I don’t think they are refined enough for the hunter or equitation ring, but I absolutely LOVE my ariat Volants for everyday. The ankles were tough to break in (and occasionally still rub my ankles), but the footbed is amazingly supportive for riding and teaching all day.
I love my Mountain Horse Sovereigns, I bought mine used (practically new condition) and have been wearing them 4-5 days a week for a year now and they still look new.
I just bought a pair of Deniro Amabile boots and love them. I got them on sale for under $300, the fit was good, not great like the custom Deniros I have, but satisfactory enough for schooling boots. They look beautiful and I rode 3 horses the day I bought them with no issue.
Parlanti has an outlet section on their website. If you have been sized already just scour it for a pair in one of the models you’re interested in from there. They’re around $500. I’m on my third pair of Parlanti’s they’re by far my favorite boot. I’ve had 2 of the denver’s and 1 pair of the ocala’s. I actually liked the ocala’s best but i don’t think they sold well and they’re discontinuing the model (found out the hard way when i tried to order a new pair).
Love my Ariats, Front Zip Volants ( 2 pairs, now sadly discontinued) and a lovely pair of S Volants. As others have said the footbed is so much more comfy.
Heads up though, my S Volants just came up with a new issue. The area underneath my ball of my foot has ‘bunched’ a bit, for lack of a better term, and now it’s hurting a bit during longer rides. Have an email into Ariat and we’ll see if anything comes of it. But I’d still buy another pair!!!
Em
Great info. Thanks, OP for starting this thread. Does anyone know what boots come in brown? I found the Parlantis KK do, but they are over $800. And I found others in the $200 range, but they look like $200 boots
I have been happy with my Tredstep Donatello II boots as well. However, I have only had them for a year and used them on one horse 5x/week, so I don’t know how well they hold up. They are thinner leather than I am used to.
This thread has me shopping out of my budget; Parlanti has a sale going on:
https://parlantiinternational.com/product-category/outlet/
Thanks everyone - now I want to drop $700 on boots I don’t need. 
RE: Donatellos -
I had a pair brand new that I bought at the beginning of show-season, which then promptly sat under my bed, in their original packaging, for the entirety of show-season because my horse managed to hurt himself. So they were about ~8 months old before I ever got a chance to use them.
I only used once or twice a week, if that - never in rain or snow and always put on right before I rode and taken off immediately after… They were also wiped down and conditioned after every ride. They saw very little use at all, but still managed to split open down the back seam on not one but both boots.
I was really bummed as I bought them as splurge item. I didn’t think it was fair to return them as they were technically “over a year old” at that point (though I bet Dover would have taken them back) – but they had seen less than 50 rides since I only wore them for lessons and only lessoned once or every other week, and only half the year too.
I don’t know if I could recommend them for long term use after that… but they do look great and were very comfortable out the box.
