Hi! I am in my 40s returning to the hunter/jumper world after a long stint in dressage. Things have obviously changed. I’ll be starting off in hunters and am curious about latest trends with hunter attire, including both rider’s attire and tack. Any other dressage riders make the switch? Any words of wisdom? I did ride both hunters and jumpers as a kid/teen, but it has been a while. I would love any website recommendations that might talk about this, refreshers, words of wisdom, etc… I did a skim of earlier posts but either I am not searching the right wording, or the search functionality is strange. Thank you in advance!
From what I’ve read here and observed, hunters is still light beige breeches, dark navy or black coats, and those white standup collar shirts, no ties needed. The big difference is tech fabrics that are more comfortable. Brown tack, fitted white pad. Teens seem to agonize over brands, but adults tend to realize no one can tell what your breeches are once you’re in the saddle.
Silicone breeches are amazing in a jump saddle, but super annoying in dressage 
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Scribbler - The only hesitation I had about going back to hunters was the thought of worrying about brands. Then I realized that is ridiculous. Nobody cares or can notice as long as the rider looks nicely put together. I do not miss those days once bit. Thank you so much!
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It’s so hard being a teen because you don’t have enough solid accomplishment to feel secure in anything and you don’t have enough lived experience to know what matters in the larger world.
Fixating on brands or very local styles is one way of trying to figure out and control and make choices about how you interact in the world. Most teens have little say in the horse, the trainer, or how they spend their days. Getting obsessed with brands and styles is one way they can make choices. Even if they can’t afford those brands.
It’s not just in horses. It’s in every phase of teen life.
As an adult, yeah, you buy what you can afford that fits
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I’ve been riding in the hunters for 30+ years. Much has changed, but much has stayed the same!
I highly recommend Tailored Sportsman beige breeches. They are “in,” but more importantly, the fabric is a bit thicker and therefore more forgiving on a 40-something mom bod like mine! Highly recommend the mid-rise because it holds in the tummy :).
For jackets, you have lots of choices. The trendy ones are SUPER expensive, so I wouldn’t even stress about that. Just make sure it’s solid navy. You can never go wrong with navy. No shiny buttons.
Solid white show shirt. No stock tie, no pin. Ariat makes a nice basic one.
For boots, I send thoughts and prayers. I can never find a brand that fits well, is affordable, and stands up to abuse. I’m glad they’ve introduced zippers, though. Long gone are the days of planting a foot on a friend’s arse to try and pull off a boot.
The tack hasn’t changed much. Dark brown/havana is classic. Contoured white pad. Standing martingales even on horses who don’t need them. It’s a “look” apparently.
As for words of wisdom…I dunno…win the lottery? You need huge amounts of disposable time and money unless, like me, you just don’t care about showing. My whole barn is in Kentucky for a week. Who can leave their work and kids for an entire week to horse show? Not this lady.
Why’d you decide to come back? Lots of people go from hunters to dressage, but I don’t see many switch in the other direction! I’d love to hear your story.
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lol! Thank you! This is so helpful. Yes…mom body. So much fun. haha. I have lost all my weight from having kids but I still have that mom tummy. So this is extremely helpful.
Thanks! Boots. Ugh.
I don’t plan to do big shows really, likely mostly local or semi-local shows. I can’t see leaving my kids and they can’t really come for weeks on end with school. I can work from anywhere thankfully, so can easily work from a show as long as I have wifi.
What made me decide to return? I like dressage but I don’t love dressage. I have tried to convince myself that I love it, but I don’t. Life is too short. I want to enjoy riding. I miss jumping. I even tried to switch to eventing thinking that would be a good compromise but after having kids I have somehow become a little more fearful of galloping over fences that don’t fall. I loved jumpers but I really don’t have the desire right now to race around a course like I once did. Hunters seems like a good pace for me right now. Jumping, but not quickly. Hopefully on a relaxed and calm horse. My mare also has a natural hunter like movement, and I think she will enjoy it. Like me she didn’t enjoy dressage. Maybe because I didn’t.
