The Fashionable Horseback Rider
posted by citizen.K on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 / 
Print & Hang in the Barn
Recently, I have run into more and more people that put a higher importance on their equestrian fashion than their riding ability or horse sense. I don’t think this is a new phonomenon; in fact it is something that has driven and even standardized the industry in so many ways.
Of course, I’m speaking primarily of the English equestrian. The western world has a whole different fashion “problem”. But the true conformaty of the hunter, jumper, and dressage world is utterly mind numbing. It isn’t just in the show ring either.
The barns are riddled with drones. All wearing similar colored breeches, coats, sweaters, hats, helmets, and of course….black tall boots.
I for one have at least tried to stay out of tall boots as much as possible. Sure, I know, in the ring I have to wear them. But, if I’m not showing, I am wearing chaps. Full chaps. I have preferred them my entire 25 years of riding. Even when I have questioned my chap wearing for comfort reasons, I have refused to follow the path of conformity. I would rather have some minor discomfort than look like everyone else.
Full chaps do have their benefits. They keep me cleaner; it seems that without the chaps I would have very, very dirty pants every time I left the barn. Full chaps also offer an extra layer of warmth in the cold months and don’t feel any hotter in the warm months. I wear jeans under my chaps which makes for less changing. Also, I have found wearing breeches in non-horsey public often draws attention to myself - which I try to avoid.
The downside of full chaps, well especially when wearing jeans, is that the seams rub, and my knees are full of bruises and “wear” marks from the jean seams being squeezed in one place or another. Another problem I have is that my chaps never seem to stop stretching, which creates a looser, less protective covering again causing rubs, sores, and often defensive riding to protect a certain part of my leg.
Some people think that equestrian clothing should adhear to tradition, not comfort. I’m not one of them.
I have a pair of half chaps. I use them and like them, but prefer the feel of a tall boot over the not-as-good-feel of the half chap. Again, when I wear half chaps, I wear jeans. This confuses the average equestrian as I don’t look “traditional” and am not dressed “properly”. But, breeches are for the ring. I don’t want to wear tan, beige, (rust - do they still make rust breeches?), or black. Yes, I know they are making more colors and interesting patterns now; such as plaids, blues, and greens. But, I don’t like a waist that sits just below my boobs. Sorry, it is almost 2009; low rise pants, or hipsters, have been around since the 60’s and really became the “norm” in 2001. They are more comfortable, and breeches should come more readily available in this “style”. Yes, they make them. But, the majority of low cut breeches are relatively high cut. Sure, they don’t sit under your boobs, but they still come to or above the belly button. Not so much low cut in my opinion.
The low cut thing isn’t fashion for me, it’s comfort. Some people think that equestrian clothing should adhear to tradition, not comfort. I realize that, but they don’t make 100% wool hunt coats anymore. I remember heat stroke when I was a kid; I had it severly 3 times. 100+ degree weather, riding in 3 classes in a row, WEARING A WOOL HUNT COAT!!!! So, the wool thing has passed, why not pass on the pant/bra model of breeches?
Now for my tall boot rant:
Tall boots are a tradition. Sure, I get it. But, fit and function are #1. I for one have a difficult time buying tall boots off the shelf that fit me properly. I have custom tall boots. Yes, it’s true. But, I am not a custom tall boot snob. I have them because back when they were purchased (about 17 years ago!), they didn’t make fancy zip boots, talls, slims, wides, regulars, shorts. It was your shoe size and that was it. So, having the pencil legs that I have, with fairly large feet, every tall boot could fit three of my legs in them. Therefore, I had to go custom.
I still have those boots now. They don’t have a zipper. I actually have to pull them on AND use a boot jack (or my husbands ass) to get them off. But, they are old, they have patches from the holes that have worn over the years, and they really don’t fit all that well; plus, I would like more comfort. I just don’t think tall boots are comfortable. They aren’t made to be comfortable; they are made to be traditional.
Did you know that these uncomfortable, traditional boots are worn by some people primarily for fashion? Yes, it’s true - the tall boot is “in”. Well, for people that want and can spend a couple hundred dollars for fashionable footwear. Der-Dau, a custom bootmaker, has an equestrian section that includes riding, polo, and FASHION! Custom boots are anywhere from $800-$1400, and they actually have a market for fashion.
