It's show season and time to show off all your hard work on the circuit. Although most local shows only cost around $10 a class to enter, you can end up spending hundreds of dollars putting together show attire for one class. Here are some tips to spend less and get more bang for your buck!
Rule number 1: Set a budget and stick to it by starting with the basics and adding on as you can afford.
Rule number 2: See rule #1.
Begin with your show bill. Pick one type of class for your first show: English, Western, Dressage, etc. We are going to accessorize our Sorrel Paint Mare so we will start with Western Attire. We'll start by purchasing a show shirt that color coordinates with our horse and is appropriate for the class type we plan to enter, then we can use the basics we already own, can borrow, or can find at goodwill to the extent possible.
Let's start by color coordinating to our horse. Hobby Horse offers a color wheel that can help you narrow down some good color choices for your horse. You can also just try out some different colors like we did here. Notice how well the turquoise goes with Zippi's sorrel coat compared to purple and it's easy to tell that the pink saddle pad is not a flattering color at all. It's important to remember that the color you choose will show off your horse in the show ring much more than your face hidden under your hat or helmet. So match your horse with your color choice and choose the style of shirt to match your figure and type of class.
We picked a neutral show shirt from Rod's that has turquoise and chocolate accents. We will get a turquiose saddle pad from horse.com for $9.99 and apply our own bling from ebay for $15 (we'll need to two-- one on each side. You just got yourself a fancy show saddle that costs upwards of $124 for under $45! This acrylic pad will cover our pink neoprene pad to add some color coordinated bling to our horse. Now we have a shirt and matching saddle pad. Since we got the shirt with chocolate and turquiose accents we can use our brown chaps and find a matching felt cowboy hat the goodwill to complete our outfit. Chocolate is a neutral color that will look good with many outfits in the future.
For our first show, if all we have is our show shirt, a matching saddle pad, a pair of jeans, and a riding helmet that is a great way to start. If it turns we like showing our Paint in Western classes we can add the matching Chocolate Chaps and Felt Hat later. Don't look around at the show and think you need to keep up with all that glitters. When it comes down to it, a great outfit is fun but it's a great ride that will win you your ribbons!
Bling it on! And know that you will still have money in the bank when this show is over.
No comments:
Post a Comment