rules--showing in a skirt?

[littlemanor]

My husband has a student (she used to be our barn helper) who is a really lovely rider, and has come a very long way with her horse in the past few years. She came to us as a western/trail rider, but has become interested in riding dressage and rides in a dressage saddle and snaffle now for lessons. I think she would really like to start showing, but she belongs to an Anabaptist (kind of like Mennonite) church and rides in a skirt, and I don’t think she is willing to go against that restriction.

Is there any kind of dispensation to allow different clothing for religious belief, either for schooling or recognized showing? Could she perhaps ride HC, if not? (Though to my mind she would deserve any ribbons she got–I don’t think the skirt would give her an advantage!) She could wear all the rest of the required clothing, I think–assuming her veil (the little piece of cloth on top of the hair, not sure what else it’s called) could go under a helmet.

Does anyone have experience with this?

[Peggy]

You might be interested in this thread.http://chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=186649&highlight=hijab. Don’t feel bad if you tried to search and couldn’t find it. The only way I managed to locate it was knowing it was there and remembering that it contained the word “hijab” which was not likely to be in too many COTH threads.

[Foxhound]

Since they are unrecognized, schooling shows generally don’t have very strict dress codes, so she could probably get away with it if she let the management know in advance. They would inform the judge, so he or she wouldn’t be surprised.

As for recognized shows, she would probably have to apply for a special dispensation from the USEF. They grant dress code dispensations to people with physical issues (one friend got a dispensation to compete in paddock boots and half chaps when a sprained ankle made it impossible for her to put her boots on).

Several years ago I did see someone competing at a horse trials in what looked like a split skirt, with kind of a drapey, tunic-like top. I’m not sure what she had on underneath, but she was wearing field boots under the split skirt.
Could she wear a skirt that was the same color as a pair of breeches (like white or beige)? If her head covering isn’t too bulky, she shouldn’t have trouble finding a helmet to fit over it.

[gypsymare]

IF she would be permitted to wear a thin split skirt over breeches it could then be tucked into half chaps or zip up tall boots and show leg position well enough. Might be able to manage this with the right pinning in a very thin and full regular skirt.

[slc2]

She isnt required to wear a helmet, and she can wear whatever she wants at a schooling show.

I think that the organization that runs recognized shows, would most likely grant her a religious accomodation under their other accomodations rules. I’m not sure if it has ever been done before, but I think if she is sincere it will work out.

[kdow]

@littlemanor;4080163

My husband has a student (she used to be our barn helper) who is a really lovely rider, and has come a very long way with her horse in the past few years. She came to us as a western/trail rider, but has become interested in riding dressage and rides in a dressage saddle and snaffle now for lessons. I think she would really like to start showing, but she belongs to an Anabaptist (kind of like Mennonite) church and rides in a skirt, and I don’t think she is willing to go against that restriction.

Out of curiosity - does the skirt make lessons more difficult? I was always expected to wear something relatively form fitting (i.e. jeans and a neat-fitting tshirt rather than something huge and billowy) so that the instructor could better see body position, and it seems like wearing a skirt would obscure where her leg actually is and how she’s moving it when giving various aids.

[joiedevie99]

Heck, side saddle riders do it, even for dressage shows. Call ahead and check with the officials, but if it doesn’t impact her riding it should be fine. The only time it might be a problem is for dressage seat equitation or medal since postion matters. For regular dressage classes, if the judge is looking at the riders position- they are doing it wrong.

[quietann]

@slc2;4080206

She isnt required to wear a helmet, and she can wear whatever she wants at a schooling show.

At least in New England, the vast majority of schooling show venues require an ASTM-certified helmet. Liability insurance more or less requires it. There are some people (sadly, often upper level riders and pro trainers) who ignore this rule… I do wonder if they ever get challenged.

(For the record – I love my trainer, but the fact that she and her assistant usually do not wear a helmet really bothers me. And yes, I know this topic has been debated endlessly on COTH forums and elsewhere…)

[Evalee_Hunter]

There was a very long thread on eventing about competing in a skirt for religious reasons:

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=186649

[Icecapade]

having ridden in split riding skirts I can sort of throw my thoughts in… rules not so much…

… split riding skirts

most excellant. if they fit, and can be extremly flattering all things considered… maybe not so much in a dressage saddle as they might ‘overwhelm’, all mine were in a lovely western (not modern, period so more minimalistic if you will)

so compensating for that visual difference might be a challenge but they are comfortable for sure. and flattering. =)

I love them.

