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Home → Classic Style, Modern Twist
Classic Style, Modern Twist
Jump into English riding with these get-started apparel and tack tips.
By Jessica Jahiel
When you shop for your English-riding apparel and tack, keep two words in mind:
traditional and functional. Your specific turnout will depend on the event in which you
plan to compete. The athletic look you see on a cross-country course will be out of
place in the elegant hunter ring. But with a conservative, classy basic turnout, you'll
be ready to give any English event a go.
- Helmet. Your black-velvet show helmet should meet or exceed the current
safety standards. (Look for the astm/sei mark.) Today's helmets are good-looking,
light, low profile, ventilated, and very comfortable. Reputable manufacturers, such as
International Riding Helmets and Troxel, offer headgear in a wide variety of styles,
colors, and prices. If you prefer to school in a light-colored helmet, buy a black
velvet helmet cover to wear at competitions. Or, reserve a black-velvet safety helmet
just for shows.
- Breeches. Breeches can be heavy or lightweight, pull-on or fasten with a
zip. They can have a little stretch or a lot of stretch. Warm-weather breeches are
typically made from knitted microfiber or from a combination of cotton and Lycra;
cold-weather breeches are typically made from or lined with polyester fleece. Breeches
feature leather patches on the inside of the legs for added grip and durability. Beige,
buff, and khaki breeches are appropriate for English competition.
- Shirt/choker. Your riding shirt should be long-sleeved, and roomy enough to
be comfortable. When you try on a shirt, get into riding position and move as you would
on horseback, including reaching forward with your arms, as you'd do over a jump. (Do
the same thing when you try on a jacket.) Over the shirt, you may wear a choker (a
same-fabric detachable collar) fastened with a stock pin (pinned horizontally), or a
stock tie, also fastened with a stock pin. Many riders prefer a monogrammed collar as
an alternate to wearing the stock pin on the choker.
- Dressage jacket/hunt coat. Dressage jackets are traditionally single-vented;
hunt coats are double-vented. At the lower levels of competition, a hunt coat is
perfectly acceptable in dressage classes. In dressage, black and navy are appropriate
colors. In the hunter ring, black is out, but navy and dark gray are always in style
(see page 14). English Riding Supply, 1824 Arnott Mason, and Intec Performance
Gear/International Riding Helmets all offer comfortable, lightweight, versatile jackets
in flexible fabrics and attractive colors.
- Boots. Traditional English show boots are knee-high, black, and leg-hugging.
Your new boots may seem too tall at first--that's normal. During the break-in period,
they'll acquire a wrinkle or two at the ankle and drop an inch or two in height. Field
boots--the ones with the lacing--are acceptable at most informal competitions. But
upgrade to dress boots as you advance to higher-level competition. Ariat, Mountain
Horse, Der-Dau, and Dehner are some popular brands of English-riding footgear.
- Accessories. Think minimalist. Competition spurs are just smooth metal, and
polished to a bright shine. Your belt--if any--will be narrow and made from dark
leather. Limit your jewelry to small ear studs, and wear minimal makeup. Keep a pair or
two of gloves for competitions-- dark leather or fabric will blend with your overall
look while protecting fingers and improving grip. If you're an eventer, you'll be
required to wear a medical armband and a safety vest during the cross-country phase.
Some competitors match their helmet covers, shirts, and saddle pads, and their horses'
boots or bandages. Safety vests can also be purchased in custom colors and patterns.
Show Tack
English show tack tends to be exactly like English schooling
tack. In fact, a rider's English show tack is usually her schooling tack, cleaned and
polished within an inch of its life. If you buy simple, conservative, dark-colored tack
and keep it clean, you can use it when you school, when you show, and when you go down
the trails.
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- Saddle. English saddles come in three basic styles. Dressage saddles have a
wide, deep seat and straight-cut flap to accommodate the rider's more upright position
and longer leg. Close-contact or jumping saddles have a more forward-cut flap and a
flat seat, to enable the rider to better achieve a two-point position (in which her
seat is out of the saddle with her legs as the only two points of contact). All-purpose
or eventing saddles have a moderately deep seat and wide flaps that are forward-cut
enough to keep the rider comfortable for flatwork and jumping. The Bates Caprilli Close
Contact (shown below), perfect for hunters, jumpers, and eventers, features a deeper
seat than most other jumping saddles, for extra stability.
- Fittings. When you buy an English saddle, all you get is... the saddle. You
must purchase your stirrup leathers, stirrups, stirrup pads, and girth separately. The
good news: Most saddle manufacturers make girths and leathers that match their saddles.
Your stirrups should be heavy stainless steel, with white pads for comfort and
traction. There are various types of show-ring-acceptable safety stirrups designed to
release a trapped foot: Peacock stirrups replace the outside branch with a heavy
rubberband, and Australian-pattern or "S-curve" stirrups have a curved outside branch.
- Saddle pad. Your show pad should be white, absolutely clean, thin, and
unobtrusive. Most are made from quilted cloth or fleece.
- Bridle. English bridles consist of a headstall, cavesson (nose band),
browband, two cheekpieces, reins, and a bit. Purchase the bit separately. Some bridles
come with reins, and some don't. Ordering the reins separately lets you specify the
length, width, and texture that you prefer.
