Come on you guys go over to USEF website and watch a few on demand Videos from last weekend, Dressage and stadium. Look how awesome everyone looks,
The sport is steeped in tradition. I have been riding and showing for 40 years, and I never thought about wearing anything else.
I truthfully do not think there will ever be a change of dress.
Like others have said… attracting new riders is a huge thing. I’ve yet to show because before now I couldn’t afford to buy clothes I would only wear while showing when I could afford to show. So as an adult, at 34, I am just now considering re-entering the show world.
How many of us hear that riding horses isn’t exercise, that it isn’t hard. I truly think that looking like athletes (though spiffy ones) would be a step in showing it is a SPORT.
Tennis has skirts, but they still look ready to kick butt.
If traditions never changed, women would still be riding side saddle in skirts. I have 0 doubt that when other women started protesting, that just as many stated there was no reason to change, it was tradition.
Sometimes there really is a valid reason to move forward.
[QUOTE=Sannois;7558676]
Come on you guys go over to USEF website and watch a few on demand Videos from last weekend, Dressage and stadium. Look how awesome everyone looks,
The sport is steeped in tradition. I have been riding and showing for 40 years, and I never thought about wearing anything else.
I truthfully do not think there will ever be a change of dress.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Lori B;7558060]
And if I have to choose some period riding attire, I would like to ride dressed as a Musketeer. The tunic doesn’t bind your shoulders, and what is more elegant than those gloves and boots with the tops that fold down?[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7557948]
I care about the athletic look for the SPORT. I want to attract NEW riders to the sport. Attract boys as well as girls…and keeping it looking modern and athletic is to me one way. Make it easy to buy the outfit, but still looking sharp.[/QUOTE]
I confess that I am a traditionalist; however, I do think it would be easier to attract more boys to the sport if they didn’t feel obligated to “play dress up” in order to compete. Most of the men I know prefer Western riding for exactly that reason. Having said that, I still love the traditional look of jackets with breeches.
Agree that it is hard to be seen as a legitimate sport, either to the public or to potential new riders, if it is contested in a jacket and tie. That doesn’t seem very athletic.
It’s also impossible to imagine these “would it flatter every physique?” type conversations in any other sport–which again makes riding seem like less of one. Can you imagine swimmers, golfers, baseball players reacting this way to their sport’s uniform?
[QUOTE=scubed;7558598]
A surprising number of judges hate the rule that competitors can elect to not wear a jacket at one-day horse trials. [/QUOTE]
Surprising, as it’s not their mandate to judge what riders wear, other than that it conforms to the rules.
We need to get over this ‘tradition’ thing. It’s not helping our sport, our horses, our riding, or our finances.
That anyone should have to ‘save for a long time’ for a jacket to wear in competition is ridiculous. And $200 for a jacket is a lot to many people – for example, those who have more than one (growing) child and/or those whose job is less than secure or established.
Interesting. I scribed at a 100 deg HT in MD in July, and the judge did make a point of complimenting each rider who chose to wear a jacket. She said she thought anyone who trailered and rode in the heat was nuts, but apparently if you were going to, she preferred you go all out and wear the coat.
I was hoping it was just that one judge, though.
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Ditch the jacket. It’s a ridiculous holdover from another age, and every summer I am more heat sensitive. Yes, technical fabrics are available, but they are either very expensive, or kind of gross and not at all cooling. My preference would be a conservatively colored shirt, long or short sleeved, with a collar/buttons (polo or button down, though I’d choose the polo since I am short and well-endowed.) Add a vest for cooler weather, or for days when one’s feeling a bit self-conscious about jiggling.
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Breeches: I prefer tan or cream. White makes no sense (though when I wear breeches of any light color, I put a very lightweight skirt over them until I am ready to get on the horse.)
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Helmets: not a huge fan of bling or patterns. Dark, conservative color and don’t laugh at folks like me who show in a Tipperary Sportage.
I’m not sure how I feel about logos, though small and discreet would be OK.
Black coats and stock ties are dumb when it is hot out! Light colored breeches are fine. I choose not to wear white.
Polos are fine but how about a longer fitted shirt that you could wear not tucked in? I am not heavy at all but there is a bulge or two (I am headed back to the gym now that the Lyme has tucked its tail between its legs.) I would look better in something longer that covered covered my waist. Anyone else have ideas other than just a polo?
[QUOTE=LookmaNohands;7560636]
Polos are fine but how about a longer fitted shirt that you could wear not tucked in? I am not heavy at all but there is a bulge or two (I am headed back to the gym now that the Lyme has tucked its tail between its legs.) I would look better in something longer that covered covered my waist. Anyone else have ideas other than just a polo?[/QUOTE]
This is where a vest is nice. It covers the waist and goes down the hips, and can smooth out some of the bumps. Plus it is a nice look on almost any figure.
[QUOTE=LookmaNohands;7560636]
Polos are fine but how about a longer fitted shirt that you could wear not tucked in?[/QUOTE]
Just so you know, the rules do specifically say (for dressage and show jumoping without a jacket) that the shirt must be “neatly tucked in”.
[QUOTE=Janet;7560789]
Just so you know, the rules do specifically say (for dressage and show jumoping without a jacket) that the shirt must be “neatly tucked in”.[/QUOTE]
Yes, but we are discussing changing the rules here. I think there should be options.
And some people are positive zealots about tucking and belts. Whereas I have not worn a belt since the 80s, and have no intention of doing so. And I’m not enormous, but belts of any kind make me look infinitely worse.
If we need to change our dress to attract people to the sport, then it is no longer about the horse, but about the looks. I would not want to welcome to the sport kids who are attracted to how they “look” dressed in sportswear, or in traditional attire when they ride.
