Dressage attire guidelines

How do you like it? I want one so bad but the price point turns me off, that being said if they are truly cool I might have to splurge because even my new Charles own halo is too hot.

I’ve been showing this year in a several non-white breeches and am the only one I’ve seen at my shows doing it. Ha it’s mostly because I bring two horses, do almost all my own grooming / horse care / prep and can’t keep white clean.

I liked the red breeches but maybe better without a coat. I am regardless enjoying standing out :joy:

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I think you look great!

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As I read through this thread, I think about a show I was coaching at this weekend. Granted, it was a breed show, but the dressage riders for the most part had black coats with white breeches. I saw one maroon coat and one teal coat (which I LOVED) but both had white breeches. I think people are just slowly coming around to trying the new relaxed color guidelines. I know that after 40 years of showing in black & white, I really balked at the change from tradition. But now that I’m seeing it IRL, I am growing fond of a lot of the combinations I’ve seen. I may have to trade in my old black short coat for something more modern. I will likely never try to get too colorful with a shadbelly. But some of the dark blues or greys (not just the midnight that we’ve had forever) do appeal to me.

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I love the red breeches! Looks very subdued and blends beautifully.

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I need a coloured breech idea, Looking at the video from this weekend all I can see is my big fat white thigh jiggle jiggling in my sitting trot :roll_eyes: The breeches are way too white!

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Easy to color coordinate with a black horse :blush:

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I personally love all black to hide my jiggles. At the last Palgrave show I saw a rider in dark grey breeches with a black coat and it looked very sharp.

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My favorites? Rust, charcoal and dark taupe. Rust and Taupe are great if you have brown boots/helmet and Charcoal is excellent with black boots/helmet

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It’s just a schooling show, but I might wear my dove grey breeches this weekend. I usually use them for the morning schooling, then change into my whites…

I also will be, for the first time ever, actually listening to the coat waiving. It’s going to be too damn hot for that crap.

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Great suggestions…where would I find taupe breeches :eyes:

@BigMama1 do you think black would go with a maroon jacket?

I wear the AA maroon jacket and I have these boots, both my mares showing are dark bay: https://www.thedrillshed.com/us/mountain-horse-womens-aurora-tall-riding-boots-brown-p-1541.html

I think it would look good with black breeches, but maybe better with grey?

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I have some old grey I can try at home and see how it looks lol

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I’ve been doing dove grey breeches for the last few years because I got sick of trying to keep white clean, and frankly I think grey is prettier anyway. It took me forever to find a reasonably priced pair that I liked though (Pikeur Luganas on sale for about half price) and I have now ruined them with grease twice somehow.

ETA, my show coat is boring black but I think the grey breeches look very sharp with the navy and sage green tops I jump in:

(And seriously, who ever thought it was a good idea to jump XC in white breeches!?)

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Yes, grey seems neutral enough that it looks good with most colors, even letting them pop a little, and looks good on most horse colors too. @Libby2563 you were the ones who recommended the Pikeurs to me, I think, when I was shopping!

I’ve gotten lots of compliments on my hunter green coat coat too, which isn’t radical at all–I’ve been doing it for hunters for years–but apparently is a big bold choice for dressage!

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I love my green coat. Plus it’s mesh, so I don’t die of heat stroke. I’ve been doing a green coat and brown boots, and I’m waiting for a pair of ā€œtruffleā€ breeches to arrive, so I can ditch the whites forever.

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@Mersidoats and @JenEM, what brand are your green coats? I’d like to get something a little more adventurous than black eventually and I think green would be really nice with my chestnut baby dressage horse with flaxen mane and tail. I’d like to pair it with a Lemieux caramel pad I found on eBay and breeches of a similar color to the pad, so like a green and gold scheme.

The one in the photo is just one of the Smartpak Piper softshells! It’s surprisingly decent for the price, and I wanted a cooler weather option–that picture is from January! I also have one of the mesh RJ Harmonys for hotter weather.

(And I have a coat problem :joy:)

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RJ Classics Harmony Mesh. It has three buttons, but who cares. Very affordable, and I usually wear it with a sleeveless top underneath. It looks fabulous on bright bays, and I’m sure it would look lovely with your chestnut.

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I actually had that coat shipped to me before the attire changes and really liked the coat itself but at the time the green was a bit bright. I ended up getting a Horseware one I keep for a backup or bad weather which is a shade or two darker green. I also have a green Pikeur which is so dark you have to know it’s green but fits me great. Greens are so hard as they vary in color more then some of the other colors.

LetItBe

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