Aintree

Two questions!

Do horsemen and women in the States taking part in formal events (dressage etc) wear the rather formal attire that they do here in the UK? (Jodhpurs, black jackets, white silk cravats, etc?)

Do you actually have formal horse events in the States?

I know you have rodeo but other than that I wondered if you had the same as we do in the UK.

and secondly - do you have fox hunting?

SaddleSore

I'm British living in the US and have not seen the hugely formal dress for anything other than dressage shows. The fox hunting again-not really. There is a LOT of hunting, but many different animals, not particularly foxes.

purplefdu

Different levels of competition as well as the event dictate the type of dress required for showing, although anything above the minimum is certainly allowed.

A schooling show is normally the least requirements, with not much required in the way of formal dress and possibly not even a dress shirt or boots required. Fun shows are somewhat similar and usually have no requirements except a hard hat and close toed boot/paddock boots with chaps or half chaps. It depends on the seriousness of the students and the barn.

A low level show probably requires boot/breeches/shirt/jacket although in hot weather the jacket may be left off at your discretion.

Higher level requires boots/breeches/jacket but may be more restrictive as to whats accepted or allowed in terms of colors.

Top level would require full dress and often spurs or a crop.

For children jodphurs and paddock boots are normally allowed or preferred, but for an adult not outside of a schooling show. A proper tall boot is required for adults and msot teens.

Eventing usually allows for a t-shirt instead of a dress shirt, plus a safety vest, hard hat, and gloves.

Dressage normally requires white breeches instead of the usual buff/beige color and a black or navy jacket in the higher levels although a schooling show would give more leeway since it might not be your usual event. Higher levels require a bowler hat and spurs often, although a hard hard should be allowed at most.

Stadium jumping also requires a safety vest these days I believe and a hard hat. Buff/beige or white breeches and a coordinating coat. For Grand Priz there is a colored jacket you earn kind of like in golf.

All shows should provide a acceptable dress code or be able to give one upon questioning.

As for fox hunts, there are few live hunts still. Most are done with a drag. We have one close and its a lively assortment of proper British turn out and average XC or trail gear. They do keep a kennel of 50 beagles though so its rather fun to participate.

Rodeo/Western events have similar ranks of dress, although most of the working events are pretty jeans and a work shirt friendly. Some of the other events can get fancy with sequins and chaps and custom boots/hats.

babs

Very organized and thought out post. I have seem some competitions but never knew the exact names for certain attire they wear for things like the jodphurs.

Aintree

Thank you, Puplefdu. All in all, competitive horseriding is a very expensive 'hobby', isn't it? But then again, so is ballroom dancing - all those sequins!

purplefdu

lol, one of my first riding barns was very old fashioned when it came to instruction. We were expected to learn barn management, etiquette and other horsey stuff along with the different levels of competing and riding. If you weren't proficient with a level you couldn't move up. This also spread over to riding ability before moving up to jumping/competing/etc. Even after not riding for a couple years I know its not changed much except for extra safety gear.

CowboyJack

Some riders seem to wear a bit of dress wear, but personally speaking...I never really went in for any of that stuff.

While I do not have anything against dressing up and all, I just didn't feel right doing it myself or something lol

Aintree

I wondered where the concept of fox hunting came from. I think it's a cruel concept - although I don't want to start a debate here because... well, because!

But I wonder when and where someone woke up one morning and said: "Wouldn't it be fun to dress up like a toff, round up the Beagles and go route out a fox and tear it to shreds!"

Tally Ho!!

purplefdu

well, the British are a more formal sort to start with, so they would go out in nothing less than proper turn out whether just hacking on the road or hunting foxes. Foxes do spread diseases and can be very fierce so getting rid of them would be a worthwhile pursuit, even in the US. Dogs are usually very good at following the beasts so all you have to do is then keep up and follow them which is a nice break from regular riding, albeit a tad on the dangerous side.