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Agree about the time and money, unfortunately. The clothes are the least of the problem. I wear whatever is comfortable on my mom body with an air vest and regular vest. Not sure what height your interested in, but the 2’6’’ at a local level is pretty doable budget and horse wise, probably not at a regional level unless your horse is fancy and you’re able to do a smooth round with 8 comfotable distances and 2 good lead changes (still working on that here!). This is coming from the mid-atlantic, probably varies by location. Good luck to you!
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Thanks! PNW area, so Western CA, OR, WA, etc… are all options. Horse is green and young, but could be fancy, or could be terrible 
. Time and training will likely decide which division we will select. Crossrail? Just kidding. She was bred to jump and has siblings who are successful as hunters (also some jumpers).
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While my barn friends and I do occasionally buy lottery tickets (often after receiving our show bills LOL), I can tell you that those of us that work and show regularly aren’t leaving for an entire week to show. My HORSE gets to go “vacation” for the week and I show up on Thursday or Friday with my laptop in tow, take conference calls from my car, work on site when I need to, etc . . . (as I type that it doesn’t sound very fun but somehow it still is 
)
To the OP, I can assure you that most adults showing in the hunters have a lot more things to worry about than brands – I’m a re-rider too and hard to fit and I can assure you no one cares what I’m wearing, everyone is worried about learning their course, finding their distances, more leg, outside rein, don’t pull etc etc etc!!! So, find what you like and what fits. You still need tan breeches - I really like the SmartPak Hadley ones if they have your size – and if you live somewhere with warm weather, find yourself a mesh coat. AA, RJ Classics, Kerrits, whatever fits and is in your budget!! I don’t even wear my tech fabric coats anymore, I just go straight to the mesh because the weather is always hot! Navy and black are never wrong, and you see a lot of the dark green also. So, don’t stress, just find things that fit and that you like. Welcome back!
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Yeah, basically you are me :). I keep trying to convince myself to take up dressage, but my horse and I both like to jump. So here I am in middle aged mom glory…forgetting courses, stopping to gasp for air, occasionally farting mid-bascule…sport of kings, huzzah!
I’ll say it’s different than riding as a teen. My goals as a teen were to be competitive in the junior hunters and big eq. My goals now are to have fun and not die. So basically I’m CRUSHING IT. I hope you do, too.
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Those are my exact goals too! Thank you! And yes! My mom brain definitely doesn’t have the same ability to remember courses like it used to. They need a mom brain division where the courses can be hunter jumps, but numbered like the jumpers. And maybe a check point we could quickly stop at to make sure we aren’t off course.
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I did HJ as a junior and then as a youngish adult after finishing grad school. Added some eventing in there someplace. Switched to dressage when my horse clearly objected to jumping. Started out trying to sell him as a dressage horse since he did rather well in that phase and then started to have some fun with it. Showed through 4th level. Got a USDF bronze medal. Still rode and even jumped a bit on friends’ horses. Went to HJ shows to watch friends. Got another horse and started dressage with him. But then started jumping again as a diversion (and realizing that’s where my heart was) and switched back when I was about 45. It was like I never left. Showed county and some USEF with that horse, ending about ten years ago. Since then I’ve not shown much due to lame horses, except for the first year I had my current horse. Hoping that we finally have his issues figured out.
Don’t worry about the attire. Seriously. The first show I went to after my dressage hiatus was a tiny schooling show. The show said you just needed a nice shirt, and no coat. I came up with a pair of beige breeches, dusted off my Vogel boots, and rummaged through my closet to find a striped shirt with a stand-up collar. Trainer was highly impressed with the boots and the fact that I volunteered to go back to the barn at the end of the show and help put the horses away. The first show I did with my current horse about five years ago I had broken away from the zipperless Vogels and bought a stretchy, washable coat and some beige Tredstep breeches, but still had a collection of FITS show shirts I’d bought a number of years prior on sale when anticipating a triumphant return to the show ring. Shirts are stretchy and don’t have a choker, but definitely look more like the show shirts of yore than the shirts of today. Arrived at show and was told, “cool shirt.”
