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c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 111 >> Laura St. Clair, the voice behind the lifestyle blog SHADBELLY, shares her step-by-step instructions for a surprisingly successful spray paint makeover. pimp My helmet i'm infatuated with my newly spray painted riding hel- met. sure, underneath it's still the scuffed up, sweated in, basic black helmet i've been using for about a year, but look at this baby now. it's my glittering tiara, my guardian angel, my superman cape. look out dressage Queens in the warm-up, because I am invincible when blissfully encased in my newly pimped-out helmet's metallic awesomeness. what, you ask? why not just get a new one? well sure, i have my eye on several new helmets (let's see… i'll take the one K defender in gray... and don't even get me started on my wish list for the Kep italias…), but in the meantime, my current everyday helmet is still quite functional and well within its defined life span. (manufacturers generally recommend you replace your helmet every two to five years, but it's also important to remember that your helmet is only designed for a single impact, so replace it after a fall regardless of its age.) my second reason: i'm a total control freak, and i wanted a helmet that was exactly the right color to wear with my Kingsland magritte Competition Coat. mostly, however, i wanted to test for myself the phenomenon psychologists call "the ikea effect." researchers at harvard and duke universities coined this term to describe "the cognitive bias that occurs when consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created." at's right, studies prove that building and/or creating your own stuff boosts your feelings of pride and competence and also signals to others that you are competent. sounds dressage-y enough to me. let's get started.

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