Breeches colour at BE, rule amendment.

kerilli

kerilli

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Have a look at
http://www.britisheventing.com/news...white+breeches&section=000100010043&preview=1

So, you can now wear white breeches but only with a black or navy jacket, or buff or fawn breeches, with tweed.
Tbh the only riders I can see falling foul of this will be Pros who switch from an Intermediate or above ride with dark jacket, to a Novice or below ride with tweed jacket (which is where I was taught that the colour change of jacket should be, that's prob v old-fashioned though!), and forget which colour breeches they have on...
Or, if their navy or black jacket is cooler fabric than their tweed, and it's a really hot day.
Oh, hold on, call Health and Safety, they might be endangering themselves by wearing a jacket, and risking heat exhaustion!!!!!! ;) ;) ;)
sorry, couldn't resist...
 
So does that mean you are now allowed to wear white breeches when you weren't previously, or that you can now only wear them with black/navy jackets? Sorry for the stupid question, just being nosey as I no longer compete BE :)
 
I seriously think BE has other aspects of its house which need to be got in order without worrying about this kind of inaninity. Why not just make it a rule change to 'light coloured breeches' and be done with it? What blooming difference does it make?! Why give people riding two horses in different classes something else to think about?

As you say, pretty much without exception pros wear tweed up to N then black/navy above that, it's pretty normal to have novice and intermediate running the same day, so why make life complicated for no good reason?!
 
See I was really hoping that was going to say White breeches not allowed at lower levels :-( I just dont think it looks 'right'
 
They weren't really allowed before, but quite a lot of riders (incl top Pros) did wear white, and of course it filtered down... there was a bit of a debacle at a very recent event when riders wearing white breeches were told they were eliminated before xc (but could still run), and then after the event (when in some cases they'd run slowly because of the 'elimination') they were told they weren't eliminated after all! someone got very officious at the wrong time, i think... and it affected placings/results. Oopsy.
at least BE have now cleared it all up once and for all, which is great.
 
Can I also say that the use of the word 'may' makes this change highly ambiguous. So I 'may' wear buff breeches with a tweed but that does not say I may not wear them with navy, and vice versa for White and tweed. How odd!
 
SpottedCat said:
I seriously think BE has other aspects of its house which need to be got in order without worrying about this kind of inaninity. Why not just make it a rule change to 'light coloured breeches' and be done with it? What blooming difference does it make?! Why give people riding two horses in different classes something else to think about?

As you say, pretty much without exception pros wear tweed up to N then black/navy above that, it's pretty normal to have novice and intermediate running the same day, so why make life complicated for no good reason?!
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SC, AMEN to that, you are absolutely right, and I hardly think white with tweed would be a terrible look... as it is, this still leaves room for someone over-officious to attempt to 'eliminate' a rider, and actually, if the difference is between beige and white, WHO CARES?! I can see some BE Official tripping around with a pocket full of Dulux colour charts to compare breeches colour to... ;) ;)
 
Oh dear, poor old BE. What about fawn breeches with a navy jacket? That's what R wore at MK because I was a bit late arriving with her tweed which I'd been mending. She doesn't own any white breeches anyway and wears fawn with everything when she's competing.
 
That's interesting k as I have seen people pulled up for wearing white breeches at an event very recently and I am sure they had a dark jacket with them (this was the SJ phase). The SJ steward there said it was something BE was tightening up on so they must have done a U turn - maybe received complaints from the people pulled up for it?
 
It p1sses me off more than I can say that BE give time and space to this type of non-issue then bill themselves as 'listening to the membership' whilst continually brushing under the carpet the things people actually give a stuff about, like the withdrawals/wait list/refund issue. It's about time they looked at the fact that the majority of events this year have not balloted (I've done late entries for two events which would normally need a sticker, and a third has dropped a day entirely) and realised people expect bette value for money. Especially with the looming black hole in the accounts in the form of the loss of revenue from Burghley...
 
Rosiefan said:
Oh dear, poor old BE. What about fawn breeches with a navy jacket? That's what R wore at MK because I was a bit late arriving with her tweed which I'd been mending. She doesn't own any white breeches anyway and wears fawn with everything when she's competing.
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as do i. fawn/beige/buff/cream has always been fine with tweed, navy, or black.
i think.... !!!

umm, SC, sticking my English Language Pedant hat on for a sec (it's always close by but i try not to don it very often!) "may" means "is allowed to", whereas "can" means "is able to", so it's more correct to say "may be worn"... as opposed to "may not be worn", of course...
(I had a teacher who was a stickler for this, if one said "Can I go to the loo please, Sir" he'd reply, exasperatingly, "Well, I'd imagine you CAN, but as for whether you MAY..." ;) ;)
 
That wasnt the point I was making K, the point was exactly as RF says - may I wear White with tweed or not? All the BE post tells me is that I may wear buff with tweed and White with black/navy, not what I may not do! The use of English is correct, the explanation it provides is somewhat lacking! As you say, may only means 'is allowed to', it does not mean 'must' or even more specifically 'must only', which would be more helpful in a rule of this nature, wouldn't it?!
 