Have fun!
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Hi! 50 something PNW low hunter rider here! I have a middle-aged lady-dear god what is this menopause thing-body, and LOVE my Struck breeches-- yes, expensive, but after trying on every brand Gallops carries and a few I bought online, they fit me like a comfy glove. I reserve them for showing. I love the advent of technical fabrics in our shirt and coat choices. Plain navy is the prime choice for nearly every hunter rider I’ve encountered out showing the last two years (A and local). I have a Gran Prix and really loved the Pikeurs, too. I have shirts from Dover (their brand) and love the snap collars-- oh, thank god the rat catcher button on collars are gone. The worst part of getting dressed for showing!
Boots…I have a funky foot that demands a certain fit, so much trying on and sending back helped me find Mountain Horse Sovereign boots-- they are so comfy, and are reasonable off the shelf. As long as your boots are black and tall enough, no one is going to care what brand they are.
As I say every time someone asks what’s in or what to wear, the same advice stands: tan breeches, navy coat, black boots that are tall enough, white shirt, helmet that fits and is buckled correctly, black gloves. The judge won’t care what brand it all is, and your competitors shouldn’t either! The lovely ladies of the Long Stirrup division are fun to show with, and the kids I have to equitate against at local/schooling/B shows are a delightful crew. Welcome to the hunter world of 2021-- we really are a good bunch!
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Thank you guys! This sounds like it will be a much more fun adventure than before. It will be fun to focus on the actual riding and experience rather than brands and who looks better. I just wanted to make sure things haven’t drastically changed. It sounds like the changes are all for the better.
Calvincrowe- Maybe we’ll be in the same class at some point.
@doubledutch That would be fun! I have found my happy place in the Long Stirrup division right now. My mare is a saint and I appreciate her sense of humor with my adult ammy decisions. Are you in Oregon? Washington?
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As an older adult, I really like the Ovation Slim Secret breeches for showing. The fabric is very kind, even in hot weather. And they wash well (cold, delicate, hang to dry) and don’t seem to hang on to the saddle stains as much as TS does.
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Count me in for that division!
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I’m another fan of the Ovation Slim Secret breeches.
The biggest revelation (and joy) of coming back to horses as an older adult is the revolution in materials. I started riding back in the day of non-stretchy everything and no-zipper tall boots.
The current love of my life is my Kerrits Affinity Aero Show Coat. Not only is it stretchy, but it has all these "windows’ in the fabric through which the breeze blows. On a sweltering summer show day, even the lightest breeze passes through the coat and feels cool on your sweaty body.
I only show on the local circuit (unrated USHJA-affiliate shows). They have added a wonderful slate of adult classes, which all of us old ladies really appreciate because otherwise we’re getting our butts kicked by our grandchildren. 
The adult classes start with beginner walk/trot, there’s adult crossrails, a 2-ft division for riders 40(?) and over, and this year they’ve added an adult pony division. The show manager added all these divisions in response to requests from adults who convinced her that the classes would fill - and they do.
I have way more fun at horse shows now than I ever did during my childhood through college years.
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I can’t wait. You guys are making me seriously more excited than I ever was! I am loving the upgrade in material. I noticed this with a lot of my dressage breeches, but glad to hear that there is also improvement in the h/j world. I remember having such anxiety before and during shows, but then having fun after the fact. I look forward to having fun at all phases of showing, as it should be. 
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Did I mention the drinks? Our barn sometimes has a happy hour— a bit of bubbly before a class is a revelation! Barn aisle parties are fun too. At least where we show, everyone chats and has a good time. I don’t see the “hunter diva bitchiness” others complain of but maybe it’s because I am a friendly outgoing old lady who’ll talk to anyone and offer help when I see a need.
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