Am I getting too wild?

[Draftmare]

@Goforward

1. I love navy blue boots. I’d splurge and go blue.
2. I have very wide feet and big calves. I normally wear a 10 1/2 extra wide calf boot. BUT my current work (and sometimes show) boots are brown, Mountain Horse Sovereign field boots. SO amazingly comfortable and I actually wear a 10 regular in that boot (never in my life have I worn a regular calf). They might be worth a shot.

Interesting. According to their size chart I’m an inch short of fitting into the regular calf, but they have always been very tempting to try regardless.

[Jo]

@Natalie A

I would love to know this as well - leaning towards the all-black version of these if hand me down boots from a barn mate don’t work out. I have a lot of foot and ankle issues and these look much kinder to your feet than traditional dressage boots…

Natalie, this is exactly why I wear them. I don’t show rated dressage shows, but these are my daily boots. I have a ton of metal in my left ankle and these are the most comfortable option I’ve found.

[lorilu]

@Draftmare

http://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Ariat_Womens_V_Sport_Tall_Zip_Boots_-_Blue_Spanish_Top/descpage-AVS.html

Just came across these…black base but a hint of navy! But is the style too unconventional? They kind of almost look like running shoes on the bottom.

You can definitely show in those. However, look how thick the soles are. Ariat Volants used to be my every day boot… however, they - like the posted boots - have a thick sole and I found that when transitioning to my show boots it affected my position - my stirrups were a half inch “too long”!

[Drsgqn]

I’ve owned the Ariats before (very comfy) and currently own both black and brown Deniros dress boots. Love the Deniros and with proper care they hold up great! By proper care I mean I clean with just water after every ride and Urad them at least weekly.

[Goforward]

The Sovereign boots have a lot of elastic in the inner panel. Super stretchy. No such thing as a tight boot day after too many potato chips :lol:
Smartpak does free returns if they don’t fit.

[exploding_pony]

I would go with the brown boots or just go black. Less trendy is always a good thing for budgets

[Libby2563]

@GreyDes

It’s in the USEF attire rules for tests above Fourth level.

2. For all tests above Fourth Level, the dress code is: a dark tailcoat or a dark jacket with protective headgear, as defined in DR120.6 and in compliance with GR801, and white or light colored breeches, stock or tie or integrated stand-up collar, gloves, and black riding boots. Spurs are mandatory for FEI tests (except as noted above under DR120.1). (See DR120.8)

3. At all test levels, riders may wear jackets in other colors within the international HSV color scale, as described in FEI Dressage Regulations, Art. 427.1. Contrast coloring and piping is allowed. Protective headgear, stocks, ties, gloves and riding boots may be the same color as the coat. For Grand Prix Freestyle only: any single color tailcoat will be allowed; striped or multicolored coats are not permitted, and tasteful and discreet accents, such as a collar of a different hue or modest piping or crystal decorations, are acceptable.
   …
   All of us riding below that can get as wild as we want :). There are no color restrictions or matching requirements.

I think these rules are really poorly written.

First of all, DR120.2 says it applies to tests above 4th but then DR120.3 says it applies “at all test levels.” Do they mean at all other levels? As it is written, the rules say that per 120.2 above 4th you must wear a dark coat and black boots BUT per 120.3 you can also wear other colors in the scale, which negates that “must” and makes largely 120.2 meaningless. I don’t think that’s what was intended.

Second, the bolded part says that boots etc “may” be the same color as the coat. “May” is not the same as “must.” People wear gray or blue or green coats with black boots all the time. If it were “must” instead of “may,” they would have to have gray boots and blue boots and green boots, respectively, instead (which wasn’t even a real possibility until fairly recently). I think what they’re trying to say is that if your boots are anything other than black, they need to match your coat, as Dutchmare and MysticOak said upthread. Not that if you wear a purple coat you also need purple boots. But that’s not what the rule actually says…there is no mention of black there at all.

I don’t really have a dog in the fight because I wear black coats and black boots at all levels, but I hate when rules that people are supposed to be able to understand and follow are so unclear.

[Draftmare]

@Libby2563

I don’t really have a dog in the fight because I wear black coats and black boots at all levels, but I hate when rules that people are supposed to be able to understand and follow are so unclear.

Which is why we end up with so many threads like this! :lol:

[cloudyandcallie]

OK I admit to being a long time subscriber to Vogue and all the fashion magazines from high school on, so…you do not wear brown with navy. Ever. You wear black boots or shoes with navy. Maybe in dressage fashion rules are not followed? But then I come from a family where we wore “spring wools” to school. And worked where jurors judged both men and women on what they wore. As did the newspaper and TV reporters, LOL

[mmeqcenter]

@cloudyandcallie

OK I admit to being a long time subscriber to Vogue and all the fashion magazines from high school on, so…you do not wear brown with navy. Ever. You wear black boots or shoes with navy. Maybe in dressage fashion rules are not followed? But then I come from a family where we wore “spring wools” to school. And worked where jurors judged both men and women on what they wore. As did the newspaper and TV reporters, LOL

Strange, this is the complete opposite of all the “general” (non-equestrian) fashion advice I’ve ever read/seen/heard. Brown with navy always, traditionally, but now black and navy is acceptable in specific ratios, and usually only in extremely formal settings.

