Thank goodness for Dover smart pak and horsemans exchange for me all super close. It’s so much fun to go to these stores not order everything like I had to when I rode saddle seat.
Oh, yes. And, as someone else said, there was stuff whose purpose I didn’t even know! Bevals also had this weird “brain crusher” thing built for them by E. Jeffries from a design that (local to New Canaan, kinda) BNT Jimmy Toon invented. Imagine a Chambon, but the top part has a chain where the brow band of a normal would go. It looked to me like a way to ride a horse in a chambon-like device without having that Chambon affect the bit. Pretty cool that you could see something unorthodox and original there.
Also, they used to have a February 20% off sale which included custom horse clothing. Unheard of today. I seemed to know that then, so I ordered a whole trousseau for my hunter then. I really looked like I had arrived and, for as expensive as all those various blankets were, I was psyched because they had been on sale.
Oh, and I sold a bridle, plus made a great Tack Maven friend here on COTH via a transaction involving a cob size New Canaan bridle. It had been made before their quality went down and never fit the intended horse. So I had this very pretty bridle in the Cryo-Freeze, and COTHer pattnick had a horse that could wear it, PLUS, knew how utterly awesome those old school New Canaan bridles were. I do like someone who appreciates wonderful bridles and so a friend was made, all thanks to Beval’s quality.
Yep, switched to driving a pony, so not only is it all online, sometimes it’s overseas online! (fortunately I embraced the Introvert’s Amazon Nation early on, so it’s not the worst hardship)
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I recently shopped at the Beval’s in South Salem. Their inventory is quite low. My web browser displays a “Connection Not Secure” warning message when trying to access their online site (they apparently have failed to renew their SSL certificate) so I can’t imagine too many people will be willing to order online from them until that is fixed, which can’t be helping matters any. It is very sad; Beval’s was one of those places I aspired to shop at as a young rider.
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I was up at HITS Saugerties last week, and the Bevals was closed. Has anyone seen it open this season?
Oh yes - the New Canaan bridles, beautiful square, plain raised with a very distinctive (and gorgeous) color. I kept mine even after I sold most of my other hunter tack. It still has pride of place in my tack room. And that 20% sale was awesome. Still have most of those really beautiful horse clothes…
I know I’m late to this thread, but I’m so very sad about Bevals! I think I purchased all of my nice stuff from there over the years. I can’t even imagine Gladstone without it. Here’s a link to an article from Nancy Jaffer about it
http://nancyjaffer.com/
I agree that it’s sad about the loss of all the local tack shops. When I was a kid there were a few, Bevsls, Coach Stop, Kimberly’s, Ruthies. I don’t live around there any more, but it’s sad how much everything has changed.
Bump.
Any updates on this? Did the Gladstone location ever re-open? Has anyone been to the North Salem location lately?
