Culture shock

Something dawned on me while I was talking about the new digs with the girls at the barn:  I need h/j outfits for my jumping lessons.

We have been pretty focused on this look lately.  From our most recent Second level outing

It's been a few years.  Okay, a lot of years.  I last did the h/j ring back in . . . 2005.  It was 2006 when I moved Allen from his h/j barn to an eventing barn to try my hand at a new discipline.  Yes, I took Theo to a h/j show, but that was all about survival and I don't think it counts.  I didn't look to see what had changed in the ring.  And he tried to kill the other horses and buck/farted over a lot of fences.  Lets just say there were no ribbons that day.

He did not look repentant

For context, I'm approaching my lessons as an adult eq rider looking to do the little local stuff (2'6" to 2'9").  Not the modifieds but I'm also not thinking we're going to New England finals or anything.  I think Theo would throw up as much as me in that coliseum. 

I've been rereading all my favorite h/j blogs and sites with a bit more focus on the pictures.  Yes, pretty ponies, nice knees, but what are they wearing?  Fortunately I never really left jumping behind so I have some ideas on how I'm supposed to look.  Some things don't appear to have changed.  My Charles Owen helmet is totally acceptable.  Long sleeve sun shirts?  Done.  Tan breeches?  I have one pair in the back of the closet, but I'm seeing other conservative colors as appropriate for lessons.  I probably shouldn't use my favorite pair since they're super purple, but the brown pair should be fine.

Black leather gloves, a belt, a hairnet, and my little spurs should finish my outfit off.  Or close enough.  Thank goodness equestrian fashion moves very slowly.

It's totally a picture of him refusing, but the outfit is good, right?

And then there's my tack.  I'm pretty sure my croc print open front boots are okay for lessons because they're very subtle.  I have both black and brown.  I'll swap in my plain black bell boots instead of my beloved LeMieux bell boots in white.

Oh right, rubber reins, I think I have my laced reins around here somewhere, are those bell boots navy?  Son of a . . .

The saddle is fine because it's a nice, broken in close contact saddle in brown.  And nothing else fits Theo so it's just going to have to work.  Feeling quite happy with my choice four years ago to go close contact and not something more eventing oriented.  I'm planning to slap his D ring back on his jumping bridle, I don't think we'll need our magical power steering NS loose ring if we're not doing collected work.  He has a pelham but that would be massive overkill while in a ring.  The bridle is a D'yon knock off franken bridle I cobbled together to fit his weird head, but it's fine for lessons.  I hope.

Omg, why are we allowed out in public?

The saddle pads?  Let's just say I don't even own a white jump pad.  I think I still have my fitted pad from our hunter outing in the back of my spare tack pile.  I have brown, champagne, hunter green, and grape square pads.  All from PS of Sweden. Color is going to be a thing but I'll save my gorgeous new grape pad with the gold and white braid for schooling rides.  For now, anyway.

Seriously, why do they let us out in public when I can't remember to pack the right boots?  But the saddle pad is pretty on him

I really am going to try to blend, at least for my jumping lessons.  I'm just not very good at blending.  Even fellow dressage and eventing riders raise their eyebrows at some of our . . . brighter outfits (looking at you, azalea pink with matching polos and browband).  I can take it down a couple notches while I'm trying to convince people that Theo's a serious business show horse.

We'll save these for after introductions have been made because you know I'm not giving them up