IHSA, college teams, and show coats!

[asickels]

I’m currently a senior in high school and when attending college in the fall, I hope to join a riding team at whatever college I end up attending. I’m currently selling my show coat because it’s too big on me, so I’m looking for a replacement. I’ve got my eyes on a hunter green show coat, however I’ve noticed (while following many college team instagrams) that you tend to not see any hunter green show coats in the ring.

Does IHSA require navy/black? Is it up to the college? Should I just be on the safe side and go with black?

I’m looking to go between hunter/eq/jumpers so I need a pretty versatile coat. I’m open to recommendations under $150. I’m 5’3", about 105lb, and narrow, so I need something pretty small.

Also, by any chance, does anyone have a Horseware Ladies Competition show coat? I’ve been looking at that on Smartpak, however their ‘navy’ looks quite light! Is it that light in person, or just in the pictures? I found a used one on the TackHunter app that looks like normal navy… Agh! It also has 1 vent in the back. I saw some people talking about the fact that it only had one vent and that being a ‘thing’ in hunters. Is it really important to have 2 vents in the hunter ring?

Sorry for my abundance of questions!

[Tackpud]

The majority of coaches will want to see a navy blue coat as that’s a very classic look in the equitation. Second choice would be hunter green. No black.

And double vent in the back please!

[blondewithchrome]

It would be rare to see a green coat in the eq ring, and if you wear it, you better be riding the pants off whatever horse you’re on. I would stick with navy. It is a classic and no matter what barn you end up at, will likely be deemed acceptable. Try RJ Classics, they have a cheaper, nice looking hunt coat that is washable in that “tech” fabric. Also peruse ebay. I bought a lovely navy Grand Prix techlite for $125.

[Rockfish]

Play it safe and go with a navy. Personally, I do wear black, because that’s what I currently have that looks really, really good on me, but I also ride in the Alumni classes, so I can get away with it.

[ladyj79]

As a suggestion, my friend, actually two, are quite small and shop the children’s section…because usually way cheaper. One lives in animo children’s clothing.

[mmeqcenter]

“Safe side” is navy, not black.
Can’t go wrong with navy. Two vents.

[drafting_dots]

I think we pretty much had to wear navy. Maybe one or two people wore black because that’s what they had. Basically the uniform was: navy coat, TS puke green breeches, and CO helmet. My team was not a horsey school but we competed against Centenary and USMA and everyone there wore the same thing.

[findeight]

Navy, double vent back. Guaranteed not to distract the selectors or evaluators who determine your selection and continued suitability for the team.

Green was trendy a decade or two ago, Black is the new Green, trendy now, who knows about later. It’s like rust breeches, an older Adult or Pro who is an exceptional rider on a very good horse with established reputation can get away with it. Young millennial without a national reputation auditioning for a team spot on whatever school type horse is available? Not so much.

[Leave_No_Doubt]

In my region and zone, which are pretty competitive, there’s a pretty equal representation of navy and black. We also compete outside of IHSA a few times per year with “equestrian” schools like Centenary, SCAD, Findlay, etc. and I’ve seen both at all levels. Navy is definitely more traditional, but I’ve never heard of an IHSA judge placing one rider higher than another rider that performed equally well based on coat color. Try on a few different brands (RJ Classics and Tredstep both have good-quality options in the $100-$150 range) and go with whatever fits you the best.

[JenEM]

Green is actually pretty trendy right now. And I own and have worn my hunter green coat in equitation classes.

BUT if I were buying only one coat, it would be navy. Way back in the dark ages when I did IHSA, that was not optional–if you were showing on the team, it was in a navy coat. I still wouldn’t/don’t wear anything but navy for a finals or big class.

[asickels]

Okay, thanks everyone!

I thought black would be the safe choice because while researching various college teams, black coats seemed more common than navy in some. I’ll go with navy now!

And yes, I do shop in the kids section quite often. I’ve found that my problem with kids show coats is that as I go into larger sizes for length, they become too wide through the waist. I’ll definitely browse around and if I find something for the right price, I can always whip out a needle & thread to take it in a bit.

[PonyDiva]

If you look at the team webpages/facebook pages (if they have them) of the colleges that you are most interested in, most say Navy or Black (for the ones I have looked at). My daughter is 5’2 ish. She has long legs, shorter torso and what we affectionately call “monkey arms”. Trying to find a jacket was extremely hard as the children’s were shapeless and blocky and most adults were either too long, too short in the arm, or too big in the chest area. I know it is a little over your price range but we found that the ROMFH brand really worked for her. If you can, save a little bit so you will have the ability to have options. Consignment shops are a life saver and also a good tailor can do wonders. Good Luck!!

[Minxitbabe]

@asickels

Okay, thanks everyone!

I thought black would be the safe choice because while researching various college teams, black coats seemed more common than navy in some. I’ll go with navy now!

And yes, I do shop in the kids section quite often. I’ve found that my problem with kids show coats is that as I go into larger sizes for length, they become too wide through the waist. I’ll definitely browse around and if I find something for the right price, I can always whip out a needle & thread to take it in a bit.

If you get a good enough deal on it you could even take it to a tailor. I am thinking that I will have to buy a bit larger sizers and start working with the local tailor because my shape is different than normal sizing as well. I would never do that kind of alterations myself because of it being a lined jacket.

[vxf111]

You might wait until you join the team. My school had very strict requirements, down to the BRAND. We had some to share between team members so you didn’t HAVE to buy— but girls who showed A circuit were told their clothes weren’t allowed due to color/brand. We were very strict about show clothes.

[ladyj79]

@vxf111

You might wait until you join the team. My school had very strict requirements, down to the BRAND. We had some to share between team members so you didn’t HAVE to buy— but girls who showed A circuit were told their clothes weren’t allowed due to color/brand. We were very strict about show clothes.

This was absolutely the policy for one team I worked with. Specific brands, models, and colours for everything but the shirt, and that still had pretty clear restrictions.

[vxf111]

@ladyj79

This was absolutely the policy for one team I worked with. Specific brands, models, and colours for everything but the shirt, and that still had pretty clear restrictions.

I think I still have a dent in my forehead from wearing the REQUIRED brand helmet which was entirely the wrong shape

[mdp9]

Yes, the Horseware jacket’s blue is quite light. Not navy at all. Too bad, because it’s a great inexpensive jacket!

[Displaced_Yankee]

@vxf111

You might wait until you join the team. My school had very strict requirements, down to the BRAND. We had some to share between team members so you didn’t HAVE to buy— but girls who showed A circuit were told their clothes weren’t allowed due to color/brand. We were very strict about show clothes.

This was my experience as well. You may have nice brand new show clothes, but if it wasn’t the color/brand/style you couldn’t show in it. We also borrowed and shared clothes. My coach wanted all of us to look exactly the same. No one was to stand out other than by riding the pants off of the horse you drew.