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| Cuna had the right idea. As usual. |
And the primary kickback I got from readers was that they liked participating in the pomp and circumstance and tradition (bear with me) of the Victorian evening wear that is currently foisted upon us. It's "elegant" or something.
So here's my response: basketball players, alpine skiers, and even golfers get that same sense of belonging by dressing in their sport-appropriate garb. That idea of becoming part of something bigger than oneself is commendable and important, certainly. My argument isn't against that sort of uniformity, but rather redirecting the uniformity into something that makes more sense.
As illustration, here's the one and only Charlotte Dujadin riding a phenomenal young horse in a demonstration.
Charlotte is obviously an amazing rider and the horse is to die for, even if I can never sit his trot.
But that's not the point. I LOVE Charlotte's attire here. It's classy. It's comfortable. It blends the rider to the horse and keeps the focus on the performance. Isn't that the whole entire point of a sporting uniform? It's not about how much you spend or how perfect your body is--it's all about how that particular equipment allows you to perform your best in your given sport.
I was talking to a western pleasure rider some years back and she dropped this interesting comment: "All the riders used to wear black, but then they realized you can't tell 20k black from $20 black." So western pleasure moved away from black because it was too affordable and easy to emulate more expensive looks while spending less...
HELLO. THANK YOU.
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| because my horse is cute |
As I see it, there are only upsides. Those of you who like spending lots of money can still do so. Those of us who think dressing like Victorian gentlemen (handraise) is an asinine way to spend a weekend if you're not at a steampunk conference will be happier. We look like athletes. We aren't in white spandex.
What exactly is the drawback here?
Personally I like some contrast between the top and bottom of the rider, while I don't think it needs to be black/white, I'm not a fan of the same color throughout, it makes it difficult to tell where the rider starts and the saddle ends. Most of those western pleasure people have brown saddles so the black clothes still show contrast, but black pants in a black dressage saddle strikes my eyes as awkward. Maybe you could use this for your argument that all tack should be brown.
ReplyDeleteAgree. If you're going to do black pants, I think the top half should be a light color. All that black just blends together too much for me.
DeleteLOVE THIS! THANK YOU! It's why I currently participate in a sport where it doesn't matter what breed of horse you have, what tack you use, or what you're wearing. All that matters is the well-being of the horse.
ReplyDeleteThere may be practical reason for the white from the judge's point of view. It does give a good look at the rider's position in the saddle and how the legs are used. Same with the white gloves. I once had a judge tell me to wear white gloves next time so he could see my hands better.
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, the same impact can be achieved with gray or beige. The white is, as you've noted, a real pain to maintain in any kind of clean state. All the rules say is "light colored breeches." White is not a requirement.
I agree with you!
ReplyDeleteNope nope nope nope. Love my show coat. Never giving it up. Nothing feels fancier, more special AND hide my lumps and bumps like a well fitted show coat.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I like the hide my lump factor. I do agree that wtf is up with the cost I'd show coats?! Um ridiculous, and certainly we can start using more techy fabrics and be more affordable, but I still kinda like the playing dress up factor, I feel fancier and like I should mind my eq better.
DeleteHaha! Me too!!! I do the jumpers, so to me, wearing my whites and jacket means classic day and $$$$ classes! Also, I LOVE the looks of the new show coats and am currently wishing for a french blue coat AND a hunter green one :) :)
DeleteI agree we should be leaning towards something classy but functional. We can still look good and be fully functional without having to wear archaic styles that are usually very expensive.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and I'm with you. We can find ways to nod to tradition/heritage other than ridiculous wool coats. We're a sport so we should wear sporting clothes. Plus think of all the product placement potential at the upper levels, eh?
ReplyDeleteI'm on the bandwagon! Pass the Petition! I'll sign.
ReplyDeleteAs a former alpine ski racer I can tell you that this idea of wearing the correct clothes for the sport vs. the weather is not just a riding thing. Alpine racers wear full body lycra suits. It's winter. It's 10 degrees out. Do you know how f*^$ing cold lycra is in the winter! But, you go faster, if you're not half dead from pneumonia or frostbite, which we were half the time.
ReplyDeleteI assumed there was a fleecy lining or something, like form-fitting footie pajamas. I stand corrected.;-)
DeleteOne more thing about riding coats too: they originally were for (and still are) protection. When you're out foxhunting, a good coat protects you from sticks, brambles, and the weather - much like a store tie and pin were originally worn to bandage an injured horse/human in the hunt field. Nowadays coats in the show ring help protect your bare skin when your creep of a horse bucks you off. if you've fallen off while wearing a good sturdy coat (vs. bare skin) you'll know the difference of the feels. It all originated from a practical point of view vs. jus dressing up to be dressy.
DeletePsh I wish they had fleece on the inside! But I imagine a fleecy suit would get super gross when sweaty. My GS suits did at least have slight padding on certain parts of the body, so when I smashed into gates or had a bad wreck I only had *slightly* severe bruises. It's a brutal sport!
DeleteBlap... "stock tie" not store tie!
DeleteI get that they may have provided protection originally, but that isn't really what they do now. I'm not saying anything about foxhunting, because that's a social event we don't even have in Idaho. No clue about them folks. ;-)
DeleteI think long sleeves will provide you with the same level of "protection" from sand/road rash in an arena that a coat would.
I dunno. I feel like this whole debate hinges on the "but I like how a coat looks" argument, which is wildly subjective and I really DON'T like how coats look.
Having just crashed and burned, my "athletic" breeches were destroyed and barely protected me more than bare skin would have. I wish I would have worn my thick, ugly breeches.
