REALLY????!!!!!!

[ecileh]

As an aside, even many hunts are now relaxing the rules about attire during summer cubbing–because tweeds are HOT and dangerous. My hunt asks us to start the season (day 1) in rat catcher attire, but then the masters will make the call to allow club-branded polo shirts for the rest of cubbing. We have to wait for them to do that (don’t assume polos are ok until you are told they are), but they are usually quick to make the call. We go back to rat catcher attire in September until the formal season starts–unless it’s too hot!

I showed hunters for years and hated wearing coats on hot days. I am one of those people who do not do well in heat–would rather be freezing than hot! My first season hunting, we had a 90+ degree day in the formal season, but the masters did not relax the coats rule in time for people to opt out…hunted for three hours in a wool vest, stock tie, and Melton–it was awful, but I swear I had worse days at cooler temps in my polyester hunt coat in the show ring. At least wool breathes.

I will note, though, that in my years as a show photographer, when coats are excused, people tend to buy less photos (hunters). Even the best money shot over fences looks somewhat lesser when the rider doesn’t have a coat on.

[mountainhorse]

@Training Cupid

Just ask yourself: WWGMD?

(What would George Morris do?!)

Yup.

[kashmere]

This is hilarious.

You know that football (soccer) players used to wear like… long woolen pants and shirts. And female tennis players had to wear a full damn skirt… but then in the 1930s some lady was like "uhh so I think I’m gonna wear shorts because I’m playing a damn sport and not sipping tea" and people were scandalized but got over it because girl had a point.

Anyway the point is: we’re athletes. The horses are athletes. The riders are athletes. The idea that anyone is going to wring their hands and clutch their pearls because athletes are wearing athletic wear to compete in their sport is bananas. It’s not like the riders in question are showing up in ratty t-shirts with a dirty horse. The idea that they are “disrespecting” anyone or anything is just full on bonkers.

Like, by all means wear two longsleeved layers in the hot sunshine as you push your body to an athletic limit if you think that’s a good idea, but calm the heck down when other athletes value their physical health and safety over a stupid piece of fabric. Athletic fabrics have come suuuuch a long way in even the past few years - why on earth do we not want to go along with them?!

[GoodTimes]

I was showing on Saturday (30C plus humidity). Showed both my horses in the AA’s. They were absolutely more comfortable in the heat then I was. Jackets were excused, but I opted to keep mine on, had I been in the jumper ring I would have changed into a nice polo.
My hairy hunter was clipped and didn’t even break a sweat (he needs a good warm up to get all the bucks out before we go jump lots of fill), my other one who isn’t clipped only broke a sweat under the girth. So I disagree that if it’s too hot for jackets then it’s too hot to ride. We were constantly offering water and stood in the shade to wait for the jog, both horses were more then fit enough for the job.
Keep in mind that the riders also have helmets on, even the ones with vents trap a lot of heat.

Saying all of that, even though I opted to keep my jacket on I didn’t think anyone else was disrespecting the judge. I just didn’t want everyone to see my sweaty show shirt!
I also don’t think that young children should ever be made to keep their jackets on, many of them are too concerned about other things to remember to drink enough or go sit in the shade unless they’re told too.

[Woodsperson]

All I can say is congratulations Tracy.

[SendenHorse]

OP just wants to entice arguments and anger. Whatever.

I hate those god-awful police like helmets people wear- can I get mad about that now?

I like the idea a black vest that people often wear in dressage when the coats get waved, it looks sharp and traditional~!

[McGurk]

Put me firmly in the camp of people who would like to see modern equestrian athletic wear; and I’m from the generation when wool or polyester show coats were the only option (I had one that was called “Tropical weight.” It wasn’t.) and we wore black velvet solar collectors on our heads.

I’m a traditionalist about a lot of things, but this just ain’t one of them.

If we wonder why outsiders question whether equestrians are really athletes, I don’t think we have to look much further than the silly clothing traditions.

It was brutal in Virginia yesterday - 93 degrees, humid and no breeze. The jumper ring at Upperville doesn’t have any shade, (The beautiful main hunter ring is the one with the glorious trees and shade.) The decision to waive jackets was the correct one. We can’t change the need to wear leather boots, and we shouldn’t change the requirement to wear helmets; making jackets optional so riders don’t overheat/pass out is one of the few modifications we can make.

The winner looked polished, professional and all business on course. AND she put on a jacket for the awards. What more can you possibly want?

[PeteyPie]

@Training Cupid

Just ask yourself: WWGMD?

(What would George Morris do?!)

First of all, he would know how to use and spell “too.”

