Are you a smart or a scruffy rider?

Custard Cream

Custard Cream

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 April 2011
Messages
2,508
Visit site
I've recently moved to a livery yard after being at home (loving it) and I've realised that I always look a bit of a heap compared to other riders.

What do you wear to school and hack in? I def need to update my footwear and chaps - currently in Ariat H20 boots with holes in and ancient faded tredstep suede chaps...

Help me smarten up!
 
I wear whatever is right and comfy and don't give a hoot! In fact I don't wear traditional riding gear and opt for running lycra leggings and tops...loads of high viz and boots that have seen better days.
 
HA a MESS!

mud covered woof wear spectrums with mud covered cheapie chaps, mud splattered jods and usually one of my husbands polo shirts also mud splattered usually... scruffy wild hair tied back under my slightly hay covered hat and high viz jacket to complete my elegant look. I don't usually see anyone hacking as I keep my horses at home but I do get a little embarrassed at times when the lovely guy down the road is exercising his sexy thoroughbreds, him and them looking immaculate every time no matter the weather!

so er no help from me just sympathy :D
 
This is something I hate about livery yards. You always get those who turn up, put saddle and bridle on, ride horse, take off tack, go home.

They arrive looking perfect, ride looking perfect, go home looking perfect.
Never get sweaty, no hat hair, no dirt on boots, perfectly (new) clean clothes that don't have a horse hair on them....... How do they do it?

To be honest ride in what you are comfortable in..... I have loads of round neck jumpers, polo shirts, and a range of cheap breeches...... I will get covered in mud, muck, shavings, hair, horse slobber, sweat and sand....so I don't really care as long as I am comfortable!
 
Im someone who even in smartest gear still does not look smart not just riding but even when i put make up on and dress up. i look ok but i still dont seem to have "it"lol so im just lil old happy me . like it or lump it folks is what i say :) luckily my lovely fella liked it :)
 
You can look very smart on a very low budget. If you have 3 or 4 pairs of jods in dark colours, then from Primark get a load of long sleeved t-shirts and polo shirts, a gilet in brown, and a dark blouson coat you're pretty much set up to always look neat... Al does this and manages to look pretty much tidy at her scruffiest- she just has cheapy joddy boots and long socks for hacking/ home schooling but for lessons and comps she has some £15 leather gaiters.

Trick is in having lots of dark colours, with a few brighter tops to make it nicer on the eye apparently :D
 
In winter I wear this sexy combo....
Orange added reflective work jacket and road worker trouser In orange reflective. Short spectrum boots under gorgeous trousers hair in bunches and snood up t eyes if extreme cold.... Under this a baggy old hoody, my bfs tshirt he's an xx I'm a size 8 and leggings or jeggings
 
In winter I wear this sexy combo....
Orange added reflective work jacket and road worker trouser In orange reflective. Short spectrum boots under gorgeous trousers hair in bunches and snood up t eyes if extreme cold.... Under this a baggy old hoody, my bfs tshirt he's an xx I'm a size 8 and leggings or jeggings
 
I work with horses so I'm on the yard all day, and I ride 3-5 times a day, so I ride and work in the same clothes. Most of my jodhpurs are cheap ones from Decathlon and I have a thing about brightly coloured jods, especially the two-tone ones. I fit in child's sizes so tend to have quite a good choice! I also wear black leather jodhpur boots and half-chaps - a which looks quite smart when they're clean, but that's pretty rare! On top I wear T-shirts or polo shirts, and hoodies or fleeces - not particularly smart, but I do try to stay fairly clean. I like to coordinate colours - for example today I was in navy and purple two-tone jods, a navy polo shirt, and a purple bodywarmer - which I find makes me look smarter than the clothes are on their own, if that makes sense. In the winter it's a bit harder to look smart because I have Reynaud's disease so have to wear all manner of gloves, hats, jackets and overtrousers to stay comfortable... kind of ruins the look a bit lol.

I work for a pro rider and we're at shows up to 5 times a week, so the other grooms and riders on the circuit know me and who I work for. When I was new on the scene I was known as "the English groom". These days I'm known as "the colourful groom. You know, the one with the pink jodhpurs". ;)
 
Last edited:
I like to think I'm smart-casual.

I like everything to match and look good, but really...you can't do much with a mans ex-police jacket in the winter!

When I have the chance to get smart, I LOVE IT!!! Love shows and my one hunting experience was ace :D
 
We ride in whatever at home and have recently decided my jodphur boots have finally died after a faithful service of 2 years being subject to the dry heat of kenya and worn when washing horses numerous times at home - I was very impressed, ariat ones are the only ones that last this long! They are still usable though and have been cleaned and polished (for the first time in their lives) and are now my "Chelsea" boots for uni ;)
At home it is normally polo shirt, coat, whatever jods are at hand and boots. Why would you get dressed up for training at home?!


However if we are leaving yard for a lesson/competition/ride horses must always look presentable, be clean trimmed and wearing not filthy tack. Ie. heels and whiskers done, no huge patches of poo stains and brushed with hoof oil and the cleanest possible nummnah!
I try to be clean and presentable with a clean coat and clean jodphurs in any colour.

