RECALLING my personal experiences over my hunting years of sourcing my own personal bespoke tailored wardrobe and tack, also presents an opportunity for me to highlight some more of the talented craftsmen who continue to supply the equestrian public today.

My first experience of bespoke hunting attire was in the early 1970s when I had a hunting jacket with specially engraved hunt buttons, tailored by Michael Hawkins of Cavendish Row in Dublin. Sadly the shop is closed since 2002 when Desmond Leech, who spent half a century with the company, was their last employee. My Hawkins’ jacket that I wore for 40 years is still being worn some 50 years later by a lady hunt follower (as I was slimmer in those days!) in the USA.

While I was happy with the jacket I was very unhappy with the off the shelf riding hat I purchased from them. So, in 1981, I got so frustrated at the ill-fitting riding hat that occasionally parted from my head after jumping a wall following the Galway Blazers, that I decided to do something about it. Despite the expense, on good advice I promised to treat myself to a Lock hat. There would be no more stuffing the lining of my hat with newspapers to make it fit!

Locks Hatters of St James, London

Although not really prepared for the expense, I visited Locks of St James in London, near Horse Guards Parade, in 1981 for my fitting appointment. I was greeted by a gentleman dressed in a morning suit while all around me, I could sense the tradition that went back to 1676. The Regency architecture and wooden panelling of the premises seemed to be frozen in time. The aromas were distinctive, and old fitting records sat in legers on shelves, all carefully indexed.

It was comforting that I, as an ordinary humble hunt follower, was now joining the august list of Lock clients, like Lord Nelson who collected his cocked hat fitted with a shade to cover his blind eye, before he embarked on his sailing to take on the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar where he lost his life. Other customers were various members of Royal European households, and Hollywood film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra but also fellow Irishmen like Oscar Wilde, and actors Pierce Brosnan, Jeremy Irons and Peter O’Toole, who I had the pleasure of taking part with in the remake of the film Lassie. I was seated on an old fashioned chair which must have been shaped by many of these clients, and a contraption called a Conformateur, designed in France back to 1852, which resembled a large crown that was placed on my head. With various adjustments around its perimeter, it produced a card that measured my exact head shape. Part of that circular unit was then used as the insert to shape my new riding hat. Sometime weeks later, I called to be fitted with the final product to make sure it was a perfect fit. It was gently placed in a Lock flannel bag before being put in a special Lock hat box. I casually paid the large bill for my bespoke acquisition by card (as I did not have a Coutts Bank account like many of Locks’ clients) as if I was used to doing it frequently, but I still was taken aback by the cost but at the same time delighted with my purchase.

My measurements will lay for posterity in their measurement books beside their other esteemed client list, and with just a phone call I can order any of their large range of hats or caps, reassured to know they will be a perfect fit. It was one of the best investments that I have ever made in my hunt wardrobe, as I wore it for more than 30 seasons, and had it recovered in velvet when it began to show its wear. When I retired from hunting, I gave it to a gentleman who hunts a pack of foxhounds in America and he has worn it for many more years since. The moral of the story is, it pays to buy quality.

John Lobb Bootmakers of London

Incidentally I was asked on the same fitting day by a friend of mine to pop down the street to Lobb’s Bootmakers, who specialise in bespoke footwear, and collect two bespoke pairs of handmade shoes for him. You see that’s how you shop in these premises, a pair of brown as well as a black pair. Lobbs had the same feel, the same décor, the same feeling of tradition going back to 1866 and very much the same clientele. They were presented to me together with special made to measure wooden trees to ensure that they always kept their shape.

In Ireland, we also have our own master craftsmen and bespoke businesses supplying all forms of equestrian sports like Frazers Tailors in Limerick that I have already written about. But there are two other craft houses that are well known to Irish equestrians, Berney Brothers in Kildare, and boot and shoemakers Tuttys, also in Kildare.

Work of art: Tuttys Shoe and Bootmakers in Co Kildare was founded by George Tutty in 1946, making handmade shoes and boots \ Noel Mullins

Tuttys Shoe and Bootmakers of Kildare

Tuttys Shoe and Bootmakers, located in Kilcullen, Co Kildare, was founded by George Tutty in 1946 and has been regular stop for hunt followers and jockeys over the years.

