Traditional Cob Showing Tack

[jenz87]

We took our 14hh traditional hairy gypsy cob to a local show earlier this year, this was our first attempt at showing, and we did not have the right tack, judge said would have placed higher if correctly kitted out. At that time we had synthetic dressage saddle and snaffle bridle.

We concentrate on dressage and show every now and again for a bit of fun! We are thinking of taking the boy to the coloured cob classes at the ultimate showcase of champions show in yorkshire in August (weather permitting i think!!).

Will we be marked down for a leather dressage saddle? I cant justify buying a whole new saddle (2nd hand) for a couple of showing classes, when we concentrate on dressage and need a new dressage saddle anyway. Is this acceptable?

Also can we show in black, or does it have to be brown? As surely piebald and brown tack would look a bit odd!!

Another question is, rider is OH who is male and has long hair, what would be the neatest look, without looking too "feminine" so to speak!!

THANK YOU

 

[cornbrodolly]

Theres nothing wrong with brown tack and a piebald - ideally you would be in brown , but at local level you can get away with black.
If you get have a dressage saddle that fits well and isnt extreme in cut thats ok . I ve judged local level , and wouldnt penalise tack - unless it was illfitting /wrong size/ dirty &shabby. But have to say- local level can be hit or miss depending on who they have asked! try a few more shows to see whether your horse is a good show-er or not.
You dont have to have a show saddle only for shows - our show[Antill dressage, Antill VSD, Jeffries working hunter] saddles are used all the time on the show horses - even for hunting!You dont have to have the very straight cut suede type.
However, we do have separate showing bridles [ newish doubles, thick nosebands etc] .
You dont have to spend the earth - some very good tack on ebay - buy the good brands second hand there, rather than new stuff of dubious origin. Best of luck - theres nothing like a coloured horse!

 

[sbloom]

Most of the traditionals I fit for end up with deeper seated WH saddles with larger blocks which are not unlike shallowish dressage saddles - if you're saddle hunting you might find that sort of saddle the perfect option, though they're not made by many people, WH saddles tend to be more minimal and flatter seated.

I have several customers competing in dressage in this type of saddle but they are slightly less restrictive if you want to jump and hack out, as well as being more suitable for the show ring.

As for colour personally I think brown is always better for the show ring, and I personally even have a brown dressgae saddle out of perference, but black seems to be more acceptable than perhaps it once was. I like brown on all colours though the saddles I fit are all very dark brown!

 

[abbijay]

What type of 'snaffle' bridle are you using in the ring? A plain cavesson noseband is a must, flashes and drops will potentially lose you a lot of marks. If your bridle is anything other than plain leather again you could lose marks, bling and coloured brownbands are definitely out and it is much prefered to have a hunter style bridle rather than a stitched or raised one.
A horse going well in a snaffle should not cause you to be marked down, I would not look to 'upgrade' to a pelham or double for the sakes of the occasional class.
What about numnah? Did you have a very discreet one that matches the colour of your saddle with no bindings? If you rode in any saddlecloth then again that is very frowned upon.
Also, what about your turnout? If you were in black jacket, white jodhs, gloves and stock then the overall look will not have been 'showing'.
I have been moved down the line because of turnout but that has been a tie breaker where we were very close however at local level I would expect them to be flexible on these things. Can you ask around and borrow stuff, if this is a one off there's no need to spend a fortune?
Good luck!