DeleteWell you can always pick a sport like endurance, where everything's made up and the points don't matter! (Just kidding endurance people....) But you really can wear whatever the hell you want in endurance and go for the comfort look!
DeleteLOL, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one! :) If your argument is because wool is hot and antique and stuffy, I'll tell you that my lightweight Italian wool coat is a HELL of a lot cooler than my technical coat. If your argument is looks - in Charlotte's case, blending in with the horse - than here, at a young horse showcase, the idea is to show off the horse and not the rider. In a dressage test, riders get scored quite heavily too, so it's important for the judge to be able to see the riders hands/legs/body, and you need some contrast for that. And if your argument is cost, well, it's really about your priorities. If your priority is an Oglivy pad and a PS of Sweden bridle, rock it! If your priority is a tailored show coat, rock that too!
ReplyDeleteMy argument is because it's archaic and ridiculous. The rest is ancillary.
DeleteAnd yes, I love history and I think what Brego does is AWESOME, but it's also not something I choose to participate in. ;-)
I'm in the agree to disagree camp as well here, but am loving this topic none the less. For me it's why I wore a wedding dress on my wedding day, it's a special event. For the record I chose Ivory, not White, LOL...But I digress...Shows are special. I like the ritual of getting dressed and feeling fancy. I think uniformity in the uniform IS classic sportsmanship, we're all wearing the same thing more or less which I would think helps judges impartiality and agree it helps them see/eval what's going on. My Horseware Competition Jacket was $104, it fits me great and looks great in photos and is washable! I actually wore the same plain black hunt coat which was a freebie hand me down from an old trainer from (I kid you not) 1997 – 2013 and won several rated shows in it. The tag in it says “MADE IN ROMANIA”, no brand, no size, no nothing, LOL! My GP show jumping jacket was $50 on sale at a local tack shop. I opt for light colored breeches for all phases but dressage. None of my lights or whites were expensivo, save the Goode Rider ones, but that was just a fun Christmas gift Santa decided to leave me for being a good girl or something. I don't think dressing well has to cost a fortune, I believe properly fitted show clothes don't inhibit my riding one bit in fact they make me sit up straighter and ride like I should because gosh darn-it I put too much time into looking good to slouch. Also I do a mix of rated and schooling shows, so for the rated ones I dress proper and for the schooling shows I dress in my fun gear like a cute Goode Rider polo (which cost more than my GP show coat) & colored full-seats with a nice belt. I would however be totally open to the jumping phases in eventing being run a bit more like jumpers, meaning, jackets optional.
ReplyDeleteMy only comment is that - SOME people will dress like Charlotte - but some will look like bloody slobs who just crawled out of a sewer. So having the need for a "look", also ensures everyone follows along. I'm happy with something in the middle...but I also wear great dressage breeches haha
ReplyDeletei've been able to find my two nice wool coats (a light weight and heavy) for less than $50 combined. any fancy technical coat i've looked at is wayyy more than that... so from a budgetary perspective, i'm sticking with the wool...
ReplyDeletetho i think your argument is no coats at all (technical or otherwise). as someone who is quick to lose the coat when it's waived, i don't totally disagree haha
If I could dress DAILY like I was going to a steampunk conference, I would. Fancy clothes stay on me for showing.
ReplyDeleteThat trot! Meow!
ReplyDeleteYou and Mary are in agreement here. She (a Rolex veteran, student of Jim Wofford, has her USDF silver medal, graduate A from pony club, USPC National Examiner) thinks it is, and I quote, "ridiculous to put on a suit jacket to go play a sport."
ReplyDeleteShe also says one does not have to braid until one is winning at Prelim. This ALMOST ALMOST ALMOST makes up for her stance on bridles. :)
I should add that I am with both you and my dear leader on this one, lest I hadn't made that clear enough in the past.
DeleteWhen I was a little kid, my mom and I volunteered to help at the Fall Festival, back when it was a bigger event. My eight year old self was heartbroken that a) I couldn't ride in it (even if I was far from ready) and b) that there was no way we could afford it. Anyway, on dressage day, I was amazed by everyone in their coats and white breeches. They looked so classy and elegant. I was infatuated with the white breeches. To me, they became a sign of "real" equestrians, of the elite. You had to earn the right to wear them. I think someone had told me I wasn't ready for white breeches yet and that of course put them on a pedestal. My dream became to wear white breeches one day. I didn't/couldn't afford to ride in a show that required them for another ten years. So, I guess being able to wear them was a much bigger deal for me than most. I know that they aren't all that becoming and are a huge pain in the ass. They really aren't practical. However, I worked my ass off to earn the right to wear them and I know that every time I put a pair on. So, as stupid as it sounds, they are one of my favorite things in the world.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm not disagreeing with you. I just don't think that I could ever show (dressage) in anything else due to the fact that I'm a sentimental dork :)
I LOVE to get dressed in my show clothes - it's fun to pair my shirts and coats each day... I don't want to give that up lol! Like others said, its a special occasion :)
ReplyDeleteReading back posts here and catching up...
ReplyDeleteAnyway totally agree. While I enjoy the whole "look" I think it is archaic as well. Certainly wouldn't mind a change. It continues to annoy me that when it's 900 degrees outside we're expected to dress up in layers of clothing and leather, where the only thing seeing the light is a small portion of your face, and then sit on a 1000 pound furnace.
The technical fabrics etc. make it more bearable, but come on. I will admit to breaking my bank account when the soft shell coats, truly ventilated helmets, technical breeches etc started hitting the market.... An investment I still consider wise since I used to pass out from heat stroke wearing cotton and wool. UGH.