Calzado Tres Caballos
for
Navarro Brothers

One-of-a-kind, Special Order
Genuine Sharkskin
“Flying Jodhpur” Boot

Euro 1450

The “Flying” Jodhpur is distinguished by its applied vamp, side reinforcements and the three leather and two brass loops through which the strap pass before finally bucking up. This is the most complex version of any Jodhpur boot. Worn under trousers, however, it is the plain front of the “Flying “ Jodhpur that shows off the richness and depth of colour of the leather and the handsome line of the unadorned toe. The secret of its uniqueness, the characteristic complexity of the wrap-around strap, loops, buckles and reinforcements that make this a unique design among jodhpur boots, lies discreetly under the trouser leg.

Judging from old advertisements, this handsome variation of the standard 19th century Jodhpur has been in production since at least 1955 and its earlier variations from the 1930’s when it is reported to have been favoured by the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII and then been taken up by both military and commercial pilots thereafter. The originator and producer was Calzado Tres Caballos, established 1935 in Veracruz and once considered the finest bootmaker in Mexico, producing a variety of quality ready made and custom boots and shoes. The American importer, Navarro Brothers, marketed the boot, as in this case, under their own brand. Still, this particular boot was produced by Tres Caballos, most likely in the 1990s, not long before Tres Caballos went out of business.

The Flying Jodhpur gained popularity with the Mexican Army for their dress uniform. Eventually, as many Army officers retired and graduated into local and national police forces, they took the beloved Flying Jodhpur with them and adopted it to their police uniforms. A somewhat less attractive group of admirers of the Flying Jodhpur were, I am told, the more affluent members of the Mexican drug cartels, many of them former police officers who had gravitated to the more lucrative career.

This particular pair in real Sharkskin, no doubt a special order, is, is my experience, one-of-a-kind, and this material is astonishing. I have seen sharkskin shoes that were utterly destroyed, the bottoms worn through to the cork, the welts coming off the shoe, utterly derelict….and the top still unblemished! There is a wonderful English comedy from the 1950’s, “The Man In The White Suit”, in which a chemist (Alec Guinness) invents an indestructible fiber, thinking it will be a godsend to mankind; no more worn out clothes. Of course he is hounded out of town by the manufactures and the worker both who fear for the end of an industry when all the world is clothed, once and for all. Our hero barely escapes with his life. Sharkskin is the equivalent to this fictitious fiber, the indestructible material, except that Sharkskin is real.
This magnificent boot may not be your size, all the more’s the pity, but there will certainly be an excellent Sharkskin shoe in your size; find it elsewhere in the website.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Bottoms all original and lightly worn. Tops showing zero wear, like new. Sold without trees.