So I am doing pretty well in the Bit O Straw classics! I have shown 4 times and won 3 of them and got a second in the other class.
I think I am going to get to wear a shadbelly for the first time ever at the M&S finals! I bought one a few years ago for the unbelievable price of I think it was $25.00. was shopping for something else and came across a consignment that fit me perfectly. So I bought it for a just in case I ever need it. Well now I need to know what kind of stock tie I need. Do I just buy any kind of stock tie? Or is there a special hunter jumper one vs dressage? I have several white shirts. Do I need to buy a shirt as well or just the stock tie and use with my white shirt? Thanks so much!
Congratulations! I’m pretty sure you can wear the stock tie with your white shirt. Is there a loop on the back of the collar?
Get the one long piece of fabric that has to be tied. Do not get a pre-tied one – it screams “newbie”.
You will also need a stock pin. A plain one is fine – Get a gold “safety pin” that is about 2.5" long. If you already have any pin that size then you are set.
Tieing a stock is easy peasy. I do not understand why people think it is hard.
Fasten the buttonhole onto the front of your shirt, the wrap the ends around your neck, feeding the one one end through the slit in the fabric so both ends come back to the front. Then go “right over left”, and then “left over right” (I am left handed so you may want to reverse the order). All you are doing is making a square knot.
Then take the end which ends up on top and flatten out the part of the fabric which is the knot part and arrange it over the knot to hide the knot. Do not make it too floofy or you will look like a turtle.
You may need someone to put on your stock pin, so it is level. It goes right under the knot to hold everything in place.
The last step is to take 2 smaller safety pins and pin the ends of the stock to your shirt, so they do not come flying out as you are riding. People who omit this step (mostly those from Mexico and South America, as far as I can tell 
) begin to look very unkempt as they go around. [You may be able to omit this step if your shadbelly comes higher up in the front than a regular jacket.]
Now that I have typed all this, it occurs to me that there may be a Youtube video of instructions. In “my day” we had to teach each other, so I forget all the handy things you can find on the Internet.
Thanks guys! I am making an order today and I can get one for 10% off so I figured I better order it today with my breeches. So I don’t end up paying like 8 buck shipping to order a piece of white cloth in August. I wanted to make sure I bought the right thing!
Please do not wear low rise breeches!!! :no: Nothing looks worse…
[QUOTE=scrbear11;8145800]
Please do not wear low rise breeches!!! :no: Nothing looks worse…[/QUOTE]
I agree about the low rise breeches, although a ready tied stock tie is just as bad.
Yes! Traditional stock tie and regular rise breeches.
Thanks Guys! I just ordered one and it had an option of ready tied or untied and I probably would have ordered the tied version! thanks for all your help! now I can look “experienced instead of newbie!”
