A few more thoughts on this weekend:
- I MANAGED TO TRAIL RIDE. After doing a homework ride on Friday, two of us meandered out onto the trails nearby which took us onto a golf course. I even cantered without a fence around me! Owner Lady hasn’t taken Addy out, so this *may* have been Pretty Girl’s first trail ride. In usual DragonMare fashion, absolutely nothing fazed her and she very happily trotted up and down hills! We were only out there for maybe 15 minutes, but nothing bad happened! Next time we’ll stay out and play longer. It really was a fun mental break before heading to the show.
- I submitted a picture from this show to JudgeMyRide (I know, I’m a little obsessive about sending them in…) and Rob Gage already got back to me!! Check out his feedback here. I was pretty thrilled!
- I lost a pound of sweat on Saturday. You think I’m exaggerating. I’m not. I literally lost a full pound in sweat. I sweat through my shirt before I even started my warmup. Sweat everywhere.
- I saw a whole bunch of people in the jumper ring wearing white breeches. There were no jumper classics at this show. People were wearing white in the 2’3″ jumpers. I feel like a jerk for getting so offended by a pair of pants, but come on people! You have to earn those white pants! Either that or I’m going to ignore my trainer and wear my own white pants next time. JK LOL it’s not in my DNA to ignore my trainer, tan pants 4ever. We are making huge strides towards our jumper classic though… (Get it? Huge strides? HAH)
- Next time, I will be wearing a light-colored long sleeve shirt. The navy looked great, and was roughly 473 F. I’m also sporting a rockin’ farmer’s tan. Any suggestions for a good sunshirt?
- Speaking of shirts, I saw a bunch of people in the jumpers wearing non-collared shirts. Now this was a local show, true, but I thought collared shirts were kinda the deal? There were lots of non-collared sunshirt types, which certainly looked more comfortable than what I had on. But I come from Eqworld/Hunterland where you wear a dark wool jacket in July because that’s just how it’s done. Someone please tell me what I can get away with in here!
- It was the weirdest feeling to not try and slow Addy down. I still tried to package her to the base and around the turns (with varying degrees of success), but I was able to let her open up and find her own pace. As you may have seen in the video I posted yesterday, “her own pace” means a bright and cheerful hand-gallop. I’m not used to going this fast. I like this.
- This weekend we didn’t worry about being efficient with our courses. I saw other people slicing turns and being really smart about their tracks, but I had too much going through my brain to think about that. Next time I’ll worry about that.
- I love Jumperland! With a few tweaks I think we’re gonna really like it here 🙂
hellomylivia 
OMG! White breeches… I saw a kid wearing them at a saddle club show on the weekend. I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks the belong in certain rings only.
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I felt so snotty, but maybe I’m just bitter that my trainer won’t let me wear mine until we’re in a classic haha
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I apologize for the novel that will be this comment 😉
First, congrats on the trail ride! You have more guts than me.
Re: white breeches….call me crazy, but I really love white breeches in the jumper ring. I always equated tan breeches with the hunters and white breeches with the jumpers, regardless if it’s an A-rated show or a local schooling show. But that’s just me.
Re: sunshirts….when I showed last year, I saw plenty of people in everything from a full-on show shirt to an unbuttoned, sloppily-rolled button-up shirt, to polo shirts and sunshirts. I’m with you though: I get that the jumpers is more laid-back as far as rider attire, but I think riders should wear something with a collar if they’re not wearing a jacket. Just because there is no strict “dress cods” doesn’t mean people can look like slobs. Check out the sunshirts at SmartPak! I own 2 of them and they’re wonderful.
Re: slowing down and being efficient with your courses….jumpers is an interesting world, that’s for sure! I’m happy that you didn’t feel the need to be a crazed maniac in the ring. While jumpers is about clean and fast, I have seen some riders make dangerous turns or cut obscene angles into jumps and that can be scary to watch. I’m glad that you preferred to package her around the turns and ride a little more carefully, even if you didn’t need to slow her down! She definitely has the step to be a successful jumper, and the more you ride the jumpers, the more you’ll get a feel for what kinds of turns you can make, and where you can cut off seconds without doing anything irrational.
SO GLAD YOU LOVE JUMPER LAND 😀 Now you can never leave hehehehe
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I love the novel. Forever novel.
I love the white breeches too, I guess I just feel like wearing white breeches for such low heights (my heights included) is kinda like wearing a spandex ski-suit to go down the bunny hill. But when I was talking to manfriend he could not figure out why I was getting so worked up about the color of pants so I should probably calm down haha. It’s literally just the color of pants.
