I always dress in tan breeches, polished tall boots, a belt, and either an oxford or a nice v-neck tucked into my breeches. I always want to present myself professionally and appropriately. My trainer is always dressed to ride at shows. While I wish she would sometimes take the time to maybe tuck in her shirt, I can’t control what she wears, and, when it comes down to it, she could hop on any of our horses and ride them better than any of us. Personal preference, I suppose. I would love if she wore very nice, classy clothes, but perhaps that isn’t practical for her, and there’s no way I would ever tell her I wished she dressed nicer. That’s just not her. To each their own I suppose.
I have the ability to hop on a horse in shorts, or jeans and ride. I am quite sure that trainers do too. I wouldn’t be as comfortable, but certainly my riding ability isn’t limited to my clothing.
Trainers are working when they are at shows, so they ideally would be dressed appropriately, however their ability is way further up the list to me.
I like to think of myself as always being well put-together and professional when I train at home and shows, however, recently, I have had to wear airy running shoes as much as possible due to a type of eczema I have on my hands and feet. In fact, at times it was impossible to even wear boots at all and I even taught a few lessons in flip flops (GASP!!! - of course, staying as safe as possible). I don’t like to admit it and it feels wrong, but not being able to walk or ride is worse.
While I don’t appreciate people being sloppy or unprofessional, just watch being judge-y because you never know what someone might be going through.
This thread is bringing up some very interesting points, and has made me think. The first point is that a lot of posters are commenting that a trainers ‘ability to train and ride’ are far more important than turnout, and that we shouldn’t judge on appearance. Okay, fine. But isn’t turnout part of the game?
At the Evergreen Classic last week, here in WA, I wandered through the barns, and was absolutely blown away by most of the tackroom setups I saw. I’ve never seen so much money poured into barn setups, ever. Most barns didn’t have more than 4-6 horses, but wow, a week at a horse show, and these places looked like they were moving in.
The one barn with the most workman like tack room, but the least showy setup? Spruce Meadows. They had approximately 20 horses, their setup was neat, clean, and effective. Their trunks were large, and obviously made for organization on the road. They could travel for months, the way they were organized. It was a good looking setup, but made for a working barn, not just for ‘show’.
So, looking around, although the tack setups of the other barns were truly lovely, and absolutely stunning, I really preferred Spruce Meadows. They spoke of ‘real horsemen’ to me.
Comparing this to a trainer’s attire is much the same. I don’t want the fanciest, but neither do I want a slob. I want effective, efficient and work man like. I want a horseman. This is a person I pay for a service. There are many, many trainers around, and many barns. We all choose first based on ability, I mean, really! You don’t pay that much money without an understanding of the quality that you get.
But because there are so many around, you narrow your choices by other means. I want a horseman. That person doesn’t have to be the fanciest, and they don’t need to be. But a slob, no matter how well they ride, doesn’t impress me either. And if they don’t care enough about earning my business to present themselves well, then all other things being equal? I’ll go with somebody else. There are lots of people out there wanting to make a living training.
The flip side is true as well. Flash doesn’t impress either. I don’t care how many French saddles are on the saddle racks outside the tackroom with their brand emblazoned covers, or what kind of custom boots the clients wear, or how many horses they own.
There needs to be substance. So be neat, clean (as much as possible - these are horses after all!), and efficient, as well as a good trainer - you’ll get business. Good trainer and a slob? Less business. Basic marketing 101.
^ Regarding the fancy tack room set up, a wise old horseman told me many years ago there was nothing more silly than a fancy horse show set up with no ribbons on it. He said if you just hang one piece of string for ribbons and it fills up, it’s easy enough to hang another string to make room for more ribbons. 
[QUOTE=MHM;7713549]
^ Regarding the fancy tack room set up, a wise old horseman told me many years ago there was nothing more silly than a fancy horse show set up with no ribbons on it. He said if you just hang one piece of string for ribbons and it fills up, it’s easy enough to hang another string to make room for more ribbons. :)[/QUOTE]
Amen to that.
