You have just bought a horse for show, so what clothing do you wear? Here is what you would wear for Western and English showing.
For Western the following is the proper attire.
• Long sleeve (no matter how hot…long sleeves are really a must for proper showing attire) Western type shirts; they need to be buttoned as far up as they can be (except around the neck); do not make them too flashy with colors; if it is multi-colored make sure it is sort of neutral tones
• Blue jeans or Khaki colored jeans; it is alright to wear other colors of jeans as long as they are not bright and distracting (in other words, burgundy, brown, even dark purple is alright…emphasis on dark)
• Cowboy or Roper boots (lace up Ropers are fine); again make sure they are not flashy
• Cowboy hat (absolutely no baseball caps)
• Chaps are optional
• Some men and even women wear ties if it is a prestigious show; others wear bolos
• The reason you do not want to wear bright and flashy colors is because they are distracting to the judge and others.
• Women also do not need to wear dangling earrings or large hoop earrings since this distracts people also.
The proper attire for English showing is as follows.
• Hard hat in a dark or beige or tan color (or color to match your jacket)
• Riding jacket (again, opt for dark colors such as blue or black or brown)
• For women a nice dress shirt (with ruffles is a nice touch) in white or off white with a bolo (or some women even wear neck ties or bandanas); for men a plain white or off white shirt and a tie
• Riding breeches in Khaki, tan, or color to match the jacket
• Jodhpurs in a neutral or dark color
• Riding gloves (usually optional but looks better with them)
• For women with long hair it needs to either be in a pony tail or put up in some way
• In some shows (you would just have to check with the officials) they do not require a riding jacket if it is extremely hot weather.
Hopefully these tips will help you if you are a beginning horseman and beginner at showing. Some shows may have certain rules and regulations about exactly what to wear, so always make sure to check with the officials at the show. Also when entering a Dressage competition the dress is a little more “prestigious”, so always check the dress codes for these shows.