Okay, so I’m not going to get too worked up about that, because well, I just can’t fathom spending that amount of money on something that I wear for an evening out. But, that’s a whole different story…
Lets get back to equestrian fashion, function, and of course, tradition. Der-Dau makes a custom riding boot in pink. I feel like this is something I need to do - get a custom dressage boot in pink, and start showing dressage. I don’t believe it states a color of boot in the rules; it only states “dress boot” as apposed to a field boot - though it has been a long time since I read the rules of the dressage ring; I would love to see the outrage of a pink booted competitor. But, I would have to be really good, and I don’t think I can handle the tedious minutia of dressage to be REALLY good.
Competing or not, a pink, blue, red, green, or yellow tall boot would be fun to wear. I have seen my fair share of completed Der-Dau custom boots and I will have to say, they actually do look comfortable. But still yet to see any finished in a different color. If I had the money to drop on a pair of boots, there is no doubt I would get myself a pair of Der-Dau custom tall boots in a fun color. And yeah, probably pink. And if I did have custom pink tall boots, I think I might wear them everyday. Maybe even to bed.
Then I stumbled upon these new tall boots to hit the market. Woohoo, something different, something practicle, something fun!!! Something NOT SO traditional. The Tretorn Riding Boots. I would love to try these. The $750 pricetag is a bit much for me, especially not having heard any good, real reviews. I would really like to feel how these boots fit and perform. They are different; they even come in RED!!! Wow, how untraditional is that? My kind of boot, and a perfect boot for 2009! Lets break the tradition and try to just be good riders with practical, useful equipment!
One more new tall boot I found was by Nike, the Ippeas. Nike is maybe ashamed of them - possibly not ready to market them -and they are definitly not for sale. I searched high and low. But, these are a little more on the traditional side (as opposed to the Tretorn Riding Boots) though with some not so traditional functions. Screw in spur, different looking heal, and I’m hoping…different colors!! I would really like to ride in these to see if the function is there.
Sure, for me in some ways, getting one of these new boots would serve the purposes of fashion. But only because I want the stuffy, uptight equestrian world to embrace change and focus on riding instead of tradition. Being different IS okay.
10 Responses to “The Fashionable Horseback Rider”
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December 22nd, 2008 at 1:59 am
Yea! a new article! woo ha! O.K. so I totally agree with this whole article. However, I rode in jeans and chaps all the way through high school and most of college as a rebellion to all the breeches-and-tall-boots hunter crowd. And now I’m a breeches girl. I just got to a point where comfort became really important and, for me, I feel most comfortable in breeches, paddock boots and half chaps. I mainly wear kerrits. They fit me well and my mom has a hookup with the kerrits people so I get a good deal. I even have winter kerrits that are polarfleece on the inside and keep my legs a few degrees warmer than my other kerrits. I definitely know that my fat butt does NOT look good in breeches–so I usually wear them UNDER my extra-big jeans to and from the barn in case I have to stop and get out of my truck on the way home. I ride in an all western barn and I am the only one with breeches on but nobody seems to care. I absolutely HATE wearing tall boots. I think they made sense before the age of chaps and half chaps. But now, there are much more comfortable and functional ways of protecting your legs from stirrup leather rubs and keeping your ankles straight. I got a pair of tall boots about 8 months ago and I’ve worn them only a handful of times because every time I wear them I get huge bruises and blisters and I have to heal before I can put them on again. Thankfully, I’m not showing until July so I can take my time. I remember when I got my first pair of tall boots in boarding school–I didn’t have any other boots to ride in and I just had to grin and bear it for a month. I wore them all day because it took so long to get them off. They lasted about 8 years though. I would still have them but someone at a horse show in California stole them on the last day of showing so I got all the way home before noticing they were gone.
