I am in need of new show boots and it seems that no one has Ariats in stock right now. It appears to be an end of season thing where they’re all on sale, but it’s been like this since mid July and even with the sales going on, I cannot find my size. Any idea when the apocalypse ends? Or anywhere I can find a 9.5 full tall height? Lower end like a Challenge or Heritage? Mildly desperate for a boot that has not dropped so much that it looks like doodoo that is eating that back of my ankle.
Smartpak has them in your size, but only a slim calf. I went to the FB group “English Tack Trader” and found many options for 9.5 (just go to the search and type in 9.5) including Tuff Rider with regular calf, Ovation Flex only used a handful of times, Dublin Holywell new in box wide calf, Ariat Heritage tall wide calf, Ariat Heritage tall regular calf… there are plenty more, but just a start to see what is available there. Also, check with your local tack stores. They may have some in stock or put your name on a list in case any come in for consignment.
Thanks for the ideas. Sadly I do not have tack stores. I’m in the middle of barrel and gaming country (blah) so no English stores to be had. Dover is about three hours away.
Ill have to check the tack trader page. I’m hesitant to do anything other than ariat without trying on first. I know exactly what I wear in ariat and I’m sick of fighting crappy fitting boots (fitted at a Dover :no: )
I wish I had gotten to Smart Paks sale before they sold out of my size.
I bought one of my two pairs of Heritage Contours directly from Ariat on their website.
https://www.ariat.com/HRTG_CTR_II_FLD_ZP_W_FOO.html?dwvar_HRTG__CTR__II__FLD__ZP__W__FOO_color=BLACK
I know your pain. I2 weeks ago, needed a 10 - slim -tall and they were sold out everywhere.
I must have looked for 10+ total hours.
I FINALLY found what I wanted on ebay.
The only ‘bad’ 5thing is that they are not HERITAGE; THEY ARE ‘coture’. (spellcheck insists that this word is coutler
If you do a search on COTH you will find that a lot of people prefer the Conture. <<< wrong spelling
The man had a lot to sell. Perhaps he bought a lot when they were at a good price. I made me nervous to buy with “no return” but then I realized that someone would buy them immediately from me.
I love them and they will never be for sale.
Even Ariat does not have them. Just search “Ariat field boots” and cross your fingers.
Try Ebay and best of luck.
same and love mine.
Be sure to check Ebay. It can be a lot safer to purchase on than Facebook. Ebay will have some retailers selling the last of their stock and may even have used pairs.
Here is a link to one listing on Ebay that looks to be your exact size: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ariat-Ladies-Heritage-Contour-Zip-Field-Boot-SALE/391976760785?epid=1709201031&hash=item5b43a2b5d1%3Am%3AmLcFh7ZQVT4k5ucjUfr2LuA&var=660934133300
No solutions, just commiseration - not sure if they do it every season but Ariat currently seems to have committed to underproducing (quantity-wise). They haven’t had most colors of the sunstopper zip top shirt in stock for many weeks now. It was only halfway thru summer!
The 9.5 FT are on back order until Sept 10. I was going to offer to order you a pair until I checked their stock. I would still be happy to order you (or anyone here) a pair. As for the sportswear situation, we actually order about 8 months out and since they don’t want leftovers at the end of the season, they tend to order not much more than the dealers will really support.
You just might be a life saver. Thank you!
Thank you for the info! Feel free to send me a pm with your store info for future reference 
Bronco Mo, I sent you a PM
Update to my boot shopping misery (couldn’t figure out how to edit the title). I was braiding at a show over the weekend just down the road from a Dover. I have been ready to pull the trigger on a pair of Heritage contours on sale through eBay. But I wanted to just double check the fit of the boot.
So I swung in to Dover. It fit absolutely terrible. The full calf was only tight in some places, sloppy in others, the calf had an awkward point on the back of the calf where it would not contour to my leg, sloppier through the ankle that I had hoped, and while it was tight across my shin it was wrinkled. Brand new boot, wrinkled. I am defeated. I thought this boot would work. I tried on Monocos in July and was assured by the salesman that the exact same size would fit across the board for all Ariats. Well the Heritage looks like garbage and fits nothing like the Monoco (yes, I realize the Monoco has a stretch panel).
What else is there to do besides go custom (which I can’t afford)? I had hoped to try on several other boots while there but apparently theres not much demand for a boot for someone that has a longer leg, runners calves, and bigger foot. So no other boots in my size to even try. I know I can order on Smartpack and return if it doesn’t fit, but it should not have to come down to that. Does not one make a boot like I need? I wanted to sit down and cry (may or may not have done just that…)
On a side note, what the hell is Ariat trying to do anyways? The leather is so cheap and crappy. Salesperson while not knowing anything about Ariats, said that the quality has been declining. The only Ariats they had were Devinos, Heritage, and a bunch of Volants. It’s almost like they don’t have a mid-budget show boot any more.
Other brand suggestions welcome but I just want to try on the damn boots before I order!!
