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It took me about 6 months or so to decide on a shadbelly. I wanted to plan in advance of showing to make sure I was spending my money on the right one. I literally tried on/ordered/returned dozens of shadbelly coats from various brands, in various colors and various price points (Romfh, RJ Classics, Pikeur, Equiline, and so many more…). I couldn’t find one that fit me well. Most were too boxy and ballooned around my chest and shoulders. Some were too heavy a material (and I knew I’d DIE showing in them). Others were too flimsy a material and looked rumpled and unkempt. All had too short of arms. Some were $200. Some were $1000+. It didn’t seem to matter.
Then while doing some work for a friend of mine that distributes Sarm Hippique in the USA and being offered a discount in trade for that work, I tried on a few of their jackets and LOVED the material, comfort and fit. I went to get fitted for a Marsina Dressage Shadbelly at their house. I had the option of colors for the main body, points/collar and piping options as well. I chose grey with black points/collar and white piping. They were also able to request a longer arm length for me. A month or so later, I had my shadbelly. I didn’t know then our PSG debut would be delayed many months, but I was happy to have my customized coat come in plenty of time to make my planned show deadline. It was gorgeous and fit well right out of the bag and I couldn’t wait to show in it!
The Marsina Dressage Shadbelly offers formal styling and elegance, but with the extra benefit of exceptional double stretch microfiber fabric. This fabric is SUPER comfortable and you won’t even notice you have your coat on. I did a photo shoot in the coat on a very warm summer day and didn’t feel uncomfortable a bit. When we did finally make our PSG debut last month at a HUGE show in the smoke from the horrible Camp Fire…my coat wasn’t even on my mind. I wasn’t hot. I wasn’t uncomfortable. I wasn’t worried about it getting dirty. It was the best part of the whole weekend really (besides the finally doing our first PSG test together). Even after getting snotted on a few times by Spice, a little wipe with a damp rag and the coat looked freshly cleaned (which none of my short coats can manage to do, even though they’re black!).
This coat is also SUPER easy to care for. Just wash on cold in your washing machine and line dry. No ironing needed if you hang it up. It looks as good as new after washing. No dry cleaning here!
I probably will end up switching out the buttons to something a little more flashy eventually. I do wish I had been able to have maybe an inch or so longer in the body to accommodate my height, but compared to all the other coats I tried on, this one fit by far the best and as comfortable as it is, I really don’t mind. It does fit a bit better with my breech height in the saddle than it does standing, and that’s really all that matters!
The comfort, styling and easy care of the coats from Sarm Hippique make them a must-have for show season. You won’t regret going with Sarm Hippique for your next show coat or shadbelly and their show shirts are great too!