Some people turn up to unaff jumping here looking like have been dragged through hedge backwards and the horses the same! I couldn't do it, I would feed so rough.
Even a quick brush over and giving the bridle a quick wipe does wonders for appearance!!
 
Last edited:
I wear similar to you op.
I have Ariat heritage short boots and Tredstep chaps, and I usually wear toggi polo tops as you can pick them up in sales and if its cold I wear cheapy fleece jumpers, also from sales at outdoorsy shops.
I was until recently at a yard with quite a few dressage riders and a few sjers and they often looked like they had stepped out of a pikeur catalogue, in comparison I looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards!
Fortunately it was a friendly yard and we used to have a laugh about my scruffiness and their blingness!
:-)
 
I am a scruff. I blame the fact horse lives out, we have no hardstanding or shelter. So tacking up involves scraping off the horse, and what gets scraped off inevitably adheres to me. Then horse has to be got out of field, and this involves my boots getting muddy. At this point, I have mud on my face, dust up my nose, my hands are filthy, my boots are muddy... and I'm all ready to mount up and go!

I have been waging a campaign to try to find hacking partners over the last 6 months, and have attempted to smarten up slightly - this means exiting field while holding on to horse, then changing boots for clean ones (all while holding horse who is eyeing up the lush green verge), hopping around trying to do up zips, then putting gloves on to cover dirty hands...

Not much I can do about the muddy face, I find.
Horse, of course, usually looks absolutely fine.
 
I wear old hiking boots I've retired from mountaineering, half chaps, breeches, a hoody, a retired Gore Tex mountaineering jacket or if really cold, a retired ski jacket. All my old mountaineering gear goes to the barn to live out its last years.
 
I'm probably halfway in between. I try and go for smart, which polo, base layer, jumper, buff, hat and gilet in if not matching then complementary tones with dark jodhs, but unfortunately I always end up covered in horse snot, hay dust, feed and whatever my horse has been rolling in (he lives out so is always dirty...) - and all my YOs dogs greet me by jumping up for sometimes I'm covere din pawprints before even getting fully out the car. So I can have quite nice horsy gear, my collection of ariat/joules/toggi/tottie/ralph lauren polos and my ariat/horseware jumpers and gilets, looking smart, but within five minutes look like a skank.

I ride in a secondhand pair of leather jodh boots, which have a leathermark but not a brand on them so don't know what type they are, and a pair of cheap mesh chaps that I ride in daily, with a smart pair of soft leather gaiters and field jodh boots for competing or when I want to look smart, plus I alway use leather spur straps just to look a bit more presentable.

The skankiness though is why I always get changed into show gear once there, and at the last possible second, and even then carry a wet one for last minute clean ups.

So I wouldn't say I'm a ride-in-jogging-bottoms or bright clashing jodhs and jumpers type of scruff, but just a mucky one... plus I get awful hat hair.
 
Last edited:
the colder it gets the worse I look!
At the mo it's not too bad, cleanish jods, v neck jumper and gilet (cheapy from sainsburys).
Wet weather or snow and out come the never clean ski trousers and big coat!
Summer its easy to look ok, cheap polo shirt and jods :)
 
I am such a scruff everyday riding, usually jeans or joggers with hoodie. horse with straw still in her tail etc. Come show day though, you wont find anyone smarter. Who cares what you ride in as long as you are comfy, safe and loving what you are doing
 
Scruffy... I own one pair of jods, that are always hidden somewhere at the back of my wardrobe. I ride in jeans, cargoes, hoodies - I'm comfy, and I don't much care what others make of it. Those spotless £80 breeches don't make you a better rider I'm afraid, and I'd positively cry if I got horse slobber down them.
 
Scruffy and don't care. Better things to spend my money on than over-priced fancy yard wear. just as long as the basics are safe(hat, boots,etc) Iam happy to wear anything that's warm, dry, comfy.
 
I'm normally in jeans or leggings, polo shirt and hoody. Wear wellies all the time just put my mismatched jod boots and gaiters on to ride. And I have the oldest grubby coat in the world but it washes up clean and is warm and lovely :)
Envy those who look smart all the time, I never find a moment to get tidy!
 
Smart. I always ride in breeches and long boots. And I'm sad enough to match my hat to what I'm wearing. It's just an excuse to buy more horse riding clothes really thou :)
 
I have ridden before, and still remember my green jodhpurs (argggg) ... More recently I have ridden in my GAP jeans. I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of lady lol and even if and when I try to look more stylish or my age I still look scruffy ... it is in my nature, I have perfected the scruffy look to a tee (it is hopeless) :D
 
I used to look a mess! I didn't look horsey at all just.. A mess :p

It was being comfy that mattered didn't give much care for fashion at the yard. I'm the type that always without fail gets something down my clothes anyway so was just wiser to not be dressed to impress.
 
Possible job opportunity here for me. I will ,for a small fee,come and stand next to you and your horse ,with my partner Bob the nota cob,and everyone will say how smart you look!
 
Scruffy. Long brown boots which once upon a time were nice (now just muddy) and I have an every day pair of jods which are black, baggy, holey and misshapen, and a pair of nice jods which are brown. Though sometimes ride in joggers. To be honest, even if I go up the yard looking half decent, it doesn't last long! I don't know how these stylish people do it, without getting covered in hay/poo/slobber, I'm very jealous!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top