I've been looking at a lot of tack web sites lately. Is it my imagination or is tradition taking a back seat to trendiness? Some of the competition attire for horse and rider is reminiscent of Vegas Elvis.
I'm all for small doses of bling, as my posting on browbands will attest. But bling should complement the horse and rider. I'm seeing some items that could detract from the overall picture...
Jeremy&Lord metallic eventing bridle
Consider the Jeremy and Lord Metallic Eventing bridle--thickly padded in pink or blue shimmery leather. At first I thought it was a typo, that it was actually an evening bridle. Sorry, I just can't imagine Amy Tryon wearing some candyass pastel-colored bridle cross country. I'll allow that eventers are not bound by the conservative rules of we mortals. It is not they who quake at the thought of a three foot oxer with spindly poles resting in jump cups. Last year at Rolex there was a rider with an orange saddle. Not orange as in not oiled, but a yes-I'm-riding-in-orange-tack-dammit saddle. Even in a sport known for flamboyant colors, pink lame' seems like an unlikely choice.
Update
So here I am at Rolex. I walked the course this afternoon. Standing next to these massive obstacles, I'm in awe of the horsemen and horses who will be out careening around this course. I'm not sure where Jeremy & Lord did their market research, or what medications they might have been on. But just like there's no crying in baseball, I'm pretty sure there'll be no pink at Rolex either. If I'm wrong I'll let you know.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Bring on the bling, or what not to wear?
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Well although my mother loved Elvis, I feel that his jewel-studded outfits for Vegas were his alone and should be left in the archives.
ReplyDeleteI actually like some of the brow bands with a little bling, but as for orange saddles and metallic piping and whatever else the companies come up with to sell to horse people. WHAT are they thinking. As a traditionalist type I feel nothing looks as classy as good leather tack with simple classic lines.
Schumacher makes the Cabaret bridle for dressage. It has "bling" and noseband padding of a matching color. Even that I thought was pushing things for show (but I would love one to school in) and it is WAY conservative compaired to that bridle! I can't say that you will ever see that on any horse I am riding!
ReplyDeleteLucinda Fredericks rides in pink. Um, but she's British (but rides for Australia).
ReplyDeleteI like pink? And I would totally torture spectator eyeballs with that.
I know I have taste, but I never said it was GOOD taste. *shrug*