As the temperature drops, even though our warm cozy house and a good book beckon to us, there are a few of us crazies who still have to get our riding fix. Here are some riding tips that may help you if you are in that select group. If you are a master at “training in the tundra,” I encourage you to leave a comment to help those of us still struggling.

Here is my thoughts on winter riding:

• Hands -Warm hands is the thing I struggle with the most. The rest of me will be perfectly fine, but my hands will feel like they have a chance at frostbite. I look down at my hands and think, “what is your problem?” I have hungry horses and you are just not working like you are supposed to. The best thing I have found when riding in the winter are the SSG winter gloves. They work pretty good, but sometimes I still get cold. I had a friend tell me to put a pair of surgical gloves under my regular gloves and the surgical gloves help keep the heat in. I have yet to try it…so if anyone does let me know how it goes.

• Upper Body – Layers are good in the winter time. Usually you get hot when riding and you may want to take a layer off. Keep that layer close because you will probably want to put it back on when you get off. I have also found a vest under a jacket can work pretty well. That way you don’t feel like your arms are the State Puff Marshmallow Man and they can move more freely and easily.

• Legs – I am a fan of winter breeches. The ones I wear the most have polar fleece on the inside and are smooth on the outside. I drug them out of the closet to see what brand they were…Devon Aire. I tend to buy cheap when it comes to schooling breeches because I find expensive or cheap, they all seemed to get messed up. When it comes to buying hay for my horses or breeches for me the horses ALWAYS win! I know there are a lot of other companies that make winter riding clothes. They might be more expensive, but may also last longer. One suggestion for breeches with polar fleece, get the kind where the polar fleece is on the inside and they are smooth on the outside. I have another pair that are all polar fleece, and everything, I mean everything, sticks to them. You come back in the house and you will know which horses got groomed, what they got fed, and if you pet your dog on the way back inside. I highly recommend getting full seat breeches too because polar fleece is slick!

• Feet – I’m too cheap to buy the winter riding boots. I use polar fleece socks to keep my feet warm. They are kind of strange looking socks because I think polar fleece is hard to sew. They do not work well in muck boots because the muck boots will try to pull them off and they are not very stretchy. I usually school in paddock boots and half chaps and the socks work pretty well for me with that. Some of those winter boots do look warm and cozy, if any one has any recommendations please comment.

• Head – The head isn’t too much of a problem because you are wearing a helmet… right? I’m sure many of the professionals right now are looking down. I have this to say about helmets. Us amateurs rely on YOU professional riders to give us instruction and guide us through a challenging sport. We cannot do that if your brains are splattered all over a dressage ring. So please be careful! On another note, I also like these cool ear warmer things that have just a stretching string at the top to go under your helmet and then have…yes polar fleece (can you tell I am a fan yet) to go over your ears.

• Horse warmth – it depends on your horses situation on what you need to do for their comfort. If your horse has a full body clip and wears a blanket, you may want to ride with a quarter sheet to help keep muscles warm. If you a trace clip depending on the clip you may be fine with nothing. If your horse has no clip and long hair make sure you leave plenty of time for cool down. If your horse has sweat a lot and is wet, he or she can get cold fast. I usually try to dry with a towel. If your horse is really hot and sweaty you should probably use a cooler. Wool coolers can be good to help wick away the sweat and cool them down.

• Water – After your horse is cooled down (that’s important) you may want to offer them some water. Horses drink a lot less water in the winter and they are consuming much more dry matter through hay and grain. The trough battle with freezing water also means they may not have access to water 24/7. If you ride an already slightly dehydrated horse and then make it sweat a lot, it goes with out saying that is not the best situation.

• Cold Bits- I know how cold I am in the winter. I can’t imagine also throwing an ice cold bit in my mouth. Keep your bridle in the house or warm up your bit with your hands before putting it in your horses mouth. Your horse will thank you!

