How to Pick Out Attire for Horse Shows

Wearing the appropriate attire in your horse show classes is important for various reasons. For one, illegal show clothing can get you eliminated, or the wrong clothing can insult the judges or cause them to move you down in the placings.

First you need to check out the rules for the association you compete with. Even if you compete on a local circuit, the show probably operates under the rules of a governing organization such as the United States Equestrian Federation or the American Quarter Horse Association.

Things You'll Need

  • Pants or breeches
  • Show blouse
  • Vest or jacket
  • Hat or helmet
  • Belt
  • Boots
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Instructions

  1. English Clothing

    • 1

      Pick out tan or beige breeches for hunter/jumper disciplines, or white breeches for dressage. Dark-colored breeches are acceptable for schooling dressage shows as long as you are not showing in your competition jacket.

    • 2

      Use a white ratcatcher blouse for all English disciplines, as this is your safest choice. Pastel blue, yellow and pink can also be used under a complementary jacket in hunter/jumper shows. For dressage, only white is acceptable, but you can use mock neck shirts as well. A stock pin or monogram is needed on the chokers of ratcatcher show blouses in hunter/jumpers, and a stock tie with a stock pin is needed around the collar of dressage shirts.

    • 3

      Find a black or navy blue dressage coat for recognized dressage competition, or a navy blue or dark gray hunt coat for hunter/jumper shows. Dressage coats only have one vent in the back, while hunt coats have two.

    • 4

      Use laceless black dress boots without brown tops for dressage and laced black field boots in hunter/jumper shows.

    • 5

      Use a velvet- or velveteen-covered show helmet or hunt cap in both dressage and hunter/jumpers (helmets are required for children under eighteen). Derbies are allowed in lower-level dressage, and top hats are expected to be used with shadbelly jackets in the upper levels of dressage.

    Western Clothing

    • 6

      Choose your chaps first and make sure the fit is excellent. Black is the most popular color, followed by cream, but other neutral colors such as chocolate brown and navy blue are popular.

    • 7

      Find pants that match the color of your chaps as closely as possible. Jeans are allowed, but they are bulky and hot under chaps. There are pants designed to be worn under chaps, but any slim-fitting pants with lightweight fabric work as well.

    • 8

      Find a top option that makes you comfortable. Women can wear show blouses with collars, or vests or jackets over mock neck shirts in colors that are complementary to their chaps. Men wear button-up shirts with collars.

    • 9

      Match your boots and belt to your chaps. If your chaps are a color that is hard to match, you can find white boots and have them dyed by your local shoe repair shop. The manufacturer of your chaps may offer belts made in the same material as your chaps. Western belt buckles are required in Western disciplines.

    • 10

      Choose a felt hat over a straw one. Straw hats are permissible by the show rules, but felt hats are more common in the show arena. Hats usually match your chaps, but hats complementary to your show shirt are acceptable, too.