- More than one horse? You don't necessarily have to buy more than one
saddle--investigate the "Collegiate Conver-tibles" from Weatherbeeta usa. Choose your
style--close contact, eventing, or dressage. All three of these leather saddles feature
the Easy-Change Gullet System. "These are attractive, affordable, and adjustable, ideal
for the entry-level English rider with more than one horse," says Weatherbeeta
marketing manager Mary Conti.
- On a budget? Think synthetic! Good synthetic saddles are lightweight, inexpensive,
easy to clean, and perfectly acceptable at almost all competitions. Thorowgood and
Win-tec both make excellent synthetic saddles, and Wintec now offers a matching
synthetic bridle. You can mix and match your tack, just as long as the colors are
similar enough to present a nice, pulled-together picture in the show ring.
Schooling Apparel
Express yourself! Tradition and understated elegance
are required at competitions, but for schooling at home, only three things matter:
safety, comfort, and personal style. Here are some tips.
- Schooling helmets. Invest in a schooling helmet, which will be just as
protective as your velvet show helmet, but much less costly. For maximum comfort in hot
summer weather, a light-colored schooling helmet will help you keep cool while you stay
safe. Schooling helmets come in black, white, and an array of colors and patterns. You
can personalize yours with decals or with a colorful helmet cover.
- Boots, riding pants, shirts. You'll wear tall boots and breeches at
competitions, but tall boots aren't always comfortable and cool, and light-colored show
breeches are excellent stain-collectors. For safety reasons, you'll still need
protective footgear with a one-piece sole and a small heel, but for schooling and
casual riding, you may prefer the easy-on, easy-off combination of paddock boots and
half-chaps. You can then remove your chaps when not in the saddle, for comfort.
Ariat International, Mountain Horse, and Dansko are a few good sources of comfortable,
durable paddock boots. (Tip: If removing your half-chaps leaves your skin exposed
between the bottom of your breeches and the top of your paddock boots, invest in
jodhpurs--riding pants that are longer than breeches, cuffed, and intended for use with
short boots.) Polo shirts, comfortable and well ventilated, are standard schooling
garb--but so are t-shirts and rugby shirts. Underneath, consider wearing a sports bra
made for equestrians, for comfort.
- The wild side. Schooling clothing can be just as wild, crazy, and colorful
as you like--no pattern is too strange and no color combination too wild. If you want
to wear bright red riding tights with your orange polo shirt, go right ahead. Do you
like the look of jeans? Try TuffRider denim breeches from jpc. Would you like to school
in plaid, zebra stripes, leopard print, or screaming purple? No problem. You can find
schooling breeches and riding tights in just about every color imaginable.
You won't need to sacrifice comfort or quality, either.
Schooling Tack
You may like to use a separate saddle and bridle
for schooling. Or, you may have one saddle and two bridles--one for schooling, one for
show. You'll also need two tack accessories for schooling--saddle pads, and polo wraps
or protective boots.
- Saddle pads. Those blazing-white show pads look spectacular in the show
ring, but as every rider knows, white pads are magnets for dust, dirt, and stains, so
save yours for competition. You can buy a white schooling pad, or you can branch out.
You'll find they come in all colors, color combinations, and patterns. If you want a
pad that features sheep, cats, stars, chili peppers, or a bright tie-dye pattern,
you'll be able to find it.
- Leg protection. If you want your horse to have that color-coordinated look
while you school, you can probably find polo wraps to match your saddle pad. Polo wraps
provide some leg protection in case your horse knocks one leg with another. If you'd
rather use boots than wraps, feel free--brushing boots, splint boots, and sport boots
aren't allowed in the show ring, but are fine for schooling. And once again, you can
have fun with colors.
Sports boots and splint boots come in a wide range of colors, and you can even purchase
a set of splint boots with built-in glitter.
A Bit on Bits
English riding involves constant light contact through the
reins to create constant communication between the bit and your hands. Your horse needs
to be familiar and comfortable with his bit, so the one he wears at a show will usually
be the same one he wears when you're schooling at home.
For most English-riding competitions, the appropriate bit is a snaffle-- one without
shanks. A shanked--or curb--bit features a metal piece welded to each end of the bit's
mouthpiece, to which you'd attach the reins. This bit-- which typically features a chin
strap or chain--provides leveraged pressure to your horse's mouth and poll, and isn't
appropriate in English riding. Tip: Some shanked bits with jointed mouthpieces are
mislabeled as "snaffles."
Don't be fooled. If a bit has shanks, it's a curb. With a snaffle bit, you'll apply
direct pressure to your horse's mouth.
Smooth, unadorned metal is the standard for both mouthpiece and rings. Many of
today's most popular English bits, such as the ones made by Herm Sprenger and Kangaroo,
are made from alloys containing some copper.
Innovative bits that have gained a following among top hunter/jumper professionals
include Myler and Mikmar bits. "We're just trying to get your horse as relaxed as
possible so it's easier for you to train him as you see fit," says Dale Myler of the
snaffle bits he has designed, which give your horse release "when he relaxes and comes
to you." Mikmar bits, which were developed years ago by horseman Frank Evans, have been
acclaimed recently by the likes of international show jumping stars Ludger Beerbaum,
Rodrigo Pessoa, and Kevin Babington.
These bits are designed to disperse the pressure of the rider's hands by sending a
signal to the nose, jaw, poll, bars, and tongue simultaneously.
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