What show gear...

[jenren!!]

...would suit this horse?

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...s/CIMG0448.jpg

Will get a better picture sorry! I currently have a black and navy blue tweed jacket and both black and blue velvet hats. I am thinking of doing ridden horse classes with her but can anyone reccomend any other classes? She is a TB x WB and has very nice, elegant paces and a nice outline. For ridden horse and riding club classes what colour jacket would look good on her? And jodhpurs? Any help would be great. This is just for local shows. Thanks

Jenny

[jenren!!]

If link doesnt work just click on my signature ;)

Jenny

[jenren!!]

Anyone?!

Jenny

[bexj]

Fraid I don't know all the ins and outs of showing, but reading some past threads on here, it seems like black is a no-no, and navy is more acceptable. Lovely looking horse!

[Daffy Dilly]

Navy hat, tweed (green or brown is best), cream shirt, discreetly patterned tie, brown leather gloves, creamy canary breeches and long leather boots. :)

[jenren!!]

Thank you!

Wouldnt a black hat look better with green or brown tweed? I have both a navy and black hat although my black is casual and my navy new and showy :)

Oh and also, can you show in a synthetic saddle? I have no other! This is just at local level.

Jenny

[Gemma16]

Navy hats are correct for women in the showring. I can't really tell but your horse looks like it may be a little llight of bone for hunter classes, antoher side on shot might give a better idea.
I was just hinking she may be of riding horse type which means you would need a coloured bowband, but your turnout would be the same as stated above.

As for synthetic saddles, it should be ok at local level.

[molly34]

I watched some of the showing classes at the Surrey county show yesterday and couldn't help thinking so many riders could have looked a lot better with a bit more thought about their colour schemes.... maybe its a bit superficial, but if the horse is being judged, isn't it better for the rider to complement and blend in rather than clash and distract? Who decides what's correct or not anyway?

Almost everyone was in green/brown tweed with yellow breeches, which looked great on the bays and chestnuts, but horrible on the greys imho (the more yellowy colours seem to either clash, or show up any less-than-sparkly-white bits!). And whats with the navy hats? I thought brown and black looked so much better with those colours. There were a few riders in blue/grey tweed and paler breeches that looked much nicer on the grey or very dark horses, and the the navy hats looked better with those colours too!

If so much of showing is about appearance, isn't it better to ensure all your togs are in coordinating colours and complement your horse? If I'm missing the point, I look forward to being educated! ;

[Kanuma]

blue tweeds realy arnt traditionaly correct in the showring (thus i will be replaceing my tweed when i can afford it) it used to signify cheep jackets. Black hats are incorrect in the showring for women i think its because it was a sign of mourning or something similar and brown hats whilst they are becomeing more popular are extremely hard to get hold of and expensive as well.
the rider doesnt want to blend in too much because it is about the overall picture as well and takeing the focus away from the horse can help disguise a few faults.

Also that is just your oppinion, its not yours that matters but the judges oppinion.if the greys looked dirty then it is their own fault as horses should be spotless going into the ring. Also alot of the riders would have been rideing several ponies/horses in one day, it is not practical or financialy viable to have a jacket for each pony when most of the jackets you saw will have cost between £200 and £300 each, so you do the best you can. Also when your got 40 horses in a ring (or worse 117 like they had at the royal welsh one year) how do you keep all the bays separate in your mind if all of the riders blend in

here is a pic of 2 perfectly turned out greys (nicked from anouther forum but illustraes my point perfectly)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d18/bethanj/100_0783.jpg

[Daffy Dilly]

You don't want to clash with the horse, but you want to stand out from it. Complementary colours are key!

The dresscode is actually very traditional with one or two trends in there which are set by the leading professionals, because they can wear whatever the hell they like. For example, breeches used to be beige, but someone with good sense decided they looked washed out on the whole, and so people are going for canary. Some people have taken it to extremes, but it really depends what class you're in. I could get away with quite yellow ones on a welshie, but someone on a hunter would want them to be more toned down. Lyn Russell has recently taken to wearing brown long boots, so I have a feeling there'll be quite a few of those at local level this season. Most people at county will realise that they are not Lyn Russell, and stick with black.

Black hats for ladies are frowned upon in the ring because traditionally in showing, ladies wore navy and men wore black. I think it follows the same reasoning as for gloves - black gloves signify mourning and ladies shouldn't ride when they're in mourning! Along a similar line, black jackets just really aren't good for a womans complexion when compared to navy, so there's probably a bit of that for the hats. Plus, just like denim, navy goes with anything except one or two very brown, brown tweeds.

The problem with blue tweeds, is that they used to be really rubbish quality in comparison to the browns and greens. So traditionally, green and brown was better, and we're still in that. Have to say that the right green/brown looks better on greys and blacks than blue anyway, similar to the way in which the beige jods look washed out, you don't want everything to be grey/beige/black as there's nothing in there to lift the picture. Places like Pretty Ponies have launched a really nice dark blue tweed, so I imagine we'll see a few pro's wearing similar jackets and perhaps the anti-blue tweed will change a little. I have to say though, as a general rule greens and browns are better quality!

So yes, you want a bit of co-ordination, but you want to stand out too - for the right reasons!

And just to back up a few of the points I've made;

Navy hat, blue tweed, navy gloves, navy tie, yellow shirt, beige jods and black long boots
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Daffydilly/DSC00372.jpg

Navy hat (with correct harness), green tweed, brown gloves, burgundy tie, yellow shirt, canary jods (camera makes them look beigeish, new ones are bit lighter than the yellow on the NR headers) and black long boots
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Daffydilly/Untitled8.jpg

And if you need any further convincing ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Daffydilly/daffybirchinhand.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Daffydilly/Daffyrrcinhand.jpg

Sorry, that's really long, but hopefully covered everything! :)

[Daffy Dilly]

Have to say, personally I'm not keen on that shade of brown on a white-grey! Bit too bright for my liking, but she'll stand out in the ring against all the other greys, and not necessarily in a bad way depending on the judge ;)

[Kanuma]

she just got sumpreme champ at a major welsh show so obviously for the right reasons.