Tailored Sportsman Trophy Hunter Breeches Review

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As you know from last Sunday’s post, I spent the long weekend in New York to celebrate my birthday. It was a lot of fun and it was really nice to get away for a little while. Now I’m back and refreshed.

While we were in New York, I visited the only tack shop in the city; Manhattan Saddlery. You know, as a horse person, that I couldn’t stay away from horses for long! I was surprised to find out that Manhattan Saddlery wasn’t too far off of Park avenue. It’s in a prime location close to Madison Square Park, but away from all of the crowds. We walked into the store and spent some time browsing their selection.

In the front, they had Asmar Equestrian and Two Bits Equestrian on display. As you continue to walk through the store, you’ll find Ariat and Tailored Sportsman. They sold equestrian inspired jewellery as well as helmets and boots. Downstairs, they displayed their products for the horse such as blankets, grooming supplies and bits. This is also where they kept their sale items.

I decided that it would be a good idea to try on a few pairs of breeches. So I chose a few from their selection that were in my size. Both on sale and regular priced. I also picked up Viola jacket from Asmar Equestrian to try. I’ve always been drawn to the teal colour (which they call deep pool) but they didn’t have it in my size so I tried on the black one to see for size. Fully knowing that I could order it online if I really loved it.

I headed to the changing room to try all of the items on. The jacket fit me perfectly and I loved its style. It’s too bad that they didn’t have it in the deep pool as I would’ve probably bought that. But I’ll keep my eyes out for it online and maybe, possibly, add it to my collection later…

As for the breeches, two out of the three weren’t quite what I was looking for. I didn’t find that they fit me quite right. I was a little disappointed as I was hoping to purchase something while I was here. So I turned to the last pair of breeches that I had with me and hoped for the best.

They were the Tailored Sportsman Trophy Hunter breeches in the colour peacock with the tan knee patches. I’m not going to lie; I’ve been drawn to the Tailored Sportsman breeches for a while now. I love their colour selection. I mean, a girl can only have so many black, beige and grey breeches, right? These are fun and different and coincidentally very close to my favourite colour.

I also ended up getting a dog toy for Summit (how could I not?) and a pair of Dreamers and Schemers socks with the Manhattan Logo on them (for memories and I needed a new pair).

As for the breeches, now that I rode in them, this is what I think.

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The Price

I’ll be honest, the biggest reason that I never bought a pair of Tailored Sportsman’s before was because of their price. Let’s face it, they aren’t the cheapest breeches on the market and the price doesn’t seem justifiable when you’re really only buying them for their colour selection.

Now are there breeches with higher price tags than TS? Yes, absolutely. But I find that those brands offer something that makes it more justifiable. They might be made of a special fabric or they might be designed in a way to help with your performance. Whatever the case, there’s a reason and a technology behind the more expensive breeches. Something that Tailored Sportsman does really seem to have. The only thing that sets them apart is their wide colour range.

What’s also annoying is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen them on sale. Except for when a particular colour is being discontinued. And at that point, there’s never a pair in my size. If they were on sale seasonally, then I’d probably be more inclined to purchase a pair.

I felt quite lucky coming across this pair on the sale rack. They were the only ones left and they were in my size. Even though the discount pretty much only covered the tax, I figured I’d buy them anyway. Partly because I liked the colour, partly because I hoped that they’d be more sentimental buying my first pair in NYC and partly because I thought that they’d be a good item to review here on Pure Horse Sense.

So is the price justifiable? Continue reading to find out.

The Fit

The fit is pretty standard. There’s nothing that really wows me about the fit. They do their job. I wouldn’t say that they are my most flattering pair that I own. My Aztec Diamond Equestrian breeches take that title.

The stitching on the back to form the euro seat is something that I look for in my breeches. I like the way they add shape and design without riding in full seat breeches. With these, you don’t feel the stitching which is nice, but I don’t think that the shape is the most flattering. At least not on me. I think they’d look better if the curve was a bit sharper. Especially as the line goes down the leg. That’s not to say that they wouldn’t look amazing on someone else, they’re just not my favourite stitching for my body shape.

I have found that these breeches tend to slip as I’m wearing them. Now, for me this is something that happens with all of my breeches. But for some reason, the TS seem to slip faster regardless if I’m wearing a belt. Which can get a bit uncomfortable at times. I even had to adjust them while taking these photographs. Slippage isn’t a deal breaker for me, but it is a bit annoying.

The knee pads are nice. They’re suede or faux-suede (I’m not exactly sure on the fabric!). They do allow you to have a reasonable amount of grip in the saddle. Quite a bit more than the Aztec ones. This is great because I can feel much more secure in the saddle as I’m riding around. I also really like the look of the contrasting colours of the knee pads and the rest of the breech.

These breeches tie up with the classic Velcro closure by your ankles. Though it isn’t bugging me when I ride right now, the more you wear breeches like these, the more bunched up the Velcro gets. Which leads to pressure points later on. I’m hoping that these Tailored Sportsman’s prove me wrong in this area. I’d like them to stay comfortable for as long as possible. Maybe in the future though, TS will also modify their designs to have the oh so popular sock style.

For breathability, they fall somewhere in the middle. I’m not sweating buckets when riding in these which I have done in other breeches (gross, I know!). But they aren’t the most breathable either. I don’t know how they’ll do in the warmer months, but we’ll see.

The Quality

Quality wise, they’re what you’d expect for the price range. The fabric holds its shape, but is also decently stretchy. The stitching is pretty good and the knee pads look like they can take a lot of abuse. The pockets aren’t the deepest (but there aren’t many that are) and the closures don’t look like they’re going to break.

I think that these breeches would last you for quite a while. They don’t feel like they’ll stretch out or start to fade any time soon.

Overall Thoughts

In the end. I think that they’re decent. Do I think that they could be a bit cheaper? Yeah. Do I think that they’re anything special? Not really. Besides being drawn to the colour selection, there’s nothing that really makes the Tailored Sportsman breeches stand out from the crowd.

I know that they’ll last and I know that I’ll enjoy wearing this colour. I think that playing around with your look can be fun. But you can only go so far with just changing your top. I do think that Tailored Sportsman will have some competition if other companies come out with some fun colours as well.

I did find it odd that they don’t have a website. I tried searching for it and couldn’t find one. Even the website that they have linked on their Twitter profile doesn’t work. It just seems weird to not have a website to showcase your product. I mean, after all, how will you read up on the brand’s history or the technology behind the breeches? That sort of information usually won’t be listed on a tack shop’s website.

At the end of the day, you can spend your hard-earned money on whatever you’d like. If you these breeches are in your price range and you’re just looking to buy a fun colour, then go for it. There’s nothing really wrong with these breeches and they do make some great colours. If you’re in need of a good pair in this price range that will last and that is well worth every cent, then I’d wait for these to go on sale or look at other brands. I do personally believe that there’s nicer options in the same price range out there. They’ll just probably be in your standard colours.

Let me know if you love your Tailored Sportsman breeches. Are they your favourite? If not, which ones do you like more? I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, happy riding!

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