Tent Sale Set-up Sneak Peek

Even though the store is closed today, this is one of the busiest and exciting days of the year for the staff at Mary’s: our huge Tent Sale is this weekend and today is set-up day!

It takes close to 60 people to completely remerchandise the entire store to prepare for all the excitement of this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Just think about it- in addition to our entire store, this 100 foot tent half stocked with all kinds of great sale goodies, and half set up with 14 cashiers!  And this year, keep your eyes peeled for entries in our cutest horse contest while you wait in line, which hopefully won’t be for long with our fast and efficient cashier staff.

Inside, the store is completely transformed as pallets of merchandise are unwrapped, stocked, tagged and hung up for your shopping enjoyment. The amount of preparation really is incredible – from our IT guys hooking up all the computers and PA system, to our buyers and sales people getting all the merchandise set out for our customers.

This is just a quick post as I want to get back helping the rest of the crew, but I wanted to share some of the excitement with you in advance!

Hope to see you this weekend -
Dale (GM)
Mary’s
PS – remember our sale hours! Friday and Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-4.

This is Your Chance to Win!

Let’s Have Some Fun!

How would you like to win your very own Mary’s embroidered hat?

February 7 through February 15, in preparation for our fantastic Tent Sale, we’ll be drawing a random winner from the comments on this blog post each day to win a Mary’s hat. So how do you enter?  It’s so easy and you can enter up to three times!

1.      Follow this blog via email or RSS feed AND leave a comment here that you’re now following = 1 entry

2.      Share the post on Facebook and leave another comment here that you did so = 1 entry

3.      Like our Facebook page and leave another comment here that you did so = 1 entry

Mary’s Tack & Feed is a well known store out here in Southern California, and this whole social media thing is right up our alley.  Why?  Because we really enjoy all of our customers, whether they visit us in the store or on the internet.  So whether you’re right down the street or all the way across the country, please feel like you’re a Mary’s friend.

Now, try and win that hat!

No purchase necessary, and we take your privacy seriously. We will not sell our email lists.

Mary’s Tent Sale 2012!

The excitement is building…

It’s that time of year again, and we’re all getting excited- Mary’s 25th Annual Tent Sale is coming up February 17th, 18th and 19th!

“Hectic, frantic, and a heck of a lot of fun,” is the way one of our veteran temporary workers (we call them Temparoonis) described her time of helping at each year’s sale, and we had to agree.  In fact, we go from a regular staff of about 40 employees to a smiling crew of over 70 people working the sale!  It really has become quite the tradition, with some of our local customers working alongside us for all 3 days, year after year.

If you’ve never been to one of our Tent Sales, you might be wondering what the big deal is.  Well, in addition to our entire store, we fill an enormous 100 foot tent with TONS of incredible merchandise and amazing specials.  The deals are so good this year that we’re going from our normal 4 to 14 cashiers (the most we’ve ever had!).

Even our GM gets into the act, with auctions, contests (insider tip: make sure you know who won last year’s Kentucky Derby), and countless chances for you to win a Mary’s gift card.  The atmosphere overall is electric, complete with delicious food for our customers and employees, and best of all, the chance for all of us to spend the weekend with all of you!

And to top it all off, because the Mary’s Sale is so very special, we’ve had many of our fantastic vendors participate over the years, ready to answer your questions and share their incredible product knowledge with you.

So mark your calendars – we can’t wait to see you there!

Mary’s Tack and Feed Tent Sale 2012

Friday, February 17  9am – 5pm

Saturday, February 18  9am – 5pm

Sunday, February 19  9am – 4pm

Why do we have a Sale Right Before a Sale?

For the past few years, Mary’s has promoted a January “Pre-Season Show Sale”, featuring fantastic discounts on tall boots and Charles Owen helmets. Some of our veteran customers, who know we also hold our major, store-wide Tent Sale each February, have been asking us “Why have a January sale before your February sale?”.

