Dressage Show Fashion (do's and don'ts?)

It's really interesting being at a big dressage show. Suddenly the Kerrits tights and biker T-shirt I usually ride in at home seem the height of lameness / loserness. I've always loved fashion, but coming late to riding I haven't honed the delicious sense of dressage style I'd like. I saw some very nicely turned out riders today. Here are a few examples. (Keep in mind this is written a tad tongue in cheek.)

It isn't really apparent here, but the breeches and tie are cream not white. It stands out quite remarkably in the crowd and paired with the navy jacket she showed in, it was quite attractive. She was riding a dark bay horse and while it looked very nice, I think it would have been even nicer on a chestnut.

Here's a men's version of cream and navy - very nicely coordinated with his mount's accessories and the whole look is very show ring ready (hmmm - is it better on a chestnut?). This rider was from Mexico, and while his horse seemed to have a few wrinkles to iron out at GP, the over-all impression I had was that they had lots of potential - good hind quarter engagement, in front of or on the vertical, forward thinking / impulsion, etc. But I digress...

Here's a nice red and white warm up ring combo. Bad moment re horse's head position but not how she rode.

Pale blue and white, with navy and gold accessories on the horse. Lovely.

 

Classic white, she got it right - young girl and pony stallion.

This gray and lavendar ensemble would be stunning on Rogo. Alas, my budget won't allow right now.

Look I like least? Big old wrap skirts to keep white breeches clean. Saw it here for the first time and it looks frumpy. Pull on a pair of yoga pants!

To the man in the lime green shirt in the warm up ring doing hyper-flexion after everyone left - you'd look awful no matter what you were wearing and I was going to report you in another second. Wish your horse had succeeded in bucking you off.
A final note re attire - my impression is that there were far fewer top hats and many more hard hats this year than last. Courtney King-Dye's accident seems to  have had an affect on people. The group who seemed most attached to their top hats were the Young Riders.

My next blog is all about the horses - what happened to Harma and Wiscalina? Which breeds are showing here? Is the 5 year old test too hard? ...