Grey Royal Rider stirrups acceptable for Eq?

[GreystoneKC]

Who uses the grey Royal Rider stirrups for the equitation? Flexible model or no? My student needs new Eq-legal stirrups and really does well with her black flexible RRs so she got a pair in grey, however they are a little darker than expected and her mother read somewhere about someone being eliminated for having the grey model. She only competes occasionally in Low Adult Eq classes while doing her Low Adult hunter divisions and is not an “Eq rider”, so I don’t see the need to force her into using traditional irons, however, I also don’t want to see her being eliminated for using the grey RR’s because a judge thinks they’re black.

Anyone have experience/opinions?

[HunterRider84]

This isn’t first hand experience but a review that I read. The person who bought the grey under the impression they were acceptable for eq classes was either disqualified because of the irons. The judge said they were still too dark.

I guess it comes down to the judges opinion.

[wishfulthinking711]

Just be careful. They are technically legal but my sister used them in a local show with an “R” judge and she pulled her over and said she should have disqualified her for her stirrups but wouldn’t this time. With her sunglasses and the dust in the arena they looked black. She suggesting using other stirrups for eq classes so there is no chance of that happening again.

[GucciJumper]

I have heard of people spray painting them actually.

[Kalele]

There have been so many different opinions on which models/brands are okay. I think USEF needs to give each model a YES or NO and all judges must abide by the approval.

[lrp1106]

An alternative option may be one of the MDC stirrups. They’re very expensive, but all of the are EQ approved and they have a niiiiice wide footbed.

[Pancakes]

This is a sort of related question… I saw at a schooling show this weekend lots of black Royal Rider stirrups in the equitation divisions. It was open card so people did their eq and then hunter classes over the same course within a few trips, and it didn’t leave time for changing, understandably, but are the rules regarding colored stirrups only for USEF recognized shows?

[Renn_aissance]

[QUOTE=Pancakes;7677429]
This is a sort of related question… I saw at a schooling show this weekend lots of black Royal Rider stirrups in the equitation divisions. It was open card so people did their eq and then hunter classes over the same course within a few trips, and it didn’t leave time for changing, understandably, but are the rules regarding colored stirrups only for USEF recognized shows?[/QUOTE]

A show not sanctioned by the USEF is not required to abide by their rules.

I’m on the board of one of the Maryland county show associations and although we are not USEF sanctioned, in general, our rules do follow USEF’s. We made the decision to follow this USEF policy because we only use r and R judges and felt that it was beneficial to have parity in this respect.

I know two judges who have considered the gray RR stirrups to be “too dark” and have addressed this situation with the exhibitor or show management. I ride in the knock-off polycarb black stirrups (a godsend if I want to walk the next day) and if I wanted a pair of lighter ones I would reach for spray paint.

[REH]

When I was a kid, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I never heard talk of disparity of what was legal/illegal between the hunters and the jumpers other than protective leg wear for horses. Boy am I glad to not be a junior these days. One piece of modernized tack is fine, another is not. Wouldn’t it be nice if the classes came down to who road the best and not policing tack or fashion.

(hands off my royal riders)

[GreystoneKC]

Thanks for the responses! We were actually talking about spray painting the stirrups, actually but i told my customer that I would post here first so we didn’t potentially ruin an expensive pair of stirrups for nothing. I think it’s sad that it has gotten this particular about stirrups.

She usually does her eq trip back-to-back with her hunter trips also, so that’s part of why we need to know before we get to the show and not be switching up in the middle. I just really want to find her an option that works for her without getting her eliminated.

[shedllybip]

I thought the rule was only for the big eq kids. Not the lower levels.

[Daventry]

[QUOTE=REH;7677610]
When I was a kid, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I never heard talk of disparity of what was legal/illegal between the hunters and the jumpers other than protective leg wear for horses. Boy am I glad to not be a junior these days. One piece of modernized tack is fine, another is not. Wouldn’t it be nice if the classes came down to who road the best and not policing tack or fashion.

(hands off my royal riders)[/QUOTE]

As a judge myself, please understand that the rule regarding black stirrup irons in equitation classes has NOTHING to do with what is fashionable or “big brother” just coming up with their own rules. When sitting in the judge’s booth at the other side of the ring, if a rider was to loose their stirrup on course, it can be virtually impossible to tell when black stirrup irons are being used, as it blends in instantly with the boot. Loosing a stirrup on course during an eq class would be a big faux pas (unless specifically asked for), so the new rule regarding black stirrup irons is to allow the official to properly judge the class.

Like you, I also grew up riding during the dinosaur era and we didn’t have things like hot pink show shirts and helmets full of gaudy blinged out Swarovski crystals. Unfortunately, times have changed, many fashion trends have popped up along the way and rules need to be adjusted accordingly.

Hopefully, that makes the black stirrup rule make more sense!

[EEWinterFresh]

I posted a thread on here a couple of months ago about the grey RR stirrups. I switched out my black RR’s for the grey after the rule change, under the impression that they were legal. However, at a AA show, I got disqualified from a lower level Adult Equitation class because they were still considered too dark. At that point I had had them for a few weeks, but thankfully Dover took them back no problem.

I ended up purchasing the MDC Classic stirrups, and am very pleased with them. They’re not quite as light weight as the RRs, but not nearly as heavy as a regular Fillis iron either. They also have the wider footbed and are without a doubt classic looking and legal!!

Especially if you plan on attending rated shows, I would suggest switching out the RRs for something more shiny.