Well, if you’ve attended our Tent Sale, you know that the savings are great and the atmosphere is exciting.  But if you want to get fitted for a tall boot, it can be a little nutty.

Sure, we can do it. We do have great Sales Associates at Mary’s, after all! But if you want to sit, ask questions, walk around leisurely in your prospective boots, and get as much enjoyment as possible out of the whole tall boot fitting process, then the Tent Sale sometimes just isn’t conducive to that.

So we started our January sale – featuring a discount on tall boots that’s as good as the discount we’ll have at our Tent Sale. And then, because we know that the only thing better than one great deal is two great deals, we added the premium helmet line of Charles Owen to our January sale line-up.

Charles Owen does control their pricing, but allows Mary’s Tack & Feed to discount their helmets substantially just one time each year: January.

We’ve also added in a few other things over time. Heck, if we’re already having a January sale, we might as well make it fun, right?

This year, our January sale ends on the 23rd. Until then, save 20% on Charles Owen helmets and tall boots (excluding custom boot orders).  You can also save 15% on English bridles, coolers and scrims, ratcatchers, hunt coats, Ariat Quantum Paddock Boots, and more. Just click here to visit our website and see everything we have to offer.

And remember, our store-wide Tent Sale is February 17, 18, 19, 2012. It’s always a great time with lots of fun sales, auctions, and prizes! Be sure to put us in your reader or subscribe by email so you don’t miss any updates about this fabulous event. More information coming soon in our next post!

Trouble Shooting Blanket Fitting

It’s that time of year for warm horse clothing!  Each day, loving horse owners are challenged by a horse that just doesn’t want to fit into the typical horse blanket.  That’s why here at Mary’s Tack & Feed we strive to carry not only the best fitting blankets & sheets but we look for blankets that will help us fit those horses who aren’t “cookie cutter” blanket types. 

A hands down favorite with our customers is the Turtle Neck Ice Turtle Extreme Turnout.  With a flexible elastic neckline this blanket fits well in the front.  Especially given that other blankets can sometimes pull too tightly at the neck for some horses (thicker neck, shorter neck).  For the slender necked horse this blanket works nicely because it stays close & warm when typical neck openings hang wide open allowing chilly wind or rain through.  

Too often blankets stop at size 84” and for larger sizescustomers must go the custom route which means more money & waiting for the blanket to be made.  The Pyrois Blanket currently in stock starts at 81” and goes up to 90”!  Even more enticing, the Pyrois is a mid neck blanket and has a nice long drop so your big guy or gal will be covered! 

Our very own Terminator Blankets come in two cuts: Euro Cut and Taper Cut.  Terminator Euro Cut has a fuller, boxy cut, a shoulder gusset and a longer drop that fits the bigger bodied, taller horse.  Terminator Euro Cut has a neck opening that is further up the withers for more coverage.  Terminator Taper Cut is exactly that: tapered at the hip.  Taper Cut is shorter in the drop which is better for the average to shorter horse.  With a neck opening set slightly back at the withers this blanket is back off the mane more than the Euro cut: good for manes that must look good at the shows!

Is fit not as much of an issue as the horse who just gets too warm with a blanket?  The no-fill rain sheet is the way to go & we love the Pessoa Alpine Turnout sheet!  Not only is the Alpine Sheet no-fill but it has a mesh lining for added ventilation, gussets at the shoulders for freedom of movement and amazing hardware.  Still not sure?  How about a one year warranty against tearing for a 1200 Denier outer shell!   Fantastic!

Marian

Buyer

Mary’s Tack & Feed

Celebrating Safety with Charles Owen

We all know how important helmet safety is but it seems like too often we take it for granted. Sometimes it seems too easy or too convenient to ride sans helmet. Maybe it’s just a short ride, maybe it’s too hot, or maybe we just never wore one to begin with. But the reality is we only have one head, one brain (which pretty much runs the show) coupled with a stark, recent reminder that even riders in the upper echelon of talent and ability can become a victim of a seemingly innocent fall, this reality has jolted us all out of the naïvety and carelessness that causes us to leave the helmet in the tack trunk rather than on our heads as we swing up into the saddle.