[ParadoxFarm]

@PNWjumper

Wow OP, aren’t you a peach.

This is me riding in an FEI GP last August: http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a484/PNWjumper/Facebook/2016%20Horseshows/FFX_4185small_zpsyv9adkzp.jpg

I think you look stylish and cool (both temperature-wise, and fashion-wise!). I always love your pictures. You are obviously someone who cares for your horses very much! I don’t know how someone can look at the picture and NOT see a classy rider.

[cswoodlandfairy]

I agree…I think if jackets are waved then its perfectly fine to go without a jacket and up to the individual rider what they want to do. The other weekend I went to a local hunter show, my boys a jumper but we went to do lower fences and gain some confidence he lost. It was a hot day. They totally waved coats and just about everyone took them off. For the jumper ring, I love the look of a braided jumper and show coat however I don’t think that no matter what you should wear one. Its my personal preference to do so. But again I prefer the look. But 9 times out of 10 I’m usually in a nice collar sunshirt or polo showing.

[mmeqcenter]

What a wild thread!

Jackets should be a thing of the past. Let’s update our sports. Athletic attire. Polos are great. Please and thanks.

[Firebug]

@mmeqcenter

What a wild thread!

Jackets should be a thing of the past. Let’s update our sports. Athletic attire. Polos are great. Please and thanks.

I agree that Jackets need to be a thing of the past, but I can’t agree that polo’s are great. I would love if the sport went to more athletic attire, but I really hope the change isn’t to polo’s as the only appropriate shirt. I hate–hate–hate polo’s; not because of how they look but because they are hot, don’t breath, and offer no sun protection. For someone who has a family history of melanoma scares I will not wear a polo. Of course, I have been told that because I don’t/won’t wear a polo when riding/lessoning that I don’t take my riding seriously.

[ladyj79]

@Firebug

I agree that Jackets need to be a thing of the past, but I can’t agree that polo’s are great. I would love if the sport went to more athletic attire, but I really hope the change isn’t to polo’s as the only appropriate shirt. I hate–hate–hate polo’s; not because of how they look but because they are hot, don’t breath, and offer no sun protection. For someone who has a family history of melanoma scares I will not wear a polo. Of course, I have been told that because I don’t/won’t wear a polo when riding/lessoning that I don’t take my riding seriously.

Polos are certainly not the only variety of shirt you see in the jumper ring. There are a wide variety of athletic material show shirts available, including ones with sun protection. I think you just need to start shopping around a bit

[danceronice]

@Firebug

I agree that Jackets need to be a thing of the past, but I can’t agree that polo’s are great. I would love if the sport went to more athletic attire, but I really hope the change isn’t to polo’s as the only appropriate shirt. I hate–hate–hate polo’s; not because of how they look but because they are hot, don’t breath, and offer no sun protection. For someone who has a family history of melanoma scares I will not wear a polo. Of course, I have been told that because I don’t/won’t wear a polo when riding/lessoning that I don’t take my riding seriously.

I was riding in a polo (at home, in extremely casual attire that included a normally well-ventilated, light-colored Troxel) when I got heat prostration. It wasn’t even over 90, which was why I didn’t think it was too hot to ride, but it was humid. I started to feel unwell but unfortunately impaired judgement is one of the problems when you get heat sick. When I decided to go back to the barn, I managed to get to the crossties and dismount before falling over. Luckily my horse is such a saint he should have his own cathedral and at the time I was boarding at a backyard barn owned by a lady whose day job was RN. Her daughter took care of Lucky while she and her husband got me in to their air conditioning and made me rehydrate, and she informed me if I did anything like this again she’d throw me in the pool in my clothes! Lucky, who’d spend most of his life at that point in Florida, was perfectly fine. If I’d been showing, and my choice was wear a jacket over a long-sleeve shirt or go home, I’d have gone home.

Meanwhile, at work, our “civvies” (when we’re not in historic dress or are at a site where we don’t costume, like the wigwam or CCC) are a museum shirt. I have three, the short-sleeve I don’t wear because the new supplier of shirts thinks scoop necks should be rather dramatically scooped, a polo, and a long-sleeve V-neck. Even with the long sleeves, give me the v-neck every day. It’s made of much thinner material than the polo, and without anything clinging around my neck, I stay cooler longer.

[Firebug]

@ladyj79

Polos are certainly not the only variety of shirt you see in the jumper ring. There are a wide variety of athletic material show shirts available, including ones with sun protection. I think you just need to start shopping around a bit

Oh I know there is a variety. I was just saying that I hope we don’t go from Jackets are the only appropriate show attire mindset to look we’re embracing athletic attire and Polo’s are now the only appropriate show attire mindset.