They might say this is true, and Ariat size charts might indicate this is true, but it is most assuredly NOT true.
I have ALWAYS worn a full calf in Ariat. When they had the cognac Challenges, I decided I needed to have a pair… and the tall full did not fit. They put me in a regular calf (still tall).
Recently, I decided to take advantage of the Monaco dress boots being on sale, and tried a regular calf. There was not a chance on God’s green earth that they were going to fit. I ended up with a full calf (again, still tall), and they are snug.
Furthermore, once upon a time, I had a pair of Westchesters. Those, despite being the correct size, fit horribly and I ended up selling them.
Another very good fit for me recently was DeNiro… but those are out of my price range. I guess if you could find them on super-sale, they might be worth a shot. (If you’re thinking, oh, but you could afford Monacos, so why not DeNiros… no, not really. I got the Monacos for like $380 or something like that).
They don’t work for me, but have you tried Tredstep at all?
Thanks for that. The size seemed to translate between the two boots for me, but the quality of the Heritage was horrendous. I was subconsciously worried about the wrinkles that I saw in the boot in pictures online, but assumed the boot in real life would not be wrinkled. And when I mean wrinkled, I mean like the cut of hide was warped. Terrible looking.
I loved the DeNiros I tried on in January in Florida. But those too are out of my price range. I had vowed to save for them, but here I am three weeks from QH Congress, and no where near being able to afford them. So hence I have been looking for a cheaper option.
I have two sets of Tredsteps that I hate at various levels. I have a pair of Donatellos that I really dislike the look of (sales person at Dover clearly did not know how a new boot should fit and sold me one too short; dropped way too much and is way too short), but they fit relatively decently and have been using them as show boots. And a pair of De Vincis that I despise. They’re just so unflattering, have dropped an incredible amount and are way too short, the foot makes my big foot look horrendously huge, they’ve stretched so much I can nearly put a fist in the top of them. I have abused them so they’ll be rendered schooling boots only and i pretty much HAVE to get new boots now; they are not presentable.
So long story long, I’m not willing to do Tredstep again unless I go up to their top of the line boot, but again need to try on so I know for sure they’ll fit.
An update to this miserable hunt, I stopped at my closest tack store today (hour and a half away so not super convenient). They had Sergios and Mountain Horse to try on, which are brands I haven’t dealt with much. I tried on Mountain Horse Sovereigns at a show in july, but I don’t recall them being like THE ONES and I was worried about them holding up. Fast forward to today, I really liked the Sergios, but a bit pricey. I fell in LOVE with the Mountain Horse Sovereign. I have never put on a boot that fit like they do. I’ve been hesitant (like, refused) to look at them because I always thought of them as a cheap, low end, starter boot. The quality of this boot is way up there for the price. And considering I’m more concerned with the fit and low it looks across the ring, I think these are the ones. Seriously, they fit like nothing I’ve ever tried. The ankle was slim and tight like I want, hugged and contoured my calf like a boot should. Tight but not agonizing throbbing tight. The leather is soft and feels broken in; I’m confident I could climb on a horse with them with no break in and be functional. They may not hold up for an every day schooling boot, but I have come to grips with needing to maintain a pair of show boots ONLY for showing, and do paddock boots and half chaps for daily use. There’s a little flair strip of patent leather at the top, but once the boot is shined up, I don’t think it’ll detract from the overall boot. They did not have the exact foot size I need so I’ll be ordering. But I believe the crisis has been solved. Seems stupidly difficult, but I think I have nailed it.
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I guess I don’t really understand why people expect perfect fit and top quality and oh, it has to be $200 because that is my budget. And a store needs to keep a full compliment of sizes to try because I can’t be hassled with ordering a few pairs and returning what doesn’t work.
You’re the person who doesn’t have local tack stores. What exactly should it “have to come down to” if not ordering from a remote store and returning?
I’m glad you found something,
I never said I expect perfection. But from what has been a leading boot maker for a long time, I expect the hide to not be warped, nor do I expect a stupid looking point on the back of the calf. Seriously, no ones calf looks like that.
I never stated a budget; just that a certain pair of De Niro’s were out of my price range.
And yes, I can’t be bothered to order and return. Because that is just stupid. Maybe it’s me rebelling against the internet age and the loss of stand alone stores, but I don’t want to order and return if I can avoid it.
I posted updates so that perhaps this could help someone else in the same boat. Because this has been miserable. No need for unconstructive commentary.
Same here…And I was able to get them in no time…
Dover order I placed for the same boots before I went to Ariat took 3 MONTHS to get and they didn’t fit.
Go direct!
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Have you tried Sergio Grasso? Mine are more than a decade old so I’m not sure what they are like now but they are the only ones that had a size combination that fit me off the rack and I think I probably wear a similar size. Ariat never fit me right.
They have Sergio’s as the tack store where I discovered Mountain Horse. Though only had a dress boot in my foot size so need to research/try on more but I do like the quality.
