Dressage Colors

[ncsuequine]

Hello

I received a bit of Christmas money and would like to get both my horses set with their dressage gear for the upcoming year. We are pretty set for our xc/stadium stuff.

So I’d like to get some opinions on colors for dressage pads

Horse #1 - TB Gelding Dark Chocolate Coloring. His XC colors are hunter/chocolate/gold. My dressage saddle is Dk Brown. Black does not look good on him, so I will be using a brown bridle on him. I also do love white on him, but would consider it. I was thinking about chocolate pad with hunter/gold trim and piping, but do you think that would be brown over kill with the saddle being brown? If I decided to do hunter green, woudl that be too outlandish for dressage?

Horse #2 - Red Bay Connemara/QH Gelding. His XC colors are navy/silver. I will also be using my brown dressage saddle on him. He looks fine in either black or brown so I could go either way with his bridle. I was thinking about just using a navy w/ silver piping dressage pad, but do you think that will look okay with a dk brown dressage saddle?

Most of the shows that I will be showing in will be schooling HT’s, but I would like to do 1-2 recognized HTs and a handful of recognized dressage shows, so I would prefer to have whatever I choose be ok for all those shows.

Thank you!!

[Sing_Mia_Song]

I cross-compete in dressage, where you have to have a white pad, so always use that as my base. My colors are dark purple and charcoal, and my dressage pad is white with these two colors in double piping.

I always go conservative in dressage and let the freak flag fly over jumps.

[tbchick84]

I also go conservative in dressage. I don’t want loud colors distracting from my picture perfect circles and fantastic rhythmic gaits, at least that’s what I see in my head as we ride ovals and a nice whiplash trot. It’s straight white pad for me in dressage. XC and stadium is the time to put on the color show.

[normandy_shores]

Nothing will look as crisp as a white pad in dressage. Maybe do a nice piping but save the colours for the other phases.

The exception to that is on some grays or, like in my case, pintos with lots of white. Then use a dark pad. Putting white on white only makes either the horse or the pad look dirty.

[WNT]

I used a champagne/off white pad for my first horse (bay) in dressage. I had a brown dressage saddle, and it really worked better than with white. It managed to hide just a bit more dirt than white, too. It was still very subtle and conservative.

Personally, I’d stick to white or champagne with a dash of colored piping for dressage.

[plaidbreeches]

Does anyone have opinions on a silver or very light grey pad with black tack? And would light or dove grey breeches be acceptable for unrecognized HT at lower levels?

[Ready_To_Riot]

I think you’re supposed to use a cream color pad with brown tack. I had a brown dressage saddle a while ago and I feel like that’s what I was told, but honestly white would be fine.

I wouldn’t do a dark pad… You’d stick out like a sore thumb. Unless your horse is white. Then a black pad looks great!

[Highflyer]

[QUOTE=plaidbreeches;8456441]
Does anyone have opinions on a silver or very light grey pad with black tack? And would light or dove grey breeches be acceptable for unrecognized HT at lower levels?[/QUOTE]

Yes, that would be fine even at recognized events.

[sicillianstallion]

Agree with white as the base color. If you want to add color, I would do so with the trim and piping.

Here’s a pad with lots of trim and piping color options:
http://shop.wilkers.com/dressage-show-saddle-pad/

[Desert_Topaz]

[QUOTE=Sing Mia Song;8456283]
I cross-compete in dressage, where you have to have a white pad, so always use that as my base. [/QUOTE]

I just have to point out that, as far as I can tell, nowhere in the straight dressage rule book does it state you need a white pad. I showed recognized dressage and no one said a thing about my navy pad.

I almost always show with dark pads these days, but I make sure the dark pad fits with the ensemble. My bay mare and I look awesome in navy, so that’s what we wear.

OP, I tend to think of leather colors as a “neutral” when it comes to putting it with saddle pads. I don’t think you need to worry about it going or not going with whatever color pad you’re doing. As you may have been able to tell from above, I’m all for using a navy pad As for hunter, you’re definitely testing the waters on that one. Make sure it’s a really dark hunter.

