You can have piping on your show coat.
That is all.
You can have piping on your show coat.
That is all.
The opportunities are limited but not non-existent – it just has to be really subtle. More of the kind of thing where you see it up close but it isn’t going to jump out at you and be distracting from the distance at which the judge will be seeing you.
I have a custom Charles Owen helmet that has ivory and black snakeskin trim, and I bought it for schooling but got talked into showing in it by my barn mates because I had a black horse and with my black coat it looked great. Can definitely confirm I was never dinged at an A show for having a flashier helmet. Also wore it in a clinic with a big R judge who I knew to be pretty traditional and I asked her after our session whether she found it distracting and she said “wait, what trim on your helmet?” so if it is within reason and not distracting, there is some leeway.
I also ordered my show coats with some subtle trim and piping (like my navy coat has charcoal grey trim), and honestly you can’t see the trim at all in my pictures or videos. But I see it every time I put on my coat and I enjoy that it is not just plain and solid. Another friend showed at WEF last month in a coat with a completely contrasting collar and it didn’t stop her from scoring in the mid-80’s. So, while I personally wouldn’t put shiny buttons or anything like that, there is a little bit of wiggle room to keep things interesting!
And we’ll sometimes do hunter green yarn in the braids, or navy, or something a little different like that. Or add a red white and blue braid at 4th of July or something like that, but nothing too crazy.
When I’m feeling a little wild I wear my rust breeches.
I also have an RJ coat in a delicious plum color that I get a ton of compliments on. But I agonized over it before purchasing and finally said to hell with it, I’m tired of being boring. I absolutely love that coat on my true black overgrown pony.
I don’t mind a lot of the things discussed here - colored yarn, mane charms, jacket piping, etc. As an amateur, I’ve gotten a lot less conservative—my most recent “pizzazz” is my DeNiro boot with brown piping on the toe cap and along the top and three matching Swarovski crystals on the swagger tab. Just enough sparkle, but not tacky.
This is one of those topics that always bothers me. These are the rules from the USEF rulebook. Anything else is someone’s personal preference or what people like to say is an “unspoken” rule:
HU107 Attire
Protective headgear. All riders must wear protective headgear. See GR801.2. While competing in a jumping class, if a rider’s chin strap becomes unfastened, the rider may stop, refasten the chin strap and continue his/her round without penalty or elimination. A judge may, but is not required, to stop a rider and ask them to refasten a chin strap which has become unfastened, again without penalty to the rider.
Conventional attire following the tradition of fox hunting is encouraged and preferred. It is further recommended that the rider’s attire does not distract from the performance of the horse and rider. Judges shall not eliminate a rider for inappropriate attire except for safety (see GR801). Shirts must have a choker, similar collar or tie. Breeches may be buff, canary, tan, rust or white.
Formal Attire. Riders are required to wear scarlet or dark coats; white shirts with white stock; white, buff or canary breeches. Members of the Armed Services or the Police may wear the Service Dress Uniform.
Inappropriate attire. When management permits Hunter or Hunter Seat Equitation riders to ride without jackets, riders must wear traditional, short, or long-sleeved riding shirts with chokers or ties. Polo shirts and full chaps are not permitted except in unjudged warm-up classes. Management or Judge may eliminate an exhibitor who is inappropriately attired.
Do you! Find eight jumps, get your changes, use your corners, and have fun enjoying your horse and not worrying what others think
So are your average hunter divisions just “conventional attire?” I would assume that derbies, classics, and such are the classes that call for “formal attire.” Is that right?
That’s my understanding. Echoing some of the above comments, if your riding is aces and you’ve got a great jumping horse, you can get away with more bling. I am always trying to look as invisible as possible to show off my horses so I wear boring stuff, I wouldn’t even wear piping on a coat, it makes me feel like a child. I still manage to show myself fairly frequently by moving around unintentionally when I miss. I wear pink gloves and weird breeches at home!
This seems like a timely addition to the subject of decorative braid jobs. I will point out that there are a couple of examples of adding something to the forelock without breaking up the top line on the mane.
Happy holidays to all!
I love the one subtle candy cane yarn braid — that looks nice — and I never mind a flashy horse braided in dark green.
Paint your nails? As long as you are wearing gloves, I don’t see that as being a problem. Or buy a pinto… I do wish the hunter/jumpers were more tolerant of the rider’s individuality