Bejeweled brow bands. Etched spurs. Sparkly stirrups. Recent trends are bringing more bling, beyond the colorful saddle pads, into the riding ring. Is it a cute way to express individuality or just plain tacky?
Adult amateur dressage rider Jane loves the newly designed saddle pads with patterns, vivid colors, velvet, ribbon and trim. “I grew up with boring old synthetic white fleece pocket pads. We didn’t even get real fleece!” she said. She likes how her mint green pad and rhinestone browband enhance her nearly black horse.
Not a fan of the bling, Kelly, an amateur-owner hunt seat rider, noted that she’s “a traditionalist.” “I thought it was barely skating the edge when they put green trim on some chestnut hunt bridles,” she said.
“You can’t help but love those little pink pony pads and bridle decorations,” commented Sarah, a horse show mom. She was buying a rhinestone heart browband for her daughter for Christmas. “It’s a great stocking stuffer,” she said.
All agreed that although potentially cute and pretty for recreational riding, none would tempt fate by using bling in the show ring.
“In the show ring, my riding is the bling!” Young junior rider Courtney stated emphatically.
Schooling show judge Nicky said though she wouldn’t deduct points in a schooling show for bling, she would probably mention to the instructors that the students should dress themselves and their horses on the conservative side for rated shows. She had not seen it in the rated or schooling show ring yet, but “who knows what next Spring will bring!”
Jill, an instructor, thought the new additions cute when students are riding on their own or in lessons with her. “But if they’re in a show or riding in a clinic, they better be as polished and professional as possible. That means sticking to the traditional neat look, sans bling.”
Plus, Jill added, you never know what the judge’s opinion is, and it’s best to err on the side of caution. “You’ll never get dinged for wearing traditional neat clean show attire.” As a junior rider, she owned a navy pin-striped hunt coat for winter and a pearl gray one for summer. “I thought it daring when the new brown plaids came out with the color-coordinated patterned ratcatchers!”