Their oldest customer, who hails from Carlow, took delivery of his first bespoke pair of shoes back in 1947, and again as recently as last year. The current owner, Michael Tutty, is the third generation of the family to run the business and indeed it is a real family business as all the staff are family or extended family.

Although their list of customers is a closely guarded secret, Michael was able to tell me that one of their most distinguished overseas customers was the late and much admired horse trainer Sir Henry Cecil. He was known as a stylish dresser whose last order was a pair of purple leather suede boots.

Tuttys are better known to the hunting fraternity for crafting fine leather riding boots and jodhpur boots, made from the finest French and Italian leather. They don’t deal in shoe or boot sizes, they deal in measurements as Michael pointed out as so often a customer’s left foot could be a size 8 and the right foot 8½, or they could have large calves and narrow ankles. Now I know why one of my riding boots seemed to be much tighter than the other at the end of a day’s hunting!

Also a customer’s leg and foot shape could have altered over the years as a result of age, arthritis, fallen aches, fractures or an accident. Tuttys also specialise in orthopaedics, designing measured supports that can be worn discreetly inside a shoe or boot with customised heels and soles. Fittings are done in the traditional way with exact measurements taken that translate into a wooden last for each foot to provide a precise comfortable fit with a wax or gloss finish. With measurements on file, all customers need to do to order the next pair of shoes or boots is to just make a phone call, and if one wants a particular custom made boot or shoe, they only require a sketch or an image of it, and Tuttys will take it from there.

Skilled: Jamie Berney putting in a new girth in a racing saddle \ Noel Mullins

Berney Brothers of Kilcullen, Co Kildare

Berney Brothers, who supply everything for a horse, rider or racing yard, are also located in Kilcullen in Co Kildare, but they also have a store in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford and Arklow, Co Wicklow. It was founded by Peter Berney and has been in business since 1880. Now five generations later, you can still buy your handmade saddle and tack from the men who carefully and lovingly crafted it, and if you want to take your horses along to the workshop, Tom or Jamie will measure him up and develop a template to make sure it is a perfect fit!

A fact not generally known is that Berneys make as many as 10 different styles of saddle, and at least four styles of bridles and nosebands. Having ridden in a Berney saddle all my life, I know the comfort both for myself and my horses, and I am convinced that they always performed better when their tack fitted properly. But the service does not end there, saddles can lose shape in time, or if you change your horse, you may need some maintenance on your saddle like re-flocking or changing panels – say from medium to medium wide, or if a horse has developed a dipped back with age – saddle shape and fit is so important.

One also needs regularly to consider replacing girth straps, or stirrup leathers with extra-strong buffalo leather. Berney Brothers craft over 1,000 saddles every year in their workshops, with many exported as far away as USA and China, and they have also collaborated with international riders, like event rider Joseph Murphy to produce an eventing saddle.

Most of the top trainers use Berney exercise saddles, and I understand in horse trainer Willie Mullins’ case, they have a bespoke refinement with each saddle, as they are fitted with serge lined panels which is a fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges in a two up, two down weave that acts for better grip.

And when I have occasion to visit Berneys workshop in Kilcullen, I get the same unique experience, the aroma of a historic workshop going back to 1880, the smell of natural leather and old wood with craftsmen such as Tom Berney in his apron and his cousin Jamie crafting masterpieces with old tools that produce that same bespoke quality year after year. They are always busy with repairs, and if you have a specific piece of tack that you require then all they need is a good sketch or example of it.

Of course, Tom Berney and Chris Francis who also works in the business, are both hunting men. Tom is honorary whipper-in to the Carlow Farmers Foxhounds, and Chris, who hunted the Kildare Foxhounds for many seasons, has taken on the Roscommon Harriers as huntsman this season. Berneys also put money back into the equestrian world as they are one of the oldest exhibitors at the Dublin Horse Show and are the main sponsor of many equestrian competitions as well as a great supporter of the Kildare Hunter Performance Show and of the Huntsman’s Race over the Punchestown Banks.

We are so fortunate to have so many of these bespoke craftsmen on our doorsteps, but they need to be supported as this level of handcrafted skills is not gained overnight. For those of you who have experienced the luxury of bespoke tailoring, you don’t need any convincing, but those of you who have yet to experience it then you have a real treat in store for you as it is a long lasting experience that lingers well into the life of the end product.