BROGINI Model 3000 Dressage Boot

Excellent value for money. Excellent size combinations available. Beautifully stylish and the leather is so soft they don't need any wearing in time. Superb lengths & calf sizes available - chuffed to bits they could accommodate my very long skinny legs and big feet perfectly. I'm a very satisfied customer and looking to buy a second pair for everyday riding.

Ok where do I start? The Brogini website is sparse to say the least when it comes to selling their own boot so I'll try to do it some justice here.

The boots are made from French Calf or chromium-tanned leather (no... I don't know what that means either) - but the leather is medium stiff on the calf, soft on the foot, secure around the heal and the high Spanish bow (top cut) is superb from a style viewpoint.

The boots feature a full length rear zipper which makes putting your foot in it so much easier than traditional (garter-strapped) boots. No more asking friends and family to grab your leg between theirs and pull for all they are worth to help you remove your boots! The zipper is as sturdy a zipper as you'll find. I'm not exactly 'gentle' with anything and sometimes in a hurry I manage to inconveniently zip up half of the calf of my jodhpurs too (!) - the zip copes well with a minimum of abuse. More importantly, under the pressure of excercised calf-muscles and the general expansion of your leg in excercise or competition on your horse the zipper copes equally well.

Zip stop - not a lot to say here other than there is a piece of rubber coated leather at the top of the boot which 'press-studs' across the zipper into place to cover the top of the zipper closer and prevents anything from snagging thereon. What a wonderful and imaginative small-touch which makes you wonder at the thought processes behind the manufacture or rather initial design-concept of a boot.

Easy Repair Soles - Don't underestimate this point. I previously reviewed some Mountain Horse boots in which I gave an excellent review because of their comfort and practicality etc. but when the sole is worn out, the boots require a sombre funeral because they cannot be re-soled. Brogini 3000 Dressage Boots can be re-soled by your local cobbler or... even better you can send them back to Brogini for a re-sole. The sole is not a hard synthetic material but has a rather softer than hard (!) rubbery feel to it which I believe Brogini should have called a 'slip-stop' sole because it stops... erm... slippage in the stirrup

Any maintenance can be done in England and as above, when you are spending this amount of money (which is mid-price for long leather boots) you should be able to get repairs done by a 'competent' bootmaker or cobbler. However, in normal use I would expect these boots to last well and as long as you are prepared to break them in gently, clean them when dirty, allow them to 'air' when sweaty (yeuch!) and generally treat them as an investment and not muck-out in them, I would estimate you should manage a good 10 years at least before a new pair is required. (My last pair of long leather boots (another make altogether) purchased in 1980 have been re-soled twice and when I polish them properly people still say "oooh look at you in your new boots", when I tell them they are in fact 26 years old they look at me in disbelief... it can be done by looking after them properly.)

Remember that 'bulling' or 'spooning' your boots makes them look fantastic and if you do it properly they will look like patent leather - BUT it will shorten the life of the leather significantly. Just cover them in a good quality polish (Parade Gloss) and rub with a dry soft cloth to maintain them.

"Made in Italy" - the best bootmakers I am told are German but when you think of Italian style, handsome men, beautiful women and the 'Riviera lifestyle', Brogini manage to encapsulate this in a pair of boots... ok so I'm being a bit over-romantic here, but the Brogini 3000 Dressage Boot is a handsome looking boot that feels great, performs well, sticks in the metal thingy at the end of your stirrup leathers just right and generally does what it says on the tin.

Mine took a week to 'break in' and after a few blisters my feet now feel comfortable and cool after riding - what more do you want a boot to do? It's not made me a better rider but it's made me feel like a better rider!!!

Remember, more often than not you get what you pay for and when you are paying £235 to £275 for a pair of 'non-bespoke', 'non-made-to-measure' long leather boots you are buying a 'good' pair of boots... however, having bought and worn 'bespoke-made-to-measure' boots these are as close as you are going to get without paying £450+

Competition in this range is good (Sarm, Petrie and of course Sergio Grasso) who all make a similar quality boot - but I maintain that Brogini have managed to edge ahead of their competition with a superior look and feel in the 3000 Dressage Boot. Try them all out and see which suits you best - Brogini suit me just fine and I'm greatful for their expertise.

I will recommend them highly and hope you find this review helpful.