Mountain Horse Sportive High Rider > Reviews > Substance with style

Author's product rating:   

Quality	Excellent
Style	Good
Durability	Excellent
Comfort/Safety	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Quality, value for money
Disadvantages:	Bit clunky

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I think that these are really good boots.

If you your day consists of riding and yard work, it is a real pain to keep having to change your footwear, but you do not want to spoil good leather boots.

Mountain Horse Sportive High Riders are a really good compromise. They are comfortable to ride in (once they have been broken in!) but are tough enough to work in and not get wrecked.

They are also smart enough to compete in although I might not do higher level dressage in them as they are quite chunky.

The leather is good quality and has a stretch panel facility to make sure they really fit.

They have zips so are really easy to get on and off and it seems pretty robust. No one I know with them has had any problems with zips sticking or breaking.

There is a cradle support to the foot which makes you feel really secure in them and plenty of padding around the ankle to stop them chafing. I do recommend thick socks though in the breaking process!

A really innovative feature is the insert that you use as an extra sole until the boots are worn in and the section behind your knee has dropped. Digging in behind the knee seems the worst bit of having new boots (especially when mounting), so it is really helpful that Mountain Horse have done something about it.

There is an in-built steel shank for your protection which is reassuring.

This boot is designed to be really durable. As mentioned, the leather is strong but there is also a really thick sole which does not look like it will ever wear out. The downside is that the boots are quite clunky in appearance but it does make them distinctive. They would look really good for cross country or hunting.

Prices vary but at the time of writing, the High Riders are about £150 and can be easily found online or in retailers. I have only seen them in black but believe that they may (or may have) been available in brown too.

Getting the correct fit is of course really important. Make sure you are sitting for the width measurement and that you are wearing jods or jeans and the sort of socks that you would usually wear to work or ride in.