If they made a COMFORTABLE tall boot in blue or purple, I would be all over that! ooo! or lavender! lavender is my horse’s color.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:52 am
those tretorns look awesome. I would totally buy a pair if they we’re so expensive. Maybe someday when I hit it rich. Personally, I think people should just ride in whatever makes them comfortable enough to forget about their clothes and focus on their horse. I don’t ride in jeans and chaps because the seam distracts me the whole time. I know they make riding jeans with no inner seam but they always just look like jods anyway so whats the point. If they made a decent-looking jean that happened to just not have an inner seam then I would wear them with chaps all the time. I tried the jeans and full chaps thing for a long time because I had an awesome pair of jeans that didn’t bug me but I wore them out after a few years and haven’t been able to replace them since. Right now, I’m a huge Kerrits fan. I have a hookup there and I get them at wholesale price. I wear kerrits and also the kerrits griptek gaitors half chaps with ariat paddock boots. I think that the tall boots thing is way outdated. People shouldn’t be forced to suffer through breaking in tall boots and purchasing them just in order to compete. I think people should be able to ride in whatever they are comfortable in. All other athletic clothing is based around function and comfort–why is ours based around stupid traditions? Another thing I absolutely DETEST is the hunt coat. That s*** needs to GO! There is nothing athletic about a big wool coat! If we are going to be taken seriously as a SPORT, we are going to have to start looking like athletes and not like some old painting hung in the hallway of an old rich person’s house. Continuing to do something a certain way just for the sake of tradition is absurd. I dare someone to give me a good, sensible reason why we still wear hunt coats. A reason that doesn’t begin with “well, when riding started…” or “back in the [insert historic time reference here]…”. I think riding should be divided into the athletic portions and the non-athletic portions. Dogs have a sporting and non-sporting group. So should we.
December 26th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I agree with you on being different but tradition is def. key a lot of the time. You know the age old dilema that if you don’t know what to do at a horse show, you just follow the person in front of you? Well, I think that has an important basis because “tradition” not only applies to fashion but also to function. At horse shows, it’s much easier for a judge to fairly judge competitors if they are all wearing similar clothing (i.e. nothing distracting that would bring negative or positive attention to a rider). I think that’s why in dressage competitors look very uniform but in XC you can dress virtually anyway you want to because the judging isn’t subjective: either the rider/horse got over the fence or did not is all that matters.
ps. love the new layout.
December 28th, 2008 at 1:28 am
remember that one time… when i came in, wearing two pairs of socks (one of them bright red) and two pairs of pants?:))
Fashion, is fashion… let people enjoy it;) Horses has always been expensive and the sport as well, of course.
January 4th, 2009 at 5:42 am
Im a damm gothic chic so i get your rant……but i must say BIG BLACK BOOTS are my thing…i LIVE in these and went so far as to get a pair of custom field boots
these are the bedroom slippers of the equestrian world…as for color it just happens that black was all i wanted…..now i must say that i would die laughing to see those stuffy dressage judges fumble through the rule books because a riding wore hot pink boots!!!!…hell im laughing just thinking about it.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Personally breeches girl, never really liked riding in jeans, and boots love them
April 4th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Ok so OBVIOUSLY i’ve been slacking on checking the site for articles….Since I just discovered this one um 4months after the fact. ANYWHO….. I am a full chaps wearer with jeans and paddock boots myself. I also find it to be easier for me, less changing. I can run to the food store after a ride and not feel like a circus freak being released into the public. As proud as I am to say Im a dedicated rider and supporter in the horsey world, I am not a fan of being pointed at and laughed at. Recently I was looking in some fashion magazine, maybe Vogue.. and what did I see some skinny leggy ugly looking model wearing Field Boots…….when the hell did field boots become “in” in the fashion scene. I thought for a moment that it must of been a joke, but no it wasn’t I’ve spotted these regular Jane’s and Joe’s wearing Equine Garb out and about in the public eye as if all this time they were uhhh missing out on what we “have” to wear.
I will only wear my tall boots when Im competing. I do not ride in them at h ome and I own maybe 3 pairs of schooling breeches. I only wear those when I’m in a lesson otherwise it’s Jeans, chaps, and paddocks. I do not even own a pair of half chaps. I refuse out right refuse to do what everyone else is doing. I like what I wear. And gosh citizen I am 100% with you on the breeches thing. I haven’t worn pants up past my hips bones in over 10 years, well except for my “pretend” low rise breeches which are still a good three inches higher than they should/need to be. I understand the supposed look of our extremely out dated style for breeches, but come one stylists get with it! Were in 2009 not 1959!
September 10th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
This is a great article, it really helped me because I was looking for some original boots for riding.
September 10th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Although, I can’t find where the nike boots would be sold.
September 10th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I actually contacted Nike about their boots and to my extreme disappointment, they didn’t make many and they were never available for “retail” sale. Too bad, they seem REALLY cool!