvious to everyone in my life, from my husband to the clerk at the grocery store: Crossing the Rubicon

I was still apologizing and making excuses for Izzy at that point. I wanted it to work SO FREAKING BAD and it just wouldn't and I couldn't see it. In the post, I say it's because she wasn't a forward horse, but that's really not the case.

We both loved every single minute

Izzy had my number big time and Izzy dialed it EVERY SINGLE DAY. I was scared shitless and I only sort of knew it. This is why I ride you if you have a horse in the same place--I have been there and I know how it feels, but I also know how liberating and awesome and amazing every day can be if you have the right horse for you instead. /soapbox

Cuna completely changed me, not only as a rider, but also as a person. In terms of the blog, I found my confidence and my voice. It's amazing how the posts practically write themselves when you love your horse and it's even more amazing how people respond when you are really, truly happy. One of my favorite legacies of Cuna is the other bloggers he inspired to take that next step and end toxic relationships because we gave them hope for something better.

2013 brought a lot of heartbreak and a little joy. I think most of you have been along for the ride, but for those that are new to the blog, it wasn't pretty. Cuna had to step down from jumping to flat work and from flat work to retirement and even then I couldn't keep him comfortable. It was an absolutely horrific process that I really don't like to talk about right now. I wrote a post about the retirement: Towards Healing

I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the blog community and I was thankful for each and every one of the comments I received from people who knew the same pain and wanted to be there for me in some way. Cuna touched a lot of lives in a lot of ways and I'm not the only one who misses him.

The best at putting pieces back together

I'm going to editorialize again though and say that if you have a friend going through that sort of horsey hardship, be kind and loving and supportive, but please also do them the honor of assuming they are taking care of their horse. Constant inferences that a grief stricken person just isn't trying hard enough are straight-up cruel. /soapbox #2

2013 also brought the little bay horse into my life that we all know and love. Courage ushered in another era for the SprinklerBandits blog. The only reason  can work with him is because of all the things my old man horse taught me.

It feels like redemption. I'm getting another chance to work on things I screwed up with Izzy and Courage is a really cool guy who isn't trying to kill me. Win win. Courage was introduced in: The Road Goes Ever On and On




2014 has been something of an unparalleled shit show on every possible level of life so far. That said, Courage has been my constant. t's a long process for both of us, but he's gone from being the back up to my #1, which I talk about here: Bonding or It Doesn't All Happen At Once

Blogging has really been a fun process for me. started it as a way to connect with people about my equine journey so I would annoy my husband less. While it certainly does that, I have really loved my ability to track my progress both in training and as a person. I have made some great friends and had good times.

So thank you, readers, for 5 great years and sticking it out for 1000 sometimes great, sometimes average, and frequently scattered posts. I love readers and comments and feedback and I love meeting all of you. If you don't already blog, I'd strongly encourage you to start. It is such a great experience to share your equine journey with friends to encourage you on the sad days and applaud on the happy ones.

Loving those upgraded beads!!

ANNNNNNND CONTEST
To honor the history of SprinklerBandits, I want to give away one of my all-time favorite products: a custom sparkle browband from Dark Jewel Designs. I love them and so should you!  The prize is one browband of the size/ color you choose. Amelia has graciously offered to include 3 sparkly strands for the browband PLUS NO CHARGE FOR BEAD UPGRADES. :-D.

God. Now I want to win.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post with your favorite blog post from Sprinklerbandits Blog and your email address (or preferred method to be contacted by) and I will do a random drawing one week from today. Entries close Sunday, August 24th at midnight.

Noted: it's enough to remember the content of a post or something. You do not have to provide the specific URL. And yes, you can totally use this post or the last one if you're like "screw this I just want a sparkle browband".