Here I am in the late 70's on a a surprisingly agile draft cross named Summer's Day. Summer's owner was pregnant and I was riding him for her. Summer was a sweetheart, but the subject of this post is not the horse. It's about...
The breeches.
Proof that you can wax nostalgic about anything...My sister has a basement full of stuff that she has had since childhood -- including clothes. Among the clothes I would bet she still has a Hang Ten halter top and a pair of Bobbie Brooks slacks circa 1977. Well, the other day she started to clean out some of the artifacts of her past, and what do you suppose she found?
An artifact of MY past!
Specifically, she found one of two pairs of breeches that I owned as a teen. I had a pair of canary yellow breeches for foxhunting, and a rust pair that I used for horse shows (top left).
She mailed me my rust breeches and I got them last week -- breeches more than 30 years old, the breeches I rode my main steed Foxfire in, my little bit of history! The tag reveals them to be Harry Halls, which at the time was a "woo-woo" brand.
Believe it or not, I only owned two pairs of breeches at the height of my horse craze. Mostly wore chaps. Maybe that's why I'm such a horse clothes horse now. Equissentials, Tropical Rider, FITS, I own them all.
Nostalgia alert: This week I will be riding Harv in my Harry Halls!
.jpg)
I still ride in my rust Harry Halls circa 1980- they are indestructible!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that you can still fit in them after 30 years!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://wolfie-whatwasithinking.blogspot.com/
Sadly, I ditched all of my old riding gear back in the day except for my chaps. (Well, those Dehners that I got second-hand never fit properly, anyway.)
ReplyDeleteHalf-chaps are all the rage at the stable, here. It certainly makes the exercise a lot more affordable for beginners: just get a decent pair of footwear, a longline pair of breeches and the half-chaps. You're good for everything short of the show ring!
The first thing I noticed wasn't the breeches but your excellent leg position. George Morris would be quite pleased with it, I dare say. I do hope there will be pictures of you on Harv in your HH's.
ReplyDeleteMy boots are Harry Halls, I love them.
ReplyDeleteHarry Halls were beyond my budget, but I wore rust colored breeches at schooling shows. They coordinated so well with my little mare!
ReplyDeleteGotta say, my first thought was George Morris as well--you're looking pretty correct there--I'm in your same era. Broke my leg in a pair of cuff-jods that I would not let my mom cut off me. So when she shimmied them over my ankle bone, she separated the two pieces and voila--Surgery now required! But I still have the jods!
ReplyDeleteToo funny! I remember Harry Halls, horse shows, and foxhunting but mostly as a vague and distant memory from at least a thousand years ago... Methinks I'm getting old; thanks for the "trip" :o)
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful that they still fit! I have two pairs of plaid Harry Hall breeches I bought last year. They are very attractive, but I do wish they had deerskin leather full seats.
ReplyDeleteLong time lurker, first time poster.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of this fabulous blog entry about a 1977 JC Penny catalog that someone found in the attic. If you haven't seen the blog before, you really should read it... I cried I laughed so hard!
My Hunter trainer in Florida still wears her rust breeches to school in. We teased (and still do) her about it, everytime she wore them. Sadly, they're making a comeback. I don't understand some of the trends in the horse world. The rhinestone "western belt" and my personal favorite, the western headstall for the Jumper ring, complete with "horsehair browband tassel" and no caveson.
ReplyDeleteI am a little jealous that you can still fit in your breeches from High School! I was one of those rare girls that still grew 4 inches, after 10th grade!
You're going to have pics of you, riding Harv, in your rust breeches, right? :)
JenJ: That plaid jacket! Reminds me of a line from the sitcom WKRP, "somewhere there is a VW missing its seat covers."
ReplyDeleteI hope to get pix on Harv in my HHs, if I can find some poor soul to snap the shot. Wonder what bob is doing next Sat?