Brown top riding boots

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fielder

new irish rider
Aug 22, 2005
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I recently saw someone riding in brown top riding boots and was wondering about what the significatnce of the brown top is?
I read something about it a few years ago but I cannot remember much. They are for hunting but that is it really.
Can abyone tell me more?
 
fielder said:
I recently saw someone riding in brown top riding boots and was wondering about what the significatnce of the brown top is?
I read something about it a few years ago but I cannot remember much. They are for hunting but that is it really.
Can abyone tell me more?
Click to expand...

I have only ever known brown top long boots used on the hunting field - and as far as I can remember almost always by male riders - but that was years ago so perhaps anyone can wear them these days? probably yet another obscue stuffy old horse riding tradition but I am sure someone will know more about it than I do :)
 
Oh yes you could be right Trewsers they might well be used in racing - lets see if anyone else can give us a definitive answer. isn't Skib well up on the historical side of this type of thing - come along skib please can we have your input?
 
I live in a racing village and they're certainly used in racing, and I remember them being worn by men on the hunting field when I was a child.
 
Cortrasna said:
Oh yes you could be right Trewsers they might well be used in racing - lets see if anyone else can give us a definitive answer. isn't Skib well up on the historical side of this type of thing - come along skib please can we have your input?
Click to expand...
I don't think @Trewsers is on this thread?
 
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Yes, i had known they were worn for hunting but does anyone know why?
I remember that thery were worn by men but it was a woman I saw recently.
 
I’ve seen them worn as a fashion boot more in the past few years. But I always thought of hunting. No idea on the why though - why just men hunting I don’t know??
 
I seem to remember in one of the early RCB Jilly Cooper books someone was looked down on for wearing brown topped boots. I realised it was because they weren't appropriate for the current setting but I had no idea why. Now I do, thank you very much. It's only taken about 30 years to solve that particular mystery :D
 
fielder said:
Yes, i had known they were worn for hunting but does anyone know why?
I remember that thery were worn by men but it was a woman I saw recently.
Click to expand...
Ladies rode side saddle initially so they would have had their own design. It was inappropriate to even see the foot. Ladies didn't have legs back then.

But I did stumble upon this.

'As time went on fox hunting became a popular sport, and again, the traditional riding boot was the perfect footwear. This era saw a few tweaks to the riding boot, they became softer and had a slimmer style fit, with the ability for the top to be folded down under the knee.
So I believe that could be the original reason the cuff is a different colour - it folded down.
 
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Just one question. Is it permissible for everyone to wear brown top boots these days? They are very rare anyways
 
I'd say for general pleasure riding anything goes these days. If you want to compete, especially affiliated, some disciplines are still strict on turnout and they wouldn't be acceptable. If you've got or hanker for a pair then they'd be absolutely fine for hacking and lessons, and I can't believe they'd be a problem for unaffiliated show jumping.
 
fielder said:
Just one question. Is it permissible for everyone to wear brown top boots these days? They are very rare anyways
Click to expand...
People wear riding clothes as fashion, so they do them for the high street.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
What do you want to use them for? Are you hunting?
 
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I'd bet the history of these boots goes back to very old military attire (napoleon pictures show this as does modern ceremonial dress for changing of the guard etc), when they wore over the knee boots for protection, that would tie in with @newforest bit about them being folded down for hunting when I guess the added protection wasn't needed. It was likely officers that had them and that was the more likely class that would hunt on horseback.
 
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Thanks for the history. I'm not yet at the level for hunting, I'm just back riding after a few years of a break. It was only when I saw someone with these boots that I remembered there was something about the brown top but couldn't remember what it was.
 
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