[Snugglerug]

[QUOTE=Desert Topaz;8456803]
I just have to point out that, as far as I can tell, nowhere in the straight dressage rule book does it state you need a white pad. I showed recognized dressage and no one said a thing about my navy pad.

I almost always show with dark pads these days, but I make sure the dark pad fits with the ensemble. My bay mare and I look awesome in navy, so that’s what we wear.

OP, I tend to think of leather colors as a “neutral” when it comes to putting it with saddle pads. I don’t think you need to worry about it going or not going with whatever color pad you’re doing. As you may have been able to tell from above, I’m all for using a navy pad As for hunter, you’re definitely testing the waters on that one. Make sure it’s a really dark hunter.[/QUOTE]

Ditto. No rule requiring a white pad. I’ve shown recognized dressage in a black pad numerous times and no one has said a word.

[see_u_at_x]

Agree with those above who commented that the rules say nothing about how you absolutely MUST use a white pad. I’ve seen gray, navy, black, white, and cream used. I think most of us dressage geeks pretty much follow the rules that they have for jackets for our saddle pads, too - conservative colors. For the record, my horse is bay and has all brown tack (saddle is brown with gold stitching and welting, bridle is brown with black padding), and I’ll be using a cream or champagne colored pad with either brown or gold piping.

[yellowbritches]

White. With maybe a conservative trim. Dressage is not the phase for fashion statements (nor is stadium in my book). Black or MAYBE navy on a grey or light colored horse. But white (or cream) is really the only thing I think is totally acceptable.

Yes. I know I’m a fuddy duddy.

[asterix]

My horse (dark bay, no white, black tack) is incredibly compact and a big white pad just made him look chopped in half. Plus I am a total disaster at keeping white things clean. I switched to a black pad last year and LOVE it. MUCH easier to keep clean and perfectly acceptable as far as I (and my dressage scores, which still seem to follow…how I ride…and not my turnout) can tell. Of course, I also gave my horse a mohawk because I am hopeless at braiding and he grows hair like he’s on rogaine, so maybe I am not the best arbiter of turnout. (for what it’s worth, so far the dressage judges love the mohawk…)

[KellyS]

I use brown tack (doing USEF/USDF dressage shows currently) and use a white swallowtail pad with black trim. My pony is a bay roan with four white feet, so the white looks very sharp on him. If I had a chestnut, I’d be inclined to go with a champagne pad, though.

Of course, I am not terribly conventional when it comes to dressage! I like a bit of color and think that solid black/white is oh so boring. After being super conservative with colors most of my adult life, I hit my 30s and said, “What the heck, I’m going to hot pink!”

So, when we started competing at recognized this past year, I added color by getting a light pink stock tie and a black with pink ear bonnet for outdoor shows. We get a lot of compliments on our turnout. I also use silver yarn in his mane, which is black with silver in it, and I add a single braid with pink yarn.

Life is short, have fun with color!

With regard to brown tack, I decided to go that route a few years ago so I could use jumping and dressage tack interchangeably. All my bridles, breastplates, etc, match my saddles, which makes life so much easier (and less expensive!).

[purplnurpl]

Yup. White pass for dressage. Throw some nice piping. Seamsright does some really nice custom stuff.

I had a loud dapple grey. His pad was white with grey trim and black piping. You can see it on my website.

[redalter]

[QUOTE=asterix;8457997]
My horse (dark bay, no white, black tack) is incredibly compact and a big white pad just made him look chopped in half. Plus I am a total disaster at keeping white things clean. I switched to a black pad last year and LOVE it. MUCH easier to keep clean and perfectly acceptable as far as I (and my dressage scores, which still seem to follow…how I ride…and not my turnout) can tell. Of course, I also gave my horse a mohawk because I am hopeless at braiding and he grows hair like he’s on rogaine, so maybe I am not the best arbiter of turnout. (for what it’s worth, so far the dressage judges love the mohawk…)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this! My guy is compact and I feel the same way when I put the “big white pad” on him.

Looks nice and crisp, but really kind of big.

Off to find a smaller, shaped pad.

[flyingchange]

seriously? is this a tongue-in-cheek thread or what? I can’t even get through the entire OP without going cross-eyed.

anyhoo.