show wear horse and rider

[estherlou]

Hello. This spring my children and I will be taking tentative steps into the show ring.
I have a Welsh c mare
Grey roan 12.2
Fairly solid build
I am looking to do all appropriate in hand classes including young handler above and below 12 years for my daughters. I would also like to do lead rein classes with my daughters and possibly my son too.
I have had so much conflicting advice. We have found a series of local shows that we'd like to go to (cadnam hampshire) and are now on the look out for show wear and correct tack.
Please could anyone advise on the correct bridle. Do I go for an in hand bridle or is a hunter bridle ok. Or even a white head collar?
Long or short boots for myself and my girls.
As the attendant on a lead rein class do I wear rider wear or a skirt. Not a fan of skirts lol!
Also is it still a case of brown tack only? Are synthetic saddles permissable.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Sorry for all the questions
Esther x

 

[twobearsarthur]

For the in hand classes Sec Cs tend to be shown in an in hand bridle however a "normal" bridle is perfectly permissible at local level.
Short boots for inhand and ridden classes for children under 16.
Shoes or short boots for adults in hand. Long boots for ridden classes for adults only.
As the leader there are hundreds of choices from the full blown pony club mum at a wedding outfit 😄 to the more low key corduroy trousers with shirt tie tweed waistcoat and cap, brown gloves and cane which does look nice with an M&m. No riding wear when leading.
Brown leather tack is the traditionally correct colour tack.
However if you are just starting out a synthetic saddle at local level is passable if not strictly correct.
Local level should be good fun and about learning.
Enjoy 🐴😄🐴

 

[estherlou]

Thank you so much that's really helpful. I'm so looking forward to getting started. That clears up alot. Do the children have to wear mustard jodhpurs that seems to be the norm. Also hats and boots I'm guessing need to be brown also or is black acceptable. I will be hitting our local tack sales and ebay to find a lot of what we will need x thanks again x

 

[twobearsarthur]

Canary jods are the popular colour these days. But beige are also correct, boys tend to wear the buff/beige colour.
Navy velvet hat, tweed jacket, shirt and tie.
Brown jodphur boots with jodphur clips. But black again at local level are passable if that's what they already have.
Brown gloves also. A brown cane for children when they're off the lead rein
Ebay is a treasure trove for second hand showing gear especially for children.
I have two show jackets that had been worn a hand ful of times that should have been £225 each for £80 for both!
Facebook is also a good place to find the showing bargains.
I was taught a million years ago. When it comes to showing gear second hand quality is better then new & cheap and it probably costs less too.
My best childhood memories are showing with my mum. We're onto year 30 now!!!!

 

[estherlou]

What great advice thank you again. What you have said about your childhood is exactly how I want my children to feel years down the line. Magical experience growing up with horses. They are excited to show their pony off! I'll keep you posted and I fully agree with good quality secondhand rather than cheap new!
Poor hubby better warn him about the dent his bank balance is soon as recieve xx

 

[twobearsarthur]

No worries.
Lots of pictures too 😄
Xx

 

[WelshD]

ideally canary jods for children but cream is ok

Riding hats for children should be navy but brown is sometimes seen. Boots should be brown or oxblood

Leaders hat can be anything from a tweed flat cap to a trilby to a navy understated ladies hat

BUT at local levels though judges will understand that not everyone has endless money for these things and that saddles, boots etc need to be used for everything and so may not be the ideal for showing. I would use what you have within reason, address the things that are easily addressable such as swapping a bling browband for a plain or plaited one and a coloured numnah for a plain brown one and just make sure that everything is nice and clean and you will not disgrace yourselves

Lots of the showing mums will put dusters in with cheap plain supermarket school shirts to get the classy lemon shirts that are popular in the show ring so thats something worth remembering

I echo the above point about the leader not wearing riding wear, even at local levels this is terribly incorrect, if you are also riding that day then a quick change to a pair of cords would be a good compromise

My 'must' point would be that the leader MUST wear a hat and gloves

Take a look at the show photographers sites for outfit inspiration, Equinational, Emmpix, Fred the Cat are a few

Many shows have a height limit of 12hh for lead rein ponies and age restrictions on children. Section C's are rarely seen in lead rein classes so you may get the odd comment but at local levels (and arguably at higher levels) the suitability of the pony is key and you should be ok

The Horse Gossip forum is a great place to learn more about showing, they also have a for sale section

The following groups on facebook are good for secondhand stuff, there is a very active market especially for hats and jackets

Show Gear for Sale and Wanted
Second Hand Showing Equipment for Horse and Rider
Lead Rein and First Ridden ponies for sale/loan and wanted
Lead rein & first ridden ponies & equipment for sale

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Welsh C mares and geldings can be shown in white halters.

 

[estherlou]

Will do xxx

 

[estherlou]

Thank you for taking the time to post advice. Very much appreciated. Will have to try the duster and shirts tip! Will look up those Facebook sites too. Feel I can move forward with a comprehensive list now thank you
Xx

 

[WelshD]

Forgot to say - they need to be new dusters

 

[estherlou]

Lol thanks hun xx

 

[conniegirl]

Dusters should be the cheapest dusters you can lay your hands on, good quality ones don't leak enough die.
Generally section C's are shown inhand in a white halter.
There is normaly a height limit of 12hh on leadrein classes.

 

[estherlou]

Thanks Conniegirl. Yes I'm a bit gutted about the upper height limit. Will contact the organisers of the local show and see if we might still be able to enter. Such a shame my daughter is really looking forward to it and she's not quite ready for first ridden yet. Although she could do the young handler classes x

 

[conniegirl]

Unfortunatly fr classes tend to have a similar height limit to the Lr class.
Some riding clubs don't have a limit though

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Affiliated Lead Rein is 12hh which your pony can't do being a C. First Ridden is 12.2hh and again for small breeds. Local shows tend to have bigger height limits for lead rein and stuff so do check with the shows you plan on going to.

 

[LeannePip]

The others have pretty much covered it all but i'm sure you will enjoy Cadnam it is a lovely show series and very friendly but the standard can be quite high, its a very popular show!!

on Facebook have you joined the Hampshire Hooves pages? there is loads of good advise and they have a for sale/wanted page if you are looking for anything

Good luck