All the pony kids seem to be sporting them these days. Frankly I find them somewhat distracting.
I judged a schooling jumper ring this past weekend and there was one kiddo whose bows were so large they completely covered her number. Cute, yes, but totally impractical IMHO.
I HATE them! And if I cant see the number, you will not get a score.
If I can’t see the number, I can’t use the number. Period.
The more over the top, the better. Best to swaddle the entire head in ribbon!
Is this a serious question?! 
They go just right with the shadbellies and jods. Showing hunters moves ever closer to baby beauty pageants.
??? Yes it is. That’s basically all they are selling now, and I am having a hard time finding anything normal-sized for my daughter. I was wondering if judges think they are ridiculous, or somewhat cute. Responses like this are why I average about 5 posts a year on this board. :rolleyes:
OP, I cannot stand the huge bows, which to me look ridiculous. If I were a judge, I would certainly say something–I just don’t know I would do it!
If I were you, I would just tie a small piece of ribbon around each braid.
OP, this was a LONG time ago, but my mom used to buy rolls of ribbons at a fabric store and just tie bows at the bottom of my braids. Much smaller and cheaper! She normally would braid my pony in a color and then match my bows to that.
They’d look like this. Sorry I don’t have a better picture - I didn’t have bows for very long.
For the OP, I bet you could find some YouTube tutorials or blogs that would show how to make your own bows that are still fun but not so huge and over-the-top.
I’m sure the number-blocking potential ties in with the length of the kid’s pigtails, too, so a dry run at home is probably a good idea.
[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;7563055]
??? Yes it is. That’s basically all they are selling now, and I am having a hard time finding anything normal-sized for my daughter. I was wondering if judges think they are ridiculous, or somewhat cute. Responses like this are why I average about 5 posts a year on this board. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
Go to any store in the mall that sells kid’s accessories (for example Claire’s) and you will find hairbows of every shape, color, and variety. Many that are smaller and less obtrusive.
There is also the tried and true length of grosgrain ribbon from the fabric store. Also available in a rainbow of colors for about a few bucks.
This topic has been discussed what feels like a hundred thousand times. If you do a search, I am sure some will pop up. Many contain recommendations for bow makers. Scroll down on this thread and you’ll see 5 linked below… but there are many many many MANY more.
I know that I’m in the minority - which can be dangerous around here
But I think they’re so cute 
of course, I don’t think that they should cover up the number for obvious reasons, but I think big bows are adorable.
[QUOTE=supershorty628;7563063]
OP, this was a LONG time ago, but my mom used to buy rolls of ribbons at a fabric store and just tie bows at the bottom of my braids. Much smaller and cheaper! She normally would braid my pony in a color and then match my bows to that.
They’d look like this. Sorry I don’t have a better picture - I didn’t have bows for very long.[/QUOTE]
I wasn’t a pony kid, but had lots of braids anyway. Helpful hint, thread the ribbon through the rubber band holding the braid. If it comes untied, you won’t lose the ribbon.
OP my friend makes bows. I only buy short bows for my daughter and HATE those crazy over the top ones. If you want her contact info, pm me.
I don’t like them either. Everyone swears by tradition and conservative clothing in hunters…EXCEPT when cute little girls are showing! Too much color, too much ribbon, just TOO much. Sure, it’s cute if they are maybe going out to lunch, but it’s gotten to where all I see are the bows and I don’t even notice the ride. Wait…maybe that’s the idea!! 
On a really young kid on a small pony wearing short boots and gaiters they look <gag> cute.
What makes me crazy is an older kid in TALL boots wearing them. Even worse if they are on a horse.
IMNSHO the second they go to tall boots the hair bows should go.
[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;7563055]
??? Yes it is. That’s basically all they are selling now, and I am having a hard time finding anything normal-sized for my daughter. I was wondering if judges think they are ridiculous, or somewhat cute. Responses like this are why I average about 5 posts a year on this board. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
Hairbows are not for judges, they are for moms who love to dress up their little girls, and for little girls who enjoy being dressed up. It’s a no brainer that big bows covering up the rider’s number will make it very hard to keep a scorecard organized, but I’m not mean enough to refuse to pin a rider whose number I can’t read for that reason. I can normally radio the starter and identify the child if I need to.
I am bemused to see the extent to which hair bows have been ‘commercialized’ (by some enterprising horse show moms, no doubt) to the point where a mother thinks it’s mandatory to use what’s on offer, not to mention the pressure to keep up with the Joneses that’s already bad enough in other areas of life without applying it to hair bows.
I still have our daughters’ favorite hair bows, which I made with ribbons purchased from the craft store, which still sells ribbons in every shade of the rainbow and more by the yard. Sometimes we would make special ribbons if there was a loaner pony in a different color scheme, but mainly we went with out ‘normal’ not very large red/yellow/blues which always brought luck.
Our bows were extremely modest by today’s standards, which IMO are reaching the point where they are over the top.
[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;7563055]
I was wondering if judges think they are ridiculous, or somewhat cute. [/QUOTE]
I don’t waste my time thinking about the bows, as long as they do not cover the rider’s number.
I can’t stand those Pollyanna sized bows and the couple of judges (“R”) I do know don’t like them much either… but supposedly turnout should be the last /least focus and performance of horse/rider should be paramount.
[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;7563055]
??? Yes it is. That’s basically all they are selling now, and I am having a hard time finding anything normal-sized for my daughter. I was wondering if judges think they are ridiculous, or somewhat cute. Responses like this are why I average about 5 posts a year on this board. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
Easy fix is to wear a hairnet If your kid wants to wear them, make sure that the braids are shorter and not flopping on the number. If the bows are the type with long streamers you can easily cut the flopping ends way down. Cut an inverted “V” into the ribbon so it does not fray.
