Petrie Verona riding boots

If you've been following this blog from the beginning you'll know that I've always had Königs dressage boots, but for the last 18 months I've moved onto Petrie boots. I chose the brown Verona boots originally because I wanted tall boots from a reputable brand but they needed to under €400 because I was planning on only having them as my second best boots for riding at home and hacking out whilst keeping my Königs boots as my competition ones. But these have lasted SO well that I went ahead and bought another pair, this time in black which can be my 'better' boots for training and competing in!

In my opinion the Verona is a super elegant riding boot - it has an extra high bow (6 cm!) and it's been designed to very slim around the ankle, which makes my notsoskinny legs look SO much longer, and therefore thinner! The front zipper extends down past the ankle, so you don't have to worry about that the zipper breaking as quickly as it does on boots where it ends before the ankle. The zipper is finished with a flap with buckle closure at the top, which is actually easy to close thanks to the press button, and I think this makes the boots less boring as there is 'something' going on, rather than the boots being entirely plain. I just now need to find spur straps that have gold buckles on them!

I REALLY prefer having a zipper at the front rather than on the inside or at the back, it makes the zipper last longer and is SO much easier to do up. Just last week the zipper kinda broke, so I took them to the shoe repair shop and they replace the slider because the zip itself hadnt broken, it was the slider! So instead of having to pay for a 50€ replacement, it cost me just 8€ to have the slider changed. SO even after 18 months of hard work, the zips on my brown boots haven't broken yet! 👏🏻

What you can't really see from these photos is that the boots have full-contact suede on the inside, which provides extra grip against the saddle. I ADORE this feature, I think it's such a smart addition to the boots and I definitely feel the difference. And, what it also leads to is that these boots require LITERALLY no breaking in time! They are amazing, because they are so soft and I rather enjoy being able to put on the boots without worrying if they are going to be so stiff that they are going to make me bleed or cut off the circulation to my legs.

Another bonus feature is the elastic insert at the back, which stretches up to 1-2 cm and thus provides the perfect fit. For me, it means I can layer up in the winter and wear my thermals underneath my thicker winter Pikeur breeches without having to worry if I can actually do my boots up! This winter it's also given me the ability to wear woolly socks on top of my riding socks without the zipper having a fit, despite the boots having a slim design near the ankle.

What do you think? Do you prefer brown or black riding boots? What's your favourite brand?