A lot.

[littlemanor]

Kdow–I asked my husband about this, and he said it’s not a factor–the skirt is not stiff or very wide and billowy, but quite drapy, and it’s easy for him to see the outline of her leg (not to mention that it’s not long enough to obscure the shoulder/hip/heel line). When I was watching her last lesson the emphasis was more on opening her hip angle, which is easy to see in a fairly tailored top and skirt.

She often gets on our young horses (she is a soft rider that the young ones love)–somehow I would have thought the skirt might spook the greener ones, but that has never been a factor either.

There have been some good suggestions here–I’m hoping she’ll be encouraged to try showing. Thanks!

[lorilu]

[QUOTE=slc2;4080206]
She isnt required to wear a helmet, and she can wear whatever she wants at a schooling show.

I think that the organization that runs recognized shows, would most likely grant her a religious accomodation under their other accomodations rules. I’m not sure if it has ever been done before, but I think if she is sincere it will work out.[/QUOTE]

Maybe schooling shows in your neck of the woods don’t require helmets, but ours certainly does!
Seems to me the organizer would be setting themselves up for a lawsuit…

L

[goeslikestink]

sh wants to wear a shirt tell her to learn side saddle then she can and that is classical high school dressage can also show side saddle

[CatOnLap]

She needs to talk to her pastor or congregation about the “veil”- the requirement for orthodox Mennonites and many other anabaptist sects is to be modest before God, and a helmet covers that angle nicely and should not be a problem. Because many schooling shows are now requiring dress code (we are now required to braid and wear the whole monkey suit for “schooling” shows here) she needs to get permission for the skirt from the show committee, which basically they cannot refuse due to religious dispensation legislation now in effect, at least in our country. For higher level competition the permission comes from the governing body, but again, they can hardly refuse.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=littlemanor;4080654]
Kdow–I asked my husband about this, and he said it’s not a factor–the skirt is not stiff or very wide and billowy, but quite drapy, and it’s easy for him to see the outline of her leg (not to mention that it’s not long enough to obscure the shoulder/hip/heel line). When I was watching her last lesson the emphasis was more on opening her hip angle, which is easy to see in a fairly tailored top and skirt.

She often gets on our young horses (she is a soft rider that the young ones love)–somehow I would have thought the skirt might spook the greener ones, but that has never been a factor either.

There have been some good suggestions here–I’m hoping she’ll be encouraged to try showing. Thanks![/QUOTE]

Thanks for asking.

Honestly, the only thing that really occurs to me re: riding in a skirt/split skirt would be to think that probably it would be a good idea to practice emergency dismounts to make sure it can be done without getting hung up somehow. (Which, honestly, everyone should do. The stable where I learned to ride had an ex-vaulting horse who was used for just this purpose - he was used to people bouncing around on top and on the sides, so he didn’t get worried about messy dismounts or getting booted in the shoulder or whatever. )

[littlemanor]

You’re right, it’s a pity the emergency dismount is not more commonly taught–when I was a kid I was given an unbroken two-year-old that went through a bolting stage (I was hardly qualified to train her at that point!), and I was extremely good at the emergency dismount–at full gallop, headed for the highway, I could land on my feet holding the reins every time. After that when I “taught” other kids I started with how to get off fast at least at walk and trot.

As far as our student goes, though, it’s apparently not a problem–her horse can be an SOB and she’s come off several times trail riding, never apparently with a problem or injury, even when it was a western saddle (which make me nervous because I can’t see how you get out of them quick, though I’m sure people do it all the time).

I’ll let everyone know how it goes when she does try to show . . .

[rabicon]

If she rides sidesaddle she can wear a skirt. Even our schooling shows you have to wear breeches unless you ride sidesaddle. You’d have to check with the shows and if she wants to do rec’ shows you’d have to check with usdf to see if they will allow it.