EaH Blog Hop: Equestrian Wardrobe

The first topic in question is actually a spin off of L's final hop. I want to know about what you ride in and why? Show us your Equestrian Fashion choices and tell us why you wear them!

 Fashion?  Ha!

As an English rider, I rode nearly always in tall boots and breeches.  That's just how things were! (TBT post exemplifies that nicely.)

As an endurance rider.. well.

Is that not the best saddle pad?

I rode in jeans for a while.  Jeans, Ariat half-chaps, Ariat paddock boots, and your standard t-shirt and Troxel helmet.  Remember, folks:  I'm in California.  We don't get much real weather around here.

I was still getting back into horses, my breeches hadn't made it to my apartment, and jeans seemed comfortable enough.  Then I gained some weight, wore holes in jeans, decided they weren't flexible enough...

Breeches, light jacket, half-chaps.

I started wearing breeches again.  I had them, it meant I didn't have to buy too many more pairs of jeans, they were pretty comfortable.  I was riding 6-7 days a week through mid-2012.


I added a lightweight jacket because it was a bit chilly out and we weren't going fast.  This was.. um.. March 2013.  You wish your March looked like this.

I switched to Ariat Terrain boots.  They were more comfortable than paddock boots, and I needed new boots anyway, so... why not?  I loved those boots.  They run big - full size big on me, half-size big on most folks.

Red breeches and white winter boots.

I periodically ride in winter boots, too.  They're warm.  My feet get cold in the winter, but the bigger problem is that my feet get wet in the winter, so I try for waterproof winter boots.

I have two pairs of red breeches, full-seat, that I really hate how they fit but can't bring myself to get rid of them since they do, in fact, work as riding breeches.

Sometime last year I got tired of beige breeches, plus they started wearing out.  I bought a few pairs of TuffRiders off a used tack Facebook group, and I am so very pleased with them even as I'm still not a fan of full seats.  They manage to fit me surprisingly well and hold up nicely so far.

Horze winter boots - not visible against breeches!

This past March, I got decked out in Serious Rain Gear.  Well, actually, I did two days of serious rain gear around the ACTHA ride, and got absolutely soaked the first day and dry (no rain!) the second.  I have Horze winter boots that are a size too big, but fit my calf and allow for wool socks, so sometimes they get pulled out in the winter. 

So, in a more current what-do-I-wear and why, here we go:

1. Troxel helmet with helmet cover.  It fits, it's comfortable, and it's adjustable in the back so I can opt to braid my hair, or not.

2. T-shirt, mostly.  I wore a lightweight long-sleeve cotton shirt to Fireworks and that actually worked really well for me (less sunburn, lightweight enough I wasn't overheating).  I have Irideon technical t-shirts of some sort, and another pretty pink technical shirt, and I wear those on the really hot days.  Mostly I just don't ride when it's really hot.

3. Occasional jacket, mostly lightweight.  Once we're trotting I warm up pretty quickly.  I worry more about getting wet in the winter than getting cold, and I need to buy some waterproofing spray for my jackets!

4. TuffRider breeches.  They're comfortable and they fit.  Knee patch preferred since I don't like the full seat.  I wear these pretty much year round.. but again, no real weather to speak of.

5. Boots or running/hiking shoes - currently, Ariat Tiogas are my boot of choice, but I have no particular ties to a brand as long as they're comfortable.  I wear out the inside of the right shoe at the back of the heel within 9-12 months, regardless of brand, so inexpensive is a major plus.

6. Half-chaps.  I am so far very pleased with the Ariat Terrain II half-chaps. I was actually really happy with my All-Around half-chaps too, and I think I've mentioned previously that I'm keeping those forever and ever and ever since they're not wearing out and still fit.

7. Knee socks from Target.  Yes, I wear knee socks under my breeches and half-chaps over.  For years I hated the feeling of the seams on my legs, and knee socks fixed that; now I'm just used to having lots of layers there.  It works for me.

8. Heritage gloves.  I wear the hell out of these in about a year, and for $20-something that's good enough for me.  I wear them year-round unless it's raining - and even then, sometimes - because my hands don't get cold while riding.  My feet get cold sometimes, but not my hands.

I still pull out my 10+ year old Ariat tall boots from time to time, mostly when doing Proper English Riding.  They're still awesome.  They're just not trail-awesome, or hiking-awesome, and that's most of what I need these days.

My riding wardrobe is based around stuff that keeps me comfortable for hours on end.  I want to be able to trot for hours, jog down hills, and clean stalls in the same outfit.  All you folks that talk about heat and humidity and cold gear.. I don't really have any of that.  We get wet in the winter/spring, if we're lucky, and this past winter it got cold for a few weeks: I think it stayed below 65 for multiple days at a time.  I actually pulled out a pair of silk leggings for the first time ever and wore those under my breeches.  It gets hot in the late summer/early fall; I pull out technical riding shirts and wear those, or I wait til the evenings to ride.  Either way, once in the forest, it's not usually that bad.  I have to be actively trying to get heat training in our routine.

Also?  Based around pink.  Color coordination is important, after all.

1.	Hand Gallop	10.	Jump Pretty	19.	Riding on Water
2.	Viva Carlos	11.	Eventing In Color	20.	What Could Possibly Go Wrong??
3.	The $900 Facebook Pony	12.	Wilbur, Ellie, and Emily	21.	Stampy and the Brain
4.	Poor Woman Showing	13.	Roosa's Horsey Life	22.	Topaz Dreams
5.	Cash's Stepping Up	14.	Pampered Ponies	23.	Cob Jockey
6.	Fly On Over	15.	Wait For the Jump	24.	Bay with Chrome
7.	Over Fences & Under Trees	16.	Chasing The Dream	25.	PONY'TUDE
8.	MyRedMare	17.	the Owls Approve	26.	Incidents of Guidance
9.	The Redheaded Mare	18.	Breeches and Boat Shoes

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