When I was younger we clunked around in those tall English boots to work around the horses and to ride, and show . . . erg . . . and mine were rubber which made them even worse, as the sweat and heat built up in them. It was like graduating, to move into real-leather tall boots. Then along came “muckers” – a rubber sole with leather upper ankle boot – which were the first step towards paddock boots for the English Rider. Sharon Jantzen tells her story of finding English riding boots in SLO County.