The first topic in question is actually a spin off of L’s final hop. I want to know about what you ride in and why? Show us your Equestrian Fashion choices and tell us why you wear them!

 Fashion?  Ha!

As an English rider, I rode nearly always in tall boots and breeches.  That’s just how things were! (TBT post exemplifies that nicely.)

As an endurance rider.. well.

Is that not the best saddle pad?

I rode in jeans for a while.  Jeans, Ariat half-chaps, Ariat paddock boots, and your standard t-shirt and Troxel helmet.  Remember, folks:  I’m in California.  We don’t get much real weather around here.

I was still getting back into horses, my breeches hadn’t made it to my apartment, and jeans seemed comfortable enough.  Then I gained some weight, wore holes in jeans, decided they weren’t flexible enough…

Breeches, light jacket, half-chaps.

I started wearing breeches again.  I had them, it meant I didn’t have to buy too many more pairs of jeans, they were pretty comfortable.  I was riding 6-7 days a week through mid-2012.

I added a lightweight jacket because it was a bit chilly out and we weren’t going fast.  This was.. um.. March 2013.  You wish your March looked like this.

I switched to Ariat Terrain boots.  They were more comfortable than paddock boots, and I needed new boots anyway, so… why not?  I loved those boots.  They run big – full size big on me, half-size big on most folks.

Red breeches and white winter boots.

I periodically ride in winter boots, too.  They’re warm.  My feet get cold in the winter, but the bigger problem is that my feet get wet in the winter, so I try for waterproof winter boots.

I have two pairs of red breeches, full-seat, that I really hate how they fit but can’t bring myself to get rid of them since they do, in fact, work as riding breeches.

Sometime last year I got tired of beige breeches, plus they started wearing out.  I bought a few pairs of TuffRiders off a used tack Facebook group, and I am so very pleased with them even as I’m still not a fan of full seats.  They manage to fit me surprisingly well and hold up nicely so far.

Horze winter boots – not visible against breeches!

This past March, I got decked out in Serious Rain Gear.  Well, actually, I did two days of serious rain gear around the ACTHA ride, and got absolutely soaked the first day and dry (no rain!) the second.  I have Horze winter boots that are a size too big, but fit my calf and allow for wool socks, so sometimes they get pulled out in the winter. 

So, in a more current what-do-I-wear and why, here we go:

1. Troxel helmet with helmet cover.  It fits, it’s comfortable, and it’s adjustable in the back so I can opt to braid my hair, or not.

2. T-shirt, mostly.  I wore a lightweight long-sleeve cotton shirt to Fireworks and that actually worked really well for me (less sunburn, lightweight enough I wasn’t overheating).  I have Irideon technical t-shirts of some sort, and another pretty pink technical shirt, and I wear those on the really hot days.  Mostly I just don’t ride when it’s really hot.

3. Occasional jacket, mostly lightweight.  Once we’re trotting I warm up pretty quickly.  I worry more about getting wet in the winter than getting cold, and I need to buy some waterproofing spray for my jackets!

4. TuffRider breeches.  They’re comfortable and they fit.  Knee patch preferred since I don’t like the full seat.  I wear these pretty much year round.. but again, no real weather to speak of.

5. Boots or running/hiking shoes – currently, Ariat Tiogas are my boot of choice, but I have no particular ties to a brand as long as they’re comfortable.  I wear out the inside of the right shoe at the back of the heel within 9-12 months, regardless of brand, so inexpensive is a major plus.

6. Half-chaps.  I am so far very pleased with the Ariat Terrain II half-chaps. I was actually really happy with my All-Around half-chaps too, and I think I’ve mentioned previously that I’m keeping those forever and ever and ever since they’re not wearing out and still fit.

7. Knee socks from Target.  Yes, I wear knee socks under my breeches and half-chaps over.  For years I hated the feeling of the seams on my legs, and knee socks fixed that; now I’m just used to having lots of layers there.  It works for me.

8. Heritage gloves.  I wear the hell out of these in about a year, and for $20-something that’s good enough for me.  I wear them year-round unless it’s raining – and even then, sometimes – because my hands don’t get cold while riding.  My feet get cold sometimes, but not my hands.

I still pull out my 10+ year old Ariat tall boots from time to time, mostly when doing Proper English Riding.  They’re still awesome.  They’re just not trail-awesome, or hiking-awesome, and that’s most of what I need these days.

My riding wardrobe is based around stuff that keeps me comfortable for hours on end.  I want to be able to trot for hours, jog down hills, and clean stalls in the same outfit.  All you folks that talk about heat and humidity and cold gear.. I don’t really have any of that.  We get wet in the winter/spring, if we’re lucky, and this past winter it got cold for a few weeks: I think it stayed below 65 for multiple days at a time.  I actually pulled out a pair of silk leggings for the first time ever and wore those under my breeches.  It gets hot in the late summer/early fall; I pull out technical riding shirts and wear those, or I wait til the evenings to ride.  Either way, once in the forest, it’s not usually that bad.  I have to be actively trying to get heat training in our routine.

Also?  Based around pink.  Color coordination is important, after all.