Tack and Turnout for Coloured Classes

Traditional Coloureds

Rider

• • Tweed jacket. Look at different colour tweed jackets here.

  • Velvet hat, or if you only have a skull cap then it needs a velvet cover in navy or black. Some shows specify current safety standards and chinstrap to be done up, others don't.

  • Beige/canary jods/breeches, long boots.

  • Shirt and tie, no stock. Shirt can be plain white, some wear coloured stripey ones.

  • Waistcoat is optional.

  • Brown or black plain gloves.

  • Show cane is correct, but not imperative. It finishes off the overall picture. Should match gloves and tack - ie - all brown or all black. Black cane with brown tack is better than brown cane with black tack.

Horse

• • Mane, tail and feather left completely natural, the longer the better.

  • Plain, workmanlike tack - wide, flat noseband and browband. No coloured browbands or stitched nosebands.

  • Double or pelham for open classes, snaffle for novice. If a rugby pelham is used, then a sliphead on the snaffle ring will make it look much better.

  • A straight cut or working hunter saddle will show off the horses' shoulders and movement, so is preferable to a GP. Leather girth, or a white one is acceptable if your horse is white where the girth goes as a dark girth can distract the eye.

Non-Traditional Coloureds

Rider

• • Essentially, you turn out as you would for the class you'd do if the horse were a solid colour.

  • Black or tweed jackets according to horse's type. So for finer, riding horse types the rider may wear black or navy, and tweed for hunter, cobbier or native types. If in doubt, wear tweed. Look at different colour tweed jackets here.

  • Shirt and tie.

  • Beige or canary breeches and long boots if over 16, and jodhpurs and brown or black jodhpur boots if under 16.

  • Show cane or whip not exceeding 76cms in length (30")

  • Current safety standard hat, done up, must be worn by riders under 16 years old in CHAPS affiliated classes. Adult competitors refer to the rules of the individual show, as some specify safety hats while some don't.

Horse

Turn out according to type - what class you'd go in if the horse were solid coloured. So native types wear plain and workmanlike tack, cobs hogged (you can also do show cob classes) or traditional, and hunter/sport horse types plaited and plain tack. See the pages for the appropriate classes for more in-depth advice on turnout. Quartermarkers are acceptable - obviously they aren't much use on a horse with a white bottom though.

Inhand

As for the ridden classes, you turn out your coloured horse as you would for the equivalent class for the solid coloured horse. For most inhand classes, correct turnout is trousers with discreet shoes or boots, shirt, tie, jacket and hat. Riding clothes are acceptable but look less 'professional'. See the appropriate class pages for specific rules on handler and horse turnout.