Ah, yes, the crocheted pads in your barn colors 
Wait, What? 
I recall pillow wraps coming out as The Latest & Greatest: guaranteed to avoid bowing a tendon.
Which, of course, they still could, just not as easily 
Still have 2 sets, 1 for the long-legged TB, 1 for DH’s stockier TWH.
Along with probably 3/4 to 5/6 of complete sets of halter fleeces 
I remember seeing pillow wraps at the Hobby Horse in Huntington(?) L.I. and buying the gamgees instead, I tried to wash them and they promptly fell apart.
D’OH!
Yeah, rolled cotton does not wash well
No, no it doesn’t as I found out. ha ha.
you could sell old x rays after 10 years to silver reclamation services
I still wear colored show shirts! Pink and blue and I’m on the lookout for a pale yellow. I also still wear those gorgeous older RJ classics coats with the color pop lining.
I’m not going to be the winner anyways, might as well FEEL like the winner in my outfit, lol! Those mesh jackets just do not work for me.
Oh, if mine fit, I would too. I have pink, blue, windowpane, stripe… I do have to admit I love my tech-y and washable coats because I don’t handle heat well, but I don’t think they look as nice.
I’m rust breeches, unapproved helmet, monogrammed choker, and pull-on boots old.
Did anyone used to ride their horses to the shows? A barn I used to ride at as a kid was within hacking distance to the local show grounds. We would all get to the barn early in the morning, get the horses ready, and then ride over as a group. When I was a bit older (maybe 10), some of us could ride back in small groups without adults. They would have had to take multiple trips to the show to get all of the horses there. This was for a boarding barn, but we also had a barn at home, so sometimes my pony was at the boarding barn, and other times at home. When we were at home, my mom would trailer my pony, but we had a horse who wouldn’t load a trailer for at least a year, so when my mom wanted to show him, she would drop me off with my pony, a friend would drive her home (maybe 3 miles) and she would then ride the horse over. This usually meant she missed my ride, but she made it.
LOVE it!
Love this story.
Sounds right, I remember being a wee tot in a lesson barn and you tried to get your horse brushed fast enough to beat the others to the white string girth because the trainers used them and you all wanted to be just like them. And the GIANT lollipop pads that perched your saddle about 4’’ above the horse’s back and usually over the wither for whatever reason?
I’m going to switch disciplines for a minute just for fun, I remember when buck stitched saddles were the thing and quarter horses had shorter, shaped tails.
I am boot garters old.
Also ratcatcher shirt with the sort of self bow tie at the neck old.
The the contrasting color ratcatcher with a pin, to be followed by the monogrammed choker.
I had breeches that buttoned at the calf. Never zippers, I went straight from buttons to velcro.
I was in my twenties when cool was a custom hat silk for your Caliente helmet in your barn colors. With your custom chaps also in coordinating colors. That was before Journeymen chaps.
I have a length of flannel I was going to make into wraps but never quite did. I hang it across my barn door on cold windy days to keep the draft out!
Ribbon belts AND matching ribbon white baby pads.
Who remembers?
It was definitely #goals for my teenage self.
Remember how people just used to go about their daily lives…and you didn’t have cell phones to communicate every 5 minutes and how that was kind of nice? And if you wanted to know something, you had to go find a book? And if you didn’t know where somebody was, and you couldn’t find a book, you were just sort of content to have mysteries in life? I mean, How Did We Do It?
And western pleasure tack was a sensible dark color, bonus if it had the flat silver wire-wrapped skirts with matching silver rolled bridle.
That sounds like great fun. Plus your horse had plenty of time to get loosened up on the way to the horse show, and cooled out on the way home. Similar to the way many people show in Wellington these days when they hack in to the showgrounds from their surrounding farms.
I have a feeling I would be appalled to know how many kids today have never in their lives ridden outside of a ring. And probably not just the kids.
In the 80s, I used to go to dressage shows with my friend who pulled her trailer with a muscle car! We had a TB and a QH, so I guess we were going for that total non-dressage queen look. We did well, though.
Hey, it had a 350 engine.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