When I taught beginners at a large public riding stable, they had a basic dress code - helmets and boots – and beyond that it was ok no matter what. The best little kids I taught did not even have breeches but rode in sweats or tights or whatever worked. They did not care about what the other kids wore, either. They were far more interested in mastering posting trot so they could eventually learn to canter. That is what drove most of the good ones. And that’s what we want to “attract” people. The absolute fun and attraction of riding a good horse is the best attractant going. All the fancy sports clothes in the world means nothing compared to that feeling when your little beginner rider canters for the first time on an old schoolie who knows more than you do about riding. That’s what we want, isn’t it? kids who want to ride for the fun of it and would ride in school uniforms if their mothers let them (and I had a few of those that actually did because they didn’t want to take the time to change in order to make their lesson on time. they didn’t want to miss one second of horse time. THAT is the kid we want to attract.)
[QUOTE=quietann;7560756]
This is where a vest is nice. It covers the waist and goes down the hips, and can smooth out some of the bumps. Plus it is a nice look on almost any figure.[/QUOTE]
THIS^. If I were in charge of choosing a style for competition under the * levels, that would make the maximum number of riders happy (not just the Juniors and the Size 4’s), it would be the following (and you could wear it for all 3 phases!) :winkgrin:
DARK color breeches (black, brown, smoke gray, dark blue and green) with a LIGHT color polo shirt in color to harmonize, may be long or short sleeve and need not be tucked in. However, if untucked it should not hang out below the optional VEST, in any solid, plaid or low-key pattern in colors to pull the rest of the outfit together tastefully. Boots OR half-chaps and paddocks that pass the 10-foot test to look like boots, approved helmet of your choice, ANY COLOR. Extra points for co-ordinating with the saddle pad, piping on your padded tack, horse’s leg boots O/F.
Now, that vest can be either your crash vest (mandatory XC, optional other phases) OR, for dressage/stadium, a regular riding vest.
So, picture this, from the top down:
Dark Green Tipperary helmet.
Mint green polo shirt, short-sleeve.
Dark Green crash vest
Smoke Gray breeches
Black boots.
Now tell me anyone from 8 to 85 wouldn’t rock that outfit!
Wanna be more daring?
Navy blue velvet helmet or GPA with the skunk stripe
Cornflower blue polo shirt
Blaze orange vest
Navy breeches.
Ya want “color?” Ya got it, XC style, but with the convenience of not having to bring 3 changes of clothes. NO stock ties, NO white shirts unless you’re a masochist, and WHITE BREECHES ARE HISTORY. At the * levels, where the air gets a little thin for 99.98% of us, they could wear the traditional formal attire or for that matter the Battle Dress discussed upthread—after all, they’ve earned it!
Now; what about if it’s cold and raining? 
Or isn’t it ever, where you Event?
I still remember the unmitigated nastiness of running XC in horizontal sleet!
I would not “rock” either of these outfits. Maybe we have different visions in our head but hunter green and mint green? GHASTLY. Navy blue and BLAZE ORANGE?
I’m really hoping your entire post was satire.
Surprised there is so much passion on this one. I like the coats but this could be because of many fond memories dressing up for shows back in the day when Xctrygirl and I were at the same horsey girls’ school. I’m also used to slogging through DC heat in business attire so 1/2 hour more in a coat every couple of weeks doesn’t bug me. At the lower levels you don’t need white breeches. My trainer shows in tan breeches at least through training and she looks like a million bucks in them. My show coat cost 89.95. Less than a month of my horse’s digestive supplement.
The great thing about our diversity of human body types coupled with our culture’s relentless scolding of anybody who doesn’t look like a Photoshopped model, is that every outfit configuration you can imagine will make somebody feel bad about her body.
I’ve got long legs and a very short trunk. When I ride in a polo and breeches I look like a muppet. The top half looks like a thimble on a saddle. The coat gives the illusion of two equal halves of a “normal” body. On the bright side, seeing pix of myself in a polo and breeches on my skinny mare horrified me so deeply I started running again and lost 25 pounds in the past 18 months. So hurrah for skinny horses, casual attire, and camera phones I suppose. :eek:
Can’t say as vest would exactly bring the young ‘uns a runnin’ to our sport. Maybe the Rick Santorum college clubs would dig it.
Whichever we choose I’ll groove with it. I Love belts and will become a belt hoarder if it changes.
I’m somewhat troubled, though, by the assertion that we need to attract the boys who are too macho to dress up. Look at other sports with macho mind sets. There’s a lot to dislike about the man-cave ethos of many male-dominated, macho competitive sports. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a female-heavy field of competitors, or to attract the boys who are willing to throw on a coat (which many will have to do when they get a job later), spiff themselves up, and compete in a genteel atmosphere before running around in the mud.
I’ll roll with whatever, but let’s not fall into the trap of assuming a less traditionally female gendered look in order to win over some boys who could stand to be whacked about the head with a copy of Ms.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;7562194]
I would not “rock” either of these outfits. Maybe we have different visions in our head but hunter green and mint green? GHASTLY. Navy blue and BLAZE ORANGE?
I’m really hoping your entire post was satire.[/QUOTE]
Agreed.
And why is it optional to tuck in your shirt?!
The expense of the “outfit” is a biggie for me, too. I have thought about finagling a horse that I could show for fun and squeak out entry fees, but I have no show clothes anymore. I’d need an appropriate helmet ($75 for a cheapie), breeches ($100 for a fairly cheap pair), coat ($200 for an inexpensive one to be worn for both dressage and SJ, plus $40+ for tailoring, because I am quite an odd shape), boots ($200 for a cheap pair and pray I can find something off-the-rack to fit my stick legs), show shirt ($50) and $50 for misc (stock tie, gloves, etc). There is no way I can justify over $700 so I can go spend more money on entry fees, stall, etc to go play with a horse on the weekend.
