A Special Report from Ms. Two-Bits

A special report from Ms. Two-Bits:

The rain poured from the foreboding sky, aided by swift winds and ominous clouds. On April 21st, the “Show of the Year” kicked off at Rancho Murieta, CA.

One of APHA’s Top Twenty Shows in the prior year, this event is jointly sponsored by two of the most active Paint Clubs in California, CPHA and 7CPHC, and draws a wide variety of exhibitors from across the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, and West Coast.

Veterans of this show know the mid-April weather in the Sacramento Valley is unpredictable. Each year, we’re presented with a combination of rain, wind, and baking sun, changing through out each day. To be prepared for just about every possible climate change, trailers & tack stalls are packed with heavy winter blankets, spring sheets, fans, and tarps; vendors have an assortment of hat covers, rain ponchos, and sun block to handle the variations, too.

Even while dressing for protection from the elements, the resilient equestrians at the 2010 Show of the Year managed to be fashionable. Would you consider matching your shoes to your horse’s? I was immediately drawn to brightly colored Wellington style, pull-on rain boots in the center of the expansive covered arena. Then I noticed the polo wraps on the horse being lunged coordinated with the boots on the handler. I began to realize that several ladies from different barns were wearing other colors and had matching wraps on their horses. Sure, it’s common to match your show outfit and saddle pad, but this trend takes coordination to a whole new level. Most of the handlers said they bought their rain boots at Wal-Mart or Target for less than $30. Pink and lime were popular colors, and preppy plaid was a dominant pattern.

Speaking of pink, it was everywhere! There were pink ready bags filled with grooming essentials, pink Pinto World logo’d windbreakers and hooded sweat shirts, pink ribbons in a Walk-Trot exhibitor’s pigtails, and pink Jelly Belly jellybeans in the exhibitor’s gift bag. A tiny pooch wore a pale, ballet slipper pink quilted coat with a faux fur border to keep warm. Hot pink polo wraps and bell boots were spotted on several horses. Iridescent fuchsia pink bugle beads made gorgeous short fringe on a Tinkerbell inspired youth outfit. One confident Amateur exhibitor even had a complete bubble gum pink ensemble!

Another color trend was navy. Attractive with almost any color of horse, navy may just be the new black. Go with everything, neutral, and flattering on most skin tones, I saw almost a dozen navy-based outfits in the Classic and Masters Amateur Trail. Several were navy head to toe, but a few went for bold blocks of color, like white across the shoulders or gold & red leather swirls from the waist up, all dripping with crystal adornment. Most paired navy chaps with solid colored navy show pads under their saddles for a really sleek, consistent look.

More classic and understated than the ladies, the male exhibitors wore solid colored tops. White and blue were the prevalent choices, all paired with black chaps. I was really pleased to see the return of patterned show pads. Last season, it seemed like you needed a solid color pad to match every outfit. At this show, I saw quite a few carefully coordinated pads with patterns. And, boy, did they pop! This looked especially sharp on the men’s horses. The patterned pad seemed to be a way for males to express personality and individuality in a way the female competitors typically do with over the top outfits.

California is a liberal state. Seeing statements in the ring, however, is a new trend. I saw considerably less bling on saddles. In fact, several top placing horses in the Senior Trail and Western Pleasure were ridden in saddles with virtually no silver. Were the exhibitors saying, “Enough is enough?” It certainly proves that you don’t need fancy tack to win! I also saw a couple of folks wearing pink Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Pins. And one of the top trainers in the Industry wore a show top with bejeweled Peace Symbols. This is an iconic reminder of how lucky we are to live in a place where we can pursue “silly hobbies” like horse showing.

I do realize it’s way more than a hobby – it’s a passion. To see all of the photos Ms. Two-Bits took at the show, please visit The Equine Chronicle's Gallery for Around the Rings at the Show of the Year.