The equipment of the Western rider
The outfit of a Western rider is strongly based on the clothing of the real cowboys in the USA. Comfortable clothing and practical accessories were and still are an important part of the working clothes on the ranches. Today’s Western riders have adapted this style, which had its origins in the 19th century, for everyday life in the stables.
A classic outfit is made up of:
- Western riding jeans
- Western leather belt – optionally with a flashy buckle
- Comfortable Western shirt (e.g. made of flannel)
- Western chaps made of suede leather
- Western boots
- Western hat or Western riding helmet
- Western riding gloves made of leather
- Depending on need and level of training: Western spurs
Wearing safety equipment used to be something many Western riders laughed at – but since a horse can spook or bolt, regardless of the riding style, the riding helmet in particular is becoming increasingly popular in Western riding. In the meantime, there are also special Western riding helmets that do not differ from a conventional riding helmet in terms of safety aspects, but are also adapted to the look of Western riders.
In competition situations, the components of the outfit remain the same, but most competition riders focus on eye-catching details when choosing their Western outfits. Colourful shirts with elaborately designed – often glittering – elements, eye-catching buckles and shiny spurs characterise the appearance. The clothes should be clean and tidy, e.g. the sleeves of the shirts are not rolled up. Blue jeans are also not welcome, as they are associated with the everyday clothing of cowboys – black or beige is desired at competitions and is appropriate for the occasion, alternatively chaps in these colours are worn over the trousers.
Actually, the outfit does not play a major role in most disciplines – exceptions are the disciplines Showmanship at Halter and Western Horsemanship, where the appearance of the presenter is also judged. Nevertheless, a well thought-out and stylish outfit can attract the attention of the judges.
The so-called cattle classes, such as reining, are among the simpler disciplines as far as outfits are concerned. Since it is the most original of the disciplines and comes close to the cowboy’s way of working, casual and above all loose-fitting clothing is used here in order to ride comfortably through the fast and agile manoeuvres, which demand a lot from the rider physically. As we can see – it always depends on the discipline and also the rider’s own taste and not least the judges.
