Dressing Children for Less Hunt Style!

We all know that purchasing a horse is the most economical part of horse ownership.  Its the upkeep of boarding, feed, vet care, farrier care etc.  This even goes for those of us fortunate enough to own our own property to keep our horses on.  But then what do you do when your child wants to start showing?  Some of the most economical ways to do this is to purchase items that are used.  Nothing wrong with this especially the big ticket items of trailers, and tack.  But when it comes to clothing, purchasing used at tack sales and swap meets is a good way to get your child outfited for the season, especially since children are growing so fast.  One minute those items fit and the next they don't.  But beware!
One of the things to do when buying used is to check the stress points on clothing.  Making sure its not freyed, or snagged is important, especially on jackets and jodhpers/breeches.  If you notice wear and tear on these items its best to pass them up, since you don't want anything to tear or let loose at a critcal time during a ride in the show ring.  Checking the wear leathers on jodhpurs/breeches is a good idea, if they seem stiff its best to pass them up.  Children have a "thing" about how clothing feels when they wear something, and if they are not comfortable they will let you know it.

 You do need to buy some items new, here are some tips for saving money.
***ALWAYS ALWAYS buy riding Helmets new.  This is one item you can not scrimp on, no matter what.  If a child does fall and hits their head, replace the helmet with a new one. Even if it appears to have no damage, the inner structure of the cushioning will have been damaged.  Some helmet companies will even exchange the helmets at reduced cost or offer discounts on the next one.
When trying helmets on, it should fit snug, but not tight, (tight, will just give a child a headache, and then you a headache when they complain.) Have your child place the helmet on their head and then shake their head "no", if there is any movement of the helmet, its too big, DO NOT BUY A HELMET JUST A BIT BIGGER, THINKING YOUR CHILD WILL GROW INTO IT, THIS IS NOT SAFE!!!  Most helmets nowadays have micro fitting adjustments in them, to creat that custom fit, since everyones head is different.

**Children DO NOT have to wear tall leather dress riding boots.  As a judge I would prefer to see children under 10 (jodhpurs with paddock boots and garters, can be worn by children till they are twelve but lets face it they want tall boots by eleven.) wearing paddock boots with jodhpurs, and garter straps (these are worn just below the knee and keep the jodhpur from twisting, and riding up the leg, especially when posting. And pant clips can be worn also to keep the jodhpur from riding up, these clip on each seam and run under the heel of the paddock boot.  Both items can be worn at the same time.  And a spur can buckle over the pant clip elastic.  For riding lessons and trail riding leggings and riding tights can be worn with paddock boots and pant clips.  You can never have enough pant clips so stock up on them and always keep a spare pair in your truck or car. If the paddock boots are lace up style, keep an extra pair of laces in the truck or car too.pant clips so stock up on them and always keep a spare pair in your truck or car. If the paddock boots are lace up style, keep an extra pair of laces in the truck or car too.

**Buy the best quality you can "afford".  Don't fall into the catagory of keeping up with the Jones', because they may be maxed out on there credit cards buying little Janey designer riding clothes.

**When looking at the fabric content of show coats/jackets, look for those that have stretch in them, look for words like lycra, and spandex, jodhpurs/breeches should have four-way stretch to them, that means if you pull the fabric straight up and down, there should be stretch and then if you pull it from side to side, there should be stretch, this makes for comfortable riding. 

**Alot of shirts now a days are being made with stretch cottons as well, making them comfortable.  But you can also wear a tank top with a  ratcatcher dickie (ratcatcher is the strange name of this type of shirt, with the chocker collar, that most people wear under their jacket.), under the jacket.  Any kind of a pin can be worn on the chocker part of the collar. 

Most if not all show jackets will be dry clean only, but one thing you can do to save on dry cleaning bills is to freshen it up in your own dryer, and not with the DryAll system.  Either purchase a steamer ball, (can be found at large retailers in the laundry section) its a ball with a sponge inside that you wet and put in the  dryer, also a wet washrag or small wet hand towel will work, set your dryer to air fluff, or no heat, put in your items and a dryer sheet for freshness, and turn on for 20 minutes.  Remove and hang up immediately to prevent wrinkles. 

**Shirts, dickies, jodhpurs/breeches socks, should all be machine washable, follow manufactures directions.

**Care of boots, theres an earlier article on the "Juls Designer Show Clothes" blog on how to polish boots.
All items mentioned in this blog can be found in any equestrain catalog that has clothing listed.
Happy Trails everyone and have fun in the show ring, I hope you find this blog helpful.  Thank you for reading.

Photo credit: The Thrifty Equestrain, Julie Berghammer