[alibi_18]

@cloudyandcallie

OK I admit to being a long time subscriber to Vogue and all the fashion magazines from high school on, so…you do not wear brown with navy. Ever. You wear black boots or shoes with navy. Maybe in dressage fashion rules are not followed? But then I come from a family where we wore “spring wools” to school. And worked where jurors judged both men and women on what they wore. As did the newspaper and TV reporters, LOL

Oh, not true at all… Avid magazine reader here.

You can see a lot of fashion models sporting navy blue suits and brown shoes. It really depends on the shades, but that goes with everything.

And for women, the most common : blue jeans and brown tall boots!

My riding « colors » are brown and blue…

[js]

I wouldn’t get carried away with color. My thought is a judge might find it a bit over the top as far as too much navy on a red roan horse. Keep it basic and conservative, let the judge be more focused on your ride and not on your outfit.

[phoenixrises]

So the brown boots can only be worn with a brown coat? Because I’ve given up hope of finding a brown coat that doesn’t cost $350 so was going to go with navy… I have a brown helmet, brown bridle and my saddle is black with brown blocks and brown cantle.

[mmeqcenter]

@phoenixrises

So the brown boots can only be worn with a brown coat? Because I’ve given up hope of finding a brown coat that doesn’t cost $350 so was going to go with navy… I have a brown helmet, brown bridle and my saddle is black with brown blocks and brown cantle.

For above Fourth level, yes. Fourth and below, boot color is not specified and therefore not restricted.

DR120 Dress 1. The dress code for all Dressage tests and classes through Fourth Level (see .5 below) is a short riding coat of conservative color, with tie, choker, stock tie or integrated stand-up collar, white or light-colored breeches or jodhpurs, boots or jodhpur boots, and protective headgear as defined in DR120.6 and in compliance with GR801. A cutaway coat (modified tailcoat) with short tails is permitted. Half chaps, gaiters and/or leggings are not allowed. Gloves of conservative color are recommended. Exception: Riders through First Level may wear half-chaps, gaiters or leggings in solid black or brown, without fringe, matching the color of their boots, and made of smooth leather or leather-like material. The dress code for the USEF test for 4-year old horses is a short riding coat of conservative color, with stock or tie, breeches, and protective headgear as defined in DR120.6 and in compliance with GR801. The dress code for FEI Pony Riders and FEI Tests for Children is dark coat or club uniform coat, breeches or jodhpurs, white shirt with tie or hunting stock, gloves, boots and protective headgear as defined in DR120.6 and in compliance with GR801. Spurs are optional for all of the FEI Tests for Children, FEI Pony Tests, and the USEF test 515 DR - DRESSAGE DIVISION © USEF 2018 for 4-year old horses. (See DR120.10)

[phoenixrises]

Yeah when read with that above 4th one it really does make things interesting. I mean why specify that boots CAN match jacket color if all colors of boot are allowed anyway. If a lawyer drafted this they should be drawn and quartered.

OH and I show in Canada too. Where do I find their rules? never mind found them Canadian rules make it more obvious that boots just have to be conservative in colour not that they have to match your coat.

[phoenixrises]

OK so I’ve reread it and I now have a different interpretation. I"m thinking it first says what colors a coat may be, then it says the boots may be the same color as a jacket. So the question is, do you have to be wearing the color coat or do the boots just have to follow the same rules as a coat (meaning the colour scale). So no white boots, etc.

[mmeqcenter]

I personally don’t think the rules are really that hard to follow.

Through Fourth level, no boot color specifications.
Above Fourth level, boots must be black or may match the coat; coat must be dark conservative color or fall under HSV color scale.

[Draftmare]

@phoenixrises

OK so I’ve reread it and I now have a different interpretation. I"m thinking it first says what colors a coat may be, then it says the boots may be the same color as a jacket. So the question is, do you have to be wearing the color coat or do the boots just have to follow the same rules as a coat (meaning the colour scale). So no white boots, etc.

I think what it means is that you can wear black boots with a green jacket, but you can’t wear green boots with say a navy jacket. At least that is what I am taking it to mean.

[Draftmare]

@cloudyandcallie

OK I admit to being a long time subscriber to Vogue and all the fashion magazines from high school on, so…you do not wear brown with navy. Ever. You wear black boots or shoes with navy. Maybe in dressage fashion rules are not followed? But then I come from a family where we wore “spring wools” to school. And worked where jurors judged both men and women on what they wore. As did the newspaper and TV reporters, LOL

This is the exact opposite of anything I have ever heard. Mind you, I wasn’t raised in a very fashion forward family, but mixing navy and black was considered a no-no. That being said, if I can’t get my boots sorted out, I will likely just wear my black ones with my navy coat.

[phoenixrises]

@Draftmare

I think what it means is that you can wear black boots with a green jacket, but you can’t wear green boots with say a navy jacket. At least that is what I am taking it to mean.

No I think after reading it in it’s entirety that the boots may match the jacket meaning the boots have to follow the same rules as jackets. And if you go read the canadian rules they make that even more clear. So brown boots with a navy coat is no issue.

BUT I will say there is enough doubt in the way the USEF rules are written that I"d be more worried about a TD or judge throwing me out. Canadian rules make it clear I’m fine.