Grey tweed with a grey horse for showing?

[tashcat]

Hi!

We're entering a medium sized agricultural show next month - doing it in memory of a friend so not looking to be overly competitive, just want to be smart and appropriate and enjoy ourselves! Planning on entering riding club horse and ROR.

He's technically dappled grey, but is turning more and more white and flea bitten by the second! The only hacking jacket I have is a grey tweed with blue undertones and a blue collar. Is this entirely inappropriate and a bit naff?

Also any advice on the other parts of the outfit would be hugely appreciated! My fixed peak cap is black, but I can put a blue shiny or blue velvet cover on my skull cap if that is more appropriate? Also our tack is black... I can change the bridle but definitely not the saddle. Is all black better? And would a dressage or jump saddle be more appropriate? I do have an old (still black!) GP that I could get away with if we had to (it doesn't fit him especially well and he would have to wear his black prolite numnah).

Any advice appreciated! And if anyone has any photos, would love to see them!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

If your not seriously into showing and aren't going to be doing it as a regular thing your grey tweed and black hat will be perfectly fine! Tie, shirt, breeches, long boots. Horse in a pretty browband. Black tack is absolutely fine. Will the judge be riding? If so I would go for the GP if possible. How forward cut is your jump saddle? Or can you remove and blocks from your dressage saddle?

Sometimes Jump saddles cover too much of the shoulder and dressage saddles all you see when you look head on is massive blocks sticking 6ft out the side of the horse!

This is my lad a few years ago now. I still wear the same kit and like yours he is now more white and flea-bitten (blergh!) Than silver!

 

[humblepie]

I can’t post photos but if you are on Facebook join the racehorses where are they now group. It’s not an advice group but there are lots of photos of ROR show horses. Your jacket if very grey may look a bit different to the standard brown tweed. It should be fine. If your fixed peak cap isn’t too bling then wear that. The skull cap would be less correct. Have dark coloured gloves collar and tie not stock. Sorry if you know that. Black tack is strictly not correct but don’t stress it. If judge is riding definitely not the dressage saddle. You could get away with it if just an individual show. I use mine sometimes just because I’m more used to it. Use a numnah though that is shaped to the saddle not a dressage square. Cavesson noseband and if a non chunky ror then for that class a pretty coloured browband

 

[humblepie]

cross posted with EKW. Main thing is to be clean and tidy and not stress the correctness. Little things like use a grey piece of elastic for your number rather than whit string helps the look and costs little to do. And of course enjoy.

 

[OdinsMum]

I had a similar jacket on old my flea bitten grey if you need a comparison of colour, my hat was navy though and the stock is incorrect attire but in my teenage rebellion years I wanted to wear it, didn’t stop us from qualifying for nationals though (I was 15 at the time please excuse my incorrect attire, I know better now)
I went on to wear a yellow shirt underneath with blue and white spotted tie.

Maybe you could borrow a navy hat from someone with the same sized head?

 

[tashcat]

Thank you all for your replies!

There is actually a little jump in the riding club.. although I've popped a few logs in the dressage saddle on hacks and it wasn't as bad as expected..
He goes nicer in the dressage on the flat so I could wear that for ROR and maybe the jump for the riding club.. although its cut really far forward and both have no removable blocks and long girth straps/ short girths which I know is a big no no for showing... Will have to have a think about that part! Maybe the GP sounds like a good compromise - thankfully the judge doesn't ride so I guess its not the end of the world what he ends up in!