Lorenzini stirrups

[KingoftheRoad]

I’m surprised I haven’t seen more posts here about these - and I admit, I’m more of a traditionalist that a lot of people about tack and colors and stuff like that (I ride in black or white saddle pads, no crazy fly bonnets, no colored zebra stripe polos) I’m also CHEAP about my tack - I want really nice stuff, but only if I can get a good deal on it…I scour eBay like no other for quality tack.

However, I was looking for something to replace my trusty Royal Riders non-flex cheese grater stirrups - I’ve loved them for 8 years or so, but wanted something with a bit more weight in them for the occasional time that I lose a stirrup in the middle of a combination jump and need to get it back quickly! My only complaint with the RRs is that they have so little weight in them that they tend to flop around and make them hard to regain quickly - I know that’s a common concern with them. But the wide footbed and cheese grater combination have been almost unbeatable in muddy conditions.

So I was looking at the Jin stirrups, and was thinking about trying a knockoff version of them, and then Smartpak had their 15% off Memorial Day sale, so on a whim, I ordered a pair of the gray Lorenzini stirrups, figuring I’d return them if they didn’t work out - I certainly didn’t want to spend $200+ on stirrup irons.

The verdict…I can’t say they are the prettiest stirrups - there seems to be a lot more to them than I thought, however, I LOVE them…just what I was looking for - cheese grater, plus that solid feeling when they are hanging down from the leathers - I can find them and pick them up way easier after no-stirrups work. I don’t find myself fumbling around in them as much as my RRs, trying to find the right foot position.

My trainer hates them, from a looks perspective - she keeps grumbling that they don’t look safe, I should go back to plain fillis, and I keep looking at them and acknowledging that they aren’t the most attractive stirrups, but then I ride in them, and just love them that much more…

Anyway, that’s all - I’m no spokesperson or anything, but hadn’t seen a ton on here about those irons, and I’m grudgingly in love with them - it’s all about the function in the end, right?

[chevelnoir]

Ive never tired them… always wanted to. I got a pair of Jins when I first got my new saddle in 11’… they were great until I had a little accident at a water complex and couldn’t find them (because they are so light)

Have you tried the MDC stirrups? The hunter classic is great, heavy, no swivel, wide bedded.

BUT if you love your Lorenzinis then no problem right?

[BK6756]

I recently got some Lorenzinis (Smartpak sale) and I don’t find them ugly at all

I like them a lot, but I went from basic fillis irons to the Lorenzini, so the cheese grater pad alone might have had a similar effect. I rarely ever lose my stirrups with the Lorenzinis and I agree that they are easy to pick back up. I don’t see how they would be unsafe unless you consider any cheese graters unsafe…

My only worry is that I’m super paranoid I will scratch my saddle. I actually take them off and on every time I ride to avoid this, but I’ve ordered some stirrup covers so maybe won’t have to do this anymore.

[KingoftheRoad]

I guess I haven’t had problems with them from a cheese grater perspective, because I’ve had cheese graters on my saddle for probably the last ten years…after a while it just becomes habit to cover the iron with your hand when you’re running up your stirrups.

I guess more people haven’t tried them because they definitely wouldn’t work for the hunter/eq ring, but for the jumpers, I’m pretty happy with them - of course, there was a time when Royal Riders wouldn’t have been acceptable in the hunter ring either, but now I see them all the time…although the eq ring got grumpy about the black ones.