[RugBug]

@kashmere

This is hilarious.

You know that football (soccer) players used to wear like… long woolen pants and shirts. And female tennis players had to wear a full damn skirt… but then in the 1930s some lady was like "uhh so I think I’m gonna wear shorts because I’m playing a damn sport and not sipping tea" and people were scandalized but got over it because girl had a point.

Anyway the point is: we’re athletes. The horses are athletes. The riders are athletes.

I hate to break it to all you ‘we are athletes, so we should get to dress like athletes’ folks out there…Riders are athletes in the skills, mental, and competitive aspects. But we are hardly athletes comparable to soccer, basketball, tennis and most american football players. We are more akin to baseball players…and they aren’t all decked out in lycra/spandex…because they don’t NEED to be. They have bursts of activity that are fairly short lived. Just like riders. Hunter/Jumper riders are rarely in the ring for more than 3 minutes. While I know I can be close to passing out (usually due to holding my breath), if I wanted, I could easily wear my light wool coats for that time frame and not die.

That said, if a show waives coats…there is no disrespect. I think there are plenty of show shirts/sunshirts that look really nice these days. With the advent of those shirts, I am not a polo fan

I rarely go without my coat for my own personal reasons: 1)I like the look of a coat, 2)I want any pictures to have me in my coat because I think it looks great, and 3)I like the way a coat looks on me…it evens out my odd shape.

[ladyj79]

@RugBug

I hate to break it to all you ‘we are athletes, so we should get to dress like athletes’ folks out there…Riders are athletes in the skills, mental, and competitive aspects. But we are hardly athletes comparable to soccer, basketball, tennis and most american football players. We are more akin to baseball players…and they aren’t all decked out in lycra/spandex…because they don’t NEED to be. They have bursts of activity that are fairly short lived. Just like riders. Hunter/Jumper riders are rarely in the ring for more than 3 minutes. While I know I can be close to passing out (usually due to holding my breath), if I wanted, I could easily wear my light wool coats for that time frame and not die.
.

But showing is the very least part of being a rider. Many, many riders spend hours and hours in the saddle every week or even day, in addition to various strength and cardio workouts. I absolutely do think that many riders are absolutely athletes on par with any of the sports you named.

[RugBug]

@ladyj79

But showing is the very least part of being a rider. Many, many riders spend hours and hours in the saddle every week or even day, in addition to various strength and cardio workouts. I absolutely do think that many riders are absolutely athletes on par with any of the sports you named.

Sure…but we only wear coats to show…and this thread is about wearing coats. I’m not sure why you made that jump to what we do for training.

And even still, trying to compare riders to those other classes of athletes is a bit of a streatch. Sure, the more physically fit you are, the better rider you will be, but you do not HAVE to be in the extreme shape of many of the above mentioned athletes. Eventers would be top of the fitness needs (and perhaps endurance?), but unless someone is a fitness nut, they aren’t training the way these other athletes train. It just doesn’t compare in the same way. It may not be apples to oranges, but maybe it’s oranges to tangerines.

[ladyj79]

@RugBug

but unless someone is a fitness nut, they aren’t training the way these other athletes train.

I disagree. I know a lot of riders who aren’t “fitness nuts” but are in excellent shape because they work on it. They have personal trainers, do boot camps and/or yoga and/or weight training. Actually when I taught in college the team was obligated to attend multiple gym training sessions a week.

Even within the professional level of sports you think are real athletes there is a WIDE variety of fitness levels.

I think your average professional rider is absolutely as fit as your average football player. Or tennis player.

You literally cannot be competitive at the top levels of the sport and not be fit.

[Sunflower]

The whole coat requirement is sort of a fable of being a tradition. Hunting-- as in fox hunting-- has traditions, rules, each hunt has its own local rules. Wearing the right sort of gear is part of it. The rules vary by hunt. Yet, even these hunts are known to permit water proof jackets to be worn in very wet weather, rather than the usually required hunt gear. In other words, changing the rules of required clothing in response to the weather happens in fox hunting. I am reading the rules of an English hunt as I write this, just to verify.

Waiving a jacket in the heat is therefore in line with this practice of weather responsive exceptions.

But to be rigidly hide bound to some notion that showing, whether hunters or jumpers, honors fox hunting tradition is absurd. Show hunters bear little resemblance to the kind of horse needed to navigate a hunt field, and show jumping has also developed its own style and rules.

So to suddenly worry about fox hunting tradition only when it comes to hunt jackets is really arbitrary. It makes no sense.