I keep seeing pictures and videos of this age group at local and rated shows. Some are in tall boots, some in paddock boots jods, and garters. Which is correct?
Both are appropriate. There’s no age line on tall boots. Taller or more physically mature kids might present a better picture in tall boots; for instance, I was 5’5" at age 10 and built like a brick house, and I looked ridiculous in short boots and garter straps. Conversely, tall girls riding ponies may choose short boots to give the illusion that they are more petite than they are to present a better picture on smaller animals, since field boots often look more mature.
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At my barn, we tend to let our kids stick with paddock boots, garters, and bows lead-line thru cross rails. After that, no more bows and garters. Most switch to tall boots and hunter hair when they hit 2’. It sometimes depends on how tall they are, how big the horse is, etc.
I know at rated shows, some kids keep the garters and paddock boots in the ponies, but I think that’s mostly just the smalls and maybe mediums. After that, it looks more professional to have tall boots.
Depends how much money you want to spend. And what look you like – knew some kids that switched if they had multiple mounts: tall boots on horse, garters on pony. And some that wore what they had or had parents who refused to buy tall boots until kid stopped growing.
I think some people dislike kids in tall boots on ponies, but it’s not illegal/unconventional tack, afaik. More of an issue with either fashion or riding ability (“big” kids winning against little kids).
My daughter is 10, and on the small side of average for her age. She’s either on her medium pony in the tiny hunter ring, or she’s on her 15.3h mare in the little jumper ring. I still have her riding in garters, paddock boots, and bows. I have told her she will do so until she’s 13. But realistically, she’ll do so until she looks “too big,” which is fairly subjective, but I can certainly say that she’s not there yet! We ran a load of horses home midweek at our last show and didn’t plan ahead well, leaving her with no show clothes for her early morning class the next day. I let her ride in half chaps and with her hair up, and two things; a) it almost killed me to see her looking like a midget adult, and b) she looked like a tiny midget adult, which confirmed to me that we’re still ok in the pony setup :lol:
As Renn/aissance mentioned - build definitely counts. I hit puberty in 4th grade and reached (almost) my full size by 12. I was never small enough to look okay in pony wear. So I got tall boots, and IIRC, they lasted me well into high school. But my little spidermonkey child still has a child’s build.
Admittedly, part of my motivation is also my cheapness. I have no interest in investing in tall boots only to have her outgrow them in 3 seconds. She rides in half chaps at home, and it’s amazing how quickly she sprouts out of those. So that’s also driving my decision.
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I had to put my 10 or 11 year old in tall boots when she was doing short stirrup because her legs were too long and her waist too skinny. She needed size 12 jods for the length and size 8 for the waist. So we went with size 8 breeches and tall boots which were also a pain to find, but easier than finding super long skinny jods.
When they get boobs they should be in tall boots.
I posted earlier that I was 5’5" at age 10. I got my first pair of secondhand tall boots at age 10 or 11. For the next four years, between my foot size, calf length, and musculature- I ran both track and field and cross-country through freshman year of high school- I outgrew my field boots every year. At that point Ariat had half a clue about varied sizing, but it was only half a clue and they were the only manufacturer making stock boots in a tall-enough tall height, and you can forget about calf width. By the time I was 13 or so there was no stock boot available that fit me. I think that was when I scored on somebody’s old custom Koenigs at the consignment store, but after that it was semi-custom. Thankfully, I stopped growing madly after I bought those, and kept them until they fell apart.
Now, with a 21" height and a 17" calf, I’m grateful that more boot manufacturers have figured out that not all tall women take an XXS calf. Then, my mother probably wanted to force-feed me something to stunt my growth. I was an expensive kid to keep shod.
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The traditional guideline has been if they should be wearing a bra, they get tall boots. Also if they are on a horse jumping over 3’, especially at a rated show, they get tall boots.
But there’s no rule and no fastion police on that one. It depends. Depends on the kid, what they are riding and what level if Show they are competing in, they stay in jods and garters longer on Small or Medium Ponies or anything at the smaller local shows.
I have always heard 12 is the transition year, however, I agree with everyone that it depends on the build of the child and the job they are doing. I saw some girls at a show a few weeks ago in garters and bows who were taller than me at 5’6" and had boobs, in my opinion it just looked wrong. On the flip side, we moved to boots when my daughter started the large greens with her pony at age 10 going on 11. Although she was a smaller child, the pony had a huge back cracking jump, and I thought boots gave her much better ability to grip. Either way I have yet to see it make a difference in class results, after all a good ride is a good ride!
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My DD was always small for her age (as an adult, she still hasn’t cracked 5’), so she would would have looked fine in jods and paddock boots until well after age 12. However, at a certain point, everyone she was competing against was in tall boots, so we bought hers then.
Do you mind me asking what brands you have found in that combo? That is what I need, and so far it’s Ariat in just one or two styles. I’d love to find something nicer quality.
I wear Ariat Volants and have been very happy with them. I think Tredstep gets close to these dimensions and Treadstone definitely does, but drops like crazy.
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