If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd, there’s no better way to do it than with a set of hand-painted tack. Sadie Simmons of Minnesota began her business, Sadies Hand Painted Tack, after making a custom tack set for her husband, who is in the military. When friends and other riders saw the tack set at shows, they asked if they could place orders and the trend quickly took off.

Sadies Hand Painted Tack grew quickly, and the tack has proven popular for barrel racing, rodeo events, parades, drill teams, and year-end awards, as well as for the everyday horse. The company’s motto, “One of a Kind Tack for Your One of a Kind Horse,” references one of the most interesting points of this business: No two items that Sadie creates are the same. Sadie works with clients to bring their design needs to life, from simple name customization to the more elaborate custom paint and bling.

A look through Sadie’s website will quickly bring to light the wide variety of products that she’s created. Sadies Hand Painted Tack offers many Western tack items including breast collars, halters, bronc nosebands, headstalls, spur straps, and even dog collars. Painted in a wide range of styles from the simple and elegant to the eye-catching and flashy, attention to detail is evident in every piece, as is each individual rider’s style.

To learn more about Sadies Hand Painted Tack, be sure to check out her website and her Facebook page. Sadie is offering a giveaway when her Facebook page reaches 14,000 likes (and she’s less than 200 likes away), as well as a giveaway of a tack set at 15,000 likes.

With “blinged up” browbands growing ever more popular, it also seems that they’re becoming more and more flashy. Five years ago, Joanne Raven crafted her own crystal beaded browband when she wanted a classy and unique browband that wasn’t so over the top.

With that browband, Joanne found a niche in the industry, as she received many compliments on her work. Her friends requested browbands of their own, and after fulfilling their requests, Joanne branched out into offering her classy browbands to the equestrian industry.

Based in Queensland, Australia, Joanne started Bling-It-On Leather in April of 2012. She had been running another horse-related business at the time, but after some thought she realized that she was enjoying the beaded leatherwork that she had been doing. Joanne sold her former business so that she could focus on Bling-It-On Leather and the work that she was so passionate about. 

Since beginning her business, Joanne has expanded Bling-It-On Leather to include far more than just browbands; today the business offers halters, leads, reins, dog collars, breastplates, belts, and miniature horse items (which have proven to be very popular). She just introduced all-crystal browbands.

Joanne works with a saddler who crafts quality soft padded leather products which she then customizes. Bling-It-On Leather products sport hand-sewn beads, gemstones, and crystals; customers have the ability to design their own products. With thousands of beads in stock, the potential designs are endless.

Bits n’ Pieces Custom Horsewear incorporates color and style into products for you, your horse, and your dog. With a product line including saddle pads, polo wraps, coolers, saddle covers, quarter sheets, dog collars, browbands, and even camera bags, color and patterns abound.

Business owner Meagan Landreth of Arkansas started the company in 2008 when she was searching for more interesting saddle pads than the standard solid colors available. Says Meagan, “the boring black, white, hunter, and navy just weren’t cutting it for me anymore!”

So Meagan took to her sewing machine, determined to bring some brilliance into her riding wardrobe. She didn’t intend to start a business at that time, but her friends saw the saddle pads she’d produced and all wanted one of their own.

And it’s easy to see why: Bits n’ Pieces Custom Horsewear offers saddle pads in an impressive range of colors, patterns, and styles. Each pad clearly reflects the personality of its owner, and the pads will definitely make you and your horse stand out in the ring.

Given the success of her saddle pads, Meagan has continued to expand into other products at the request of her clients. All of her products are customized for the buyer. The popularity of Bits n’ Pieces Custom Horsewear’s products has steadily spread; Meagan has shipped products all over the United States, as well as to Canada, Australia, Italy, and the UK.

While custom saddle pads are her specialty, Meagan also has a growing line of other custom products. She notes that the Eventer Style saddle pad is a recent addition that has proven to be very popular.

For more information on ordering from Bits n’ Pieces Custom Horsewear, visit their website or their Facebook page, or email them directly at [email protected]. Photos of the items offered by Bits n’ Pieces Custom Horsewear are also available on their Pinterest and Instagram pages.

And Psssst – we’ve got a special deal for you. Mention the code “SBB2014” to get 10% off of your order!