I do love me some SmartPak, gonna check those shirts out! I think turnout is so important not just for the “look,” but for the confidence that you’ve prepared everything and can go in there to show off your riding!
My trainer drilled into me: jumper classes are less about speed and more about power and efficiency. I saw some people running all over the place and it was scary! I’d much rather have a confident ride with a few mistakes than scuttling around the corners. I figure that as we practice more we’ll start to make fewer mistakes anyways!
JUMPERLAND 5EVER!!! (That’s longer than 4ever)
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Just have to say I LOVE this part: My trainer drilled into me: jumper classes are less about speed and more about power and efficiency.
My trainer feels the same way, and is constantly drilling it into our jumper girls. I think it makes for a safer and happier round every time!
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Kastel sunshirts are by far the coolest of all the ones I’ve tried. They also make a version with a polo collar if you want a “dressier” look than a regular zip neck.
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Definitely gonna check those out!
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RE: the white breeches. You were at Loch Moy, which is a huge eventing venue, so I know a good number of eventer folks who go do jumper shows there for schooling. Especially since there’s a starter HT there next weekend; gives the horses a chance to jump some of the fences that might be scary, since you don’t get to school in the ring. And a lot of eventers show in white breeches, because they buy white show breeches due to doing dressage first. If you’re on a budget and only going to get one pair for showing, in that case, you’re probably going with white. I do my dressage, and all 3 phases in tan, but white is actually more common now than not.
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That makes a huge amount of sense, considering we were directly next to a beautiful XC field. Thanks for the clarification!
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i took two smartpak sunshirts to my show this weekend and ended up not wearing either bc it was just too hot, and not enough of a breeze. my experience with this shirts is that they do best in a breeze, but not with straight up strong sun alone. tho i’m going to try again next weekend when the temps are supposed to be a little more reasonable. i love the colors they have little zip collars too so i think they’d be appropriate – so long as i don’t suffocate haha
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Hmm that’s definitely something to keep in mind- we were sadly lacking in the breeze department last weekend. I vote we all just ride in ice-vests.
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White breeches in the 2’3″ jumpers seems CRAZY to me. I would never wear white unless it were a classic. Just my 2c.
EIS is my favorite sun shirt, but I hear a lot of people like Kastel more. For the money, Ariat is a great buy. Collared shirts only (including zip up collars). I know someone who got turned away at a rated show on a jumper day for showing up in a crew neck shirt. They let them ride, but gave no ribbons/score.
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I’m glad someone else agrees with me on the white pants and collared shirts. At a rated show especially I think it’s so important to respect the uniform.
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I also like the Ariat ones a lot. I tried on the EIS and Tailors Sportsman but the sleeves were too short for me. Kastel has longer sleeves and torso. My Ariat one has polka dots, so it’s my favorite 🙂
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Interesting that the sleeves are too short- I have pretty long arms and a pretty long torso so I can be hard to fit in some shirts. Polka dots are my favorite!!
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Go buy an Essex Talent Yarn Shirt for showing RIGHT NOW. Seriously, way better than any sun shirt I own and just…. ridiculously amazing. You can thank me later lol
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Yes ma’am!!
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I’m 100% obsessed with my Kastel sunshirt – and this is coming from southern heat & humidity. Do it. You will not regret it.
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That’s two people backing the Kastels! I’m a northerner slowly getting used to the southern heat, so I can use any help I can get!
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Hey just wanted to throw out there, I love both my EIS brand sunshirts, as well as my new Noble Outfitters one. Also, if you go with Tracy’s rec for a show shirt–I’ve been hemming over these same ones for like a week on TOTD. Not sure what size you need but check it out…http://www.tackoftheday.com/product_p/too-esx-odorfree.htm
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holy mackerel you’ve just opened up a can of worms with that site…I have a feeling I’ll be checking that out every day 😉
So many great recommendations for sunshirts! A local store is having a big sale this weekend, I’m def going to bring this list to look for!
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I love how sarcastic you are :). We need to live closer. That is all.
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Seconded. Motion passed. We need to make this happen.
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Oh no!! I just bought white breeches 😥 Although technically, I had no intended purpose in mind, I just like the way they look. Also, I don’t have any plans to go to a jumper show. So for now I’m safe, but I may be tempted in the future. I cannot say for certain that on a day when I decide I will go to a jumper show, all my other breeches will not be dirty.
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You can be an exception we’re cool. Though if you ask me, I vote lime green all the way.
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Okay, I will definitely wear lime green when I get around to doing jumpers. Olivia said to do it!
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