Stuff

Friday, Dana took me out to SunnyBrook. I got to ride Missy. We mostly worked on conditioning; since the show season is coming up again, I thought we should work on building up some more of her muscle that she's lost over winter. After that, I un-tacked her and gave her a scoop of grain, feeding her in the nice blue bucket that has the handle that's stuck in the up position (I hate that bucket, but I couldn't find another one). Next, I had to give Chief a scoop, and I thought I'd be a nice person and give it to him in the field. It took a while to get him alone without the other horses trying to boss him around (he's at the bottom of the totem pole out there), but eventually he got his meal and seemed much happier. I observed the horses for a while and then we had to leave.

Instead of wasting the rest of this post rambling on in-detail about exactly what I did in my ride, I'd like to discuss a topic many people have been talking about lately: show stuff.

Show season is coming right up. From last year, I had this shirt for contesting:

{not me, not my pic either}

and a very simple belt. It has a row of studs on the top and bottom of the belt, and that's pretty much it. The actual buckle part of it is sparkled, but it doesn't look too bad, actually. I was afraid that it was going to be a bit overboard on the sparkles.

For English, I had the standard white short sleeved show shirt from Hartmeyer, along with my ribbed tan breeches and my tall boots. Visual:

{Blue Denim Show 2010}

It was alright. I want to 'improve' my outfit for BOTH disciplines this year. So, here's the shirt I have picked out for contesting/WP as an alternate for my other one, which I'll probably use in WP; I'll just want to use the one below for contesting:

{not me, not my pic either}

I like how simple it is. I'll still use my old belt and black jeans; really, I do think it'll look alright. The sleeves roll all the way down as well, for colder weather or windy days. What I like is that it matches my colors, but it's simple enough to be worn every day if I wanted to use it after the show season is older.

For English, I'd really like to get these breeches:

{not me, not my image either}

^^They're low-rise. I hate how (ok, if you've got innocent or sensitive ears/eyes tune out for a second)... I hate how low the normal breeches are in the crotch. I mean seriously, not everyone sags!

Ok - tune back in now, everyone else. :) 

Everyone, help me out here! What color breeches? Black, tan, or navy? Especially with a black horse; I'm using Pete this year. And for contesting/contesting, should I go with primarily the blue shirt or stick with the black and silver one? What about for WP? Does anyone know the regulations for hats/helmets for AQHA or open shows?!?

I need ya'll help here!!