Sewn in bits and no elastic on girths suggests that the tack was made for the horse - not “off the peg” or one-size-fits-all. Just as the rider’s clothes are tailored for him or her, so should the tack be specific to the horse (you know - in that “perfect” world).
Rubber, on reins or stirrups, has just recently (okay, 30 years) come to be useful when it’s wet or cold. Time was it actually became more slippery under these conditions and the bias against them has remained.
And yep, you can (and should) oil bagend leather girths.
Appointments
Does it interest anyone to know that someone, I think Lionel Edwards, did a wonderful painting of the hunt field, English I think, with an older gentleman pictured riding sidesaddle, and in scarlet coat and top hat. He isn’t wearing an apron, of course.
I had read in an old book of a man hunting that way after an injury made it impossible otherwise. That’s real passion.
Correct number of braids was originally 12 for mares and 13 for geldings or
stallions. It’s the old “guys must be different from girls” thing and has nothing to do with signaling anyone curious about a horse’s gender. It would be easier to look underneath than to count all the braids, especially moving cross country at speed.
A folded leather girth was the choice because it had the strength to hold up to five hours of hunting and the linen or string girths were cheap, flashy and considered okay for ponies or just hacking. And bridles with buckles were cheaper, you could use the same bridle for every horse in your barn, and less finished. They were considered for dealers, or people who couldn’t do it right.
Flasks contained port or brandy and women didn’t carry them. Tea was never done. Tea freezing and breaking the glass would create more than loss of drink. You don’t want to be riding around carrying a flask case full of broken glass. And carbonated drinks would explode if they didn’t freeze first.
Mayonnaise wasn’t going to become rancid during winter hunting. It would be more messy. But, people used to suit themselves in this, before the arbitrary dictates of appointment classes.
Women, sidesaddle, wore derbies or top hats, and both required veils. I think that got changed for derbies somewhere along the way.They wore plain black dress boots.
Women astride never wore tailcoats, like today, but plain black melton coats, never frock coats, and always wore top boots, black boots with black leather tops sewn on, if they wore hunt colors. And the tops were patent leather, although it didn’t seem to be as shiny as what stands for patent leather today.
They wore plain black dress boots if they weren’t entitled to wear hunt colors.
Either way they wore derbies and canary or buff britches.
Astride or aside they wore white stock, plain horizontal gold pin, tan gloves (never black), carried a ladies hunt whip, which was just a smaller version of the ones men carried and wore blunt spurs, just one for sidesaddle , of course.
Astride or aside they had the string gloves under the leather girth and a sandwich case with the prescribed, tasteless sandwich. Men weren’t to carry sandwich cases. I don’t know why.
They could carry sandwiches in their pockets. Maybe women didn’t have pockets.
The incorrect lash on the whip could get one penalized, never a cracker.
It was once mostly practical, and very elegant.
Still is in an appointment class.
Only important answer is judge’s
I’ve seen what everyone, well intentioned no doubt, is advising.
Only good answer, if you want accurate info on appointments, is: get rule book from United States Equestrian Federation or whatever organization is governing your competition.
You won’t get credit for being mistaken because somebody gave you misinformation. So, go to the people who are going to be judging you.
Then you can wave the book at them if they make a mistake. Just kidding.
Sort of.
OK, I am ignorant. What is a bagend/ baghide girth?
Sorry to hijack.
Sidesaddle, What are you quoting from? It’s very interesting. I searched high and low for all the answers before the Centennial…and got them piecemeal. Lucky you, you had them all written from one place!!!
I even called Rita Mae Brown personally to ask about the number of braids (and ended up doing “hunter braids” as did the BTO Champ…I never got a clear concensus of what was correct.is that in writing someplace?
The 1934 AHSA rulebook. 
It’s a bit more informative than later years.
Unfortunately, I have never seen the “correct” number of braids written down anywhere official, which is why I didn’t post it.
Sidesaddlerider, How cool!! Do you have a copy??? No wonder you’re ahead of the rest of us, haha!!!
Through the wonders of eBay I now have a copy of the 1970 AHSA rule book which is old enough to still have sections regarding the definition of Qualified, Corinthian etc along with 4+ pages of descriptions of the correct appointments as they defined them.
If anyone wants a scan of this information send me a PM with your email address and I will forward it to you.
In the current era where it Really Matters whether your coat complements the color of your horse things may be different. In the mid-late sixties hook stud bridles were just fine, even at Devon. So were girths with elastic. The rest of the tack and equipment was as described above.
It was also left to the judge’s discretion whether you were asked to crack your whip as part of the appointments phase…Woe to he (or she) who a.) didn’t know how to crack the whip and/or b.) was on a horse who wasn’t whip-broken.
I remember interesting moments…
I am from that era and hook stud bridles and elastic end girths were not acceptable in my area’s horse shows.
Holy cow…could be fun, though I would DEFINITELY suggest updating the rules to permit anyone who wishes it to wear an approved safety helmet without penalty. (No reason to be stupid just because it’s stylish.)
And if someone replied, but I missed it, sorry, but is there a justification for ‘no stirrup pads’ besides ‘they weren’t invented when the rules were first written’? I can honestly say I’ve never ridden in an English saddle without stirrup pads.
And I hope when people are really hunting no one is going around doing sandwich or flask checks. Plain turkey is blah, and I hate sherry (but could be convinced quite easily to have a nip of port now and then.)
Don’t staff have vertical stock pins?
The rule is updated. You have to wear the approved helmet for the o/f portion of the class. When they do the appointments check prior to finalizing placements, you are simply walking into the ring and standing there, so that is where you would have your top hat (or hunt cap if staff) on (or for the ladies sidesaddle you can only wear the top hat in the u/s class, and it specifically allows helmets).
The appointments list comes from what was traditional “back in the day.” So yes, the reason for the “no stirrup pads” is that they weren’t used in the time period that the appointments are dated from (1920s-30s).
Of course people aren’t checking your sandwich case or flask when out hunting! Hunting is not an appointments class, and having all of the appointments is in no way necessary unless you belong to one of the hunts that gives a “best turned out” award at Opening Meet and you decide you want to win it.
Professional staff, Yes.
And when I was a child learning to ride in the 60s, the school horse saddles almost never had stirrup pads, that was an unheard of luxury.