I promise, this is a positive post.

On Friday December 23^rd Mary’s is proud to honor one of leaders in safety, Charles Owen as they celebrate their 100^th year. Charles Owen has been an amazing partner with the equestrian community providing an unparalleled level of safety and protection for riders of all disciplines.  

Certified not only through the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) but through two very strict European safety standards (PAS and BS EN) as well which means Charles Owen helmets are tested to crash in a variety of different ways, areas and impact surfaces. To insure the utmost quality control, for each 1000 helmets manufactured by Charles Owen, one is tested as a spot check. If it doesn’t pass, the entire batch is destroyed.

So if you are looking for a new helmet, or you want to upgrade your helmet (helmets should be replaced every three years even if you have not encountered a fall) or you just want to be properly fitted or ask some questions, come on into Mary’s on Friday December 23^rdfrom 11-4pm and you will have a chance to speak to our wonderful Charles Owen Rep, Diana!

We will have fun little prizes plus gifts with purchase and best of all, CAKE!

We look forward to seeing you, and we look forward to you riding safely.

~Robin

English Apparel Buyer at Mary’s Tack and Feed

Unleashed

Woof Wear Collars

As a Mary’s buyer in our purchasing department, one of my favorite things to buy for Mary’s customers is dog collars. There are so many designs and trends that arise year after year, and I love to share with our customers the latest styles, plus the tried and true classics.

Sometimes one can not truly appreciate the real beauty of these collars until you hold them in your hand. That’s when you feel the quality of the leather, appreciate the fine stitching and chosen hardware or admire the beauty and designs. Often, after reviewing the dog collar pictures online, I am left shaking my fist at the sky exclaiming “Oh, if they only knew!”

So, from a true lover of dogs, cats and their collars, here are  my 3 favorite dog collar brands. I’ll try to emphasize their craftsmanship, value and why they have become Mary’s Tack and Feed’s favorites.

Woofwear Collars are truly unique. These are proudly made in the USA  by a team of employees with years of experience. The Woofwear collars are crafted from Italian leathers in over 25 different colors and boast a rainbow of Swarovski crystals options, making it fun and easy to customize your order. The Square Turquoise Collar has been a popular style at Mary’s for years. This year’s newest leather collars include Indigo Heart & Crystal Collar and the Concho & Turquoise Collar.  All of the Woofwear dog collars have stitched and finished edges and are assembled with sturdy hardware. As long as these collars are treated as a “Sunday’s Best,” they will last for years to come.

Pickles Collar

Paco Collars is another amazing company that hand crafts their collars here in the good old USA. Paco Collars are true examples that leather craftsmanship is not a lost art, cutting and creating their collars from scratch with functional and inspiring designs. Paco Collars are made of latigo leather and are designed to get better and more supple with age and use. My favorite designs include the Pickles in the brown leather with small and large flat, brass spots;  the Agnes in a tan leather with light green rhinestones and brass accents; and the Tonka Deluxe with studded overlay and really cool leather “dots.”

There is no better way to get more bark for your buck than with the Tory Leather Collars. These collars are made with the same Old World American craftsmanship, using environmentally friendly leather that Tory uses on their equine tack products. Tory offers real, quality leather collars, at an amazing price! You can keep it plain and simple with a Stitched Leather Collar or add a little bling with the popular Clincher Collar. I think the Padded Overlay Collar is beautiful collar that just can’t let its true colors shine in a picture. The soft, milled leather padding is folded over and overlaid with contrasting dark brown English bridle leather, giving a classy, traditional, timeless look… at an unbelievable price!

Suede Bone & Crystal Collar

Have your dog be the class of the neighborhood with any one of these collars. Happy Howl-idays!