I know this article is a bit untimely due to the fact that we are already knee deep into winter. Hopefully you found a few tidbits that may help you. I did go on line to try to find some of the things I mentioned in the article in case it is something you might like. Unfortunately, I did not have much luck because apparently most stores have sold their winter stock. What I will say, although it is slim pickings, their are some pretty good deals going on now. Online I glance at Dover Saddlery, Stateline Tack, and Dressage Extensions. I’m sure your local tack store would be a great place to look too. Again, I would love to hear any comments, suggestions, or winter riding recommendations. Until next time, stay warm!

Dressage Rider in Show Attire

I flashed back to a time when I was scribing at a show this past year. I love to scribe! Not only do you learn how to write faster than the speed of light, but you also get to hear all kinds of insightful tidbits from judges. Somehow I and the judge were discussing proper dress for the show ring. The issue of gloves came up. A rider came in the ring with black gloves on. The judge tilted her head a little and said to me, “if a rider is riding in black gloves, I keep my eyes on them even more in-case they are trying to hide something with their hands.” “Are white gloves preferred then,” I returned. She hesitated and replied “well they are more…umm…traditional.” Enough said. At that point, I felt a strange feeling in my stomach. Let’s flash back a bit further so you understand why I had that feeling. Probably about 15 years ago before my very first dressage show, I asked my instructor at the time what to wear for gloves. She said you should wear white or black. I thought to myself “well I guess I will wear black.” Then they will match my jacket. I have enough trouble trying to keep my white pants clean, but gloves, they would look awful in no time. Yep, that’s right for the past 15 years, I have been wearing black gloves, hence the weird feeling in my stomach. I have blissfully been wearing black never realizing it may give certain judges the idea I was hiding something and possibly giving them a negative impression the moment I entered the show ring. Yikes! What does that teach us? If you want to be safe, wear white folks. Anyone that knows me will laugh at my beautiful new white gloves I got for Christmas, that I WILL be wearing, should I make it to the show ring!

This new glove breakthrough got me thinking about other rules of dress for dressage. So what did I do? I went to the USEF rule book to see what it really said. Here is the quote out of the USEF rule book in the Dressage Section concerning dress.

USEF Rule Book – Dressage

“The dress code for Training through Fourth Levels is a short riding coat of conservative color, with tie, choker or stock tie, white or light-colored breeches or jodhpurs, boots or jodhpur boots, a hunt cap or riding hat with a hard shell, derby or top hat. A cutaway coat (modified tail coat) with short tails is permitted. Half chaps, gaiters and/or leggings are not allowed. Gloves of conservative color are recommended. Exception: Riders through First Level may wear half-chaps, gaiters or leggings in solid black or brown, without fringe, matching the color of their boots, and made of smooth leather or leather-like material… For all tests above Fourth Level, the dress code is: a dark tailcoat with top hat, or a dark jacket with a bowler hat or hunt cap, and white or light colored breeches, stock or tie, gloves, and black riding boots. Spurs are mandatory for FEI tests (except as noted above under DR120.1). (See DR120.8)”

When you read the rules they are pretty vague. I always had this idea that you should wear certain head apparel depending on your level of riding. Over several years of observing other riders, I derived you wore, Training – First levels – hunt cap, Second – Fourth levels – bowler, above Fourth – top hat. After reading the rules closely, I realized I must have just completely made it up. I wondered… “How on earth did I come up with this strange hat rule?” I probably watched the professional riders and assumed there was some kind of standard. After reviewing the rules, it seems the “hat hierarchy” isn’t really a written rule, but more of a social standard we set ourselves. I obviously wouldn’t ride a Training Level test in a top hat. The top hat seems kind of sacred to me and something you have to earn to wear. What is fascinating to me is how I could completely make up a set of rules just by watching what people wear. It also makes me realize what power the professionals have in setting trends. What I would love to hear is your opinion about the topic. What type of dress is socially acceptable? If you are a professional, how do you choose what to wear? Could the attempt to dress within the rules, but possibly higher than your riding ability give a judge a negative impression? I guess to the perfectly unbiased judge none of this would matter, but after my glove experience sometimes it might…. think on it! My gift to you… wear white gloves!!!