Who gives a flying monkey's wotsit what pale colour breeches are worn with navy/black/tweed jackets? I cannot believe BE have given meeting time to this, let alone updated rules.
 
Well at least that's sort of clarified and I don't have to go and buy a pair of cream breeches for my first, and possibly also last, event of the season next week as I didn't fancy being eliminated tbh. But I agree that there are much bigger issues they should be looking at.
 
ihatework said:
Who gives a flying monkey's wotsit what pale colour breeches are worn with navy/black/tweed jackets? I cannot believe BE have given meeting time to this, let alone updated rules.
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Yes, but if you'd been eliminated (as a HHOer was) a week ago for wearing white breeches at the lower levels, and then reinstated after going slowly xc because of the 'elimination', and missed out on a prize, you might see it differently!

SC, I agree, it's still too waffly, and doesn't make it clear that cream/beige/fawn/buff can still, as always, be worn with navy or black!
No mention at all made of scarlet coats either, is it only white with them? I have no idea.
 
kerilli said:
umm, SC, sticking my English Language Pedant hat on for a sec (it's always close by but i try not to don it very often!) "may" means "is allowed to", whereas "can" means "is able to", so it's more correct to say "may be worn"... as opposed to "may not be worn", of course...
K - it's not about the grammatical correctness though, is it -- it's a rule, part of a rule book, and as such the clearest drafting possible makes it accessible and understood to all... better drafting would have been "permitted", and to also state what is not permitted.

If I get E'd for wearing navy & canary breeches, I'll sue ;) :p :D :eek:
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Sorry, I had to check the date to make sure it wasn't April 1st...

Am lost for words, how totally and utterly ridiculous....who CARES what colour breeches one wears so long as you are clean and tidy. Some pros wear coloured breeches, are they going to get eliminated, or is this just for dressage and SJ?

Light coloured breeches...end of...what a waste of time/effort/money...
 
It baffles me that BE bother to spend time on this and manage to produce a rule amendment which does not clarify the issue at all in terms of what is not allowed! If I wore White with tweed and the steward tried to E me then I would argue the point that nowhere in that rule does it say that White must only be worn with black/navy, only that I may wear it with dark jackets and likewise I may wear buff (or variations thereof) with tweed. If they want to restrict what people wear like this, they need to use the words 'must/may only' or 'must/may not', and if, as would seem rational, no-one gives two hoots, then just change the rule to 'light coloured' and list examples (to stop OG turning up in pale blue ones just to top off the matching effect ;))
 
Not only am I gobsmacked that BE has given this time & money, I'm also gobsmacked that they fail to even publish a clear rule clarification and I'm even more gobsmacked that some dumb a*rsed event organiser went to the effort to try and eliminate someone for wearing white breeches.

PS - I'm not feeling overly tolerant today ;)
 
My heart leapt with joy when I read this post title, I eagerly clicked the thread, teeming with excitement at the chance to ride xc in GHE green breeches.....only to find it's some pointless dusty old bit of petty hoop jumping newly clarified by BE...

what's the point?....
 
SpottedCat said:
I seriously think BE has other aspects of its house which need to be got in order without worrying about this kind of inaninity. Why not just make it a rule change to 'light coloured breeches' and be done with it? What blooming difference does it make?!
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Totally agree. What a ridiculous rule. Who cares less if white jods are worn with a tweed jacket, it all looks the same. Make it simple and just say light coloured!
 
Another in the camp of - Really?? :confused:

I am a beige wearing lady - sorry - however it certainly doesn't offend me, nor catches my attention if others are wearing any other shade of white or cream :rolleyes:
 
I cannot believe that people have actually been pulled up for this at events, let alone eliminated! Why has more of a fuss not been made?

I have several pairs of generic beige/yellow/buff breeches which I wear with everything from tweed, to black jacket (IN upwards only BE, occasionally BS/BD) to navy tailcoat. I will never wear white. Ever.
 
And I though eventers were all
into clean and workman like being enough for them...... And yet Some
eventers, and clearly the governing body get their knickers in a twist about the colour of the fabric covering them!!

And I though dog showing was petty.
 
God I can just imagine the emails flying backwards and forwards in BEHQ about the colour tones of breeches. We have a colour committee (a totally ridiculous committee) at college and wonder if this is needed at BE!!
 
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