Riding Habits - Past & Present
Riding habits come in different styles, colors, fabrics, and sizes. Knowing what style of riding or period that you are going to display will help when choosing the fabric, pattern, and color of habit to wear.Elizabethan:Here is an example of an Elizabethan hunting costume. It was about this time that women would ride alone (without a groom leading the horse) and join in on hunts. It is a safe bet to assume that fences and jumping would not have been a factor during these times.
Colonial Era: 1740 - 1800
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Jan Biber shows a casual habit of the times. |
Joyce
Hicks shows another casual style.
"The Red Coats are Coming!" Well, not really. It's just Mary Weeks & Molly turned out in a 1760s Black Watch habit. Complete with brass buttons, black leather belt and period hat. Mary's habit won the Most Historically Correct Habit at Ride Aside 2002 and 4th out of 12 at the Sidesaddle at the USET 2005 show.
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Donna Huffman is wearing her 1760s reproduction of an Officer's wife's habit. The habit is all one piece to reduce layers.
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Regency Era: 1800 - 1820
Jami's reproduction Regency era habit is made of tan and brown velvet complete with matching hat.
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Civil War Era:
Several examples of habits from the Civil War. Darlene Galloway, Jami Wormer
and Jennifer Nickle.
Margaret
Carter and her Civil War look.
Victorian - Edwardian Era: 1840 - 1910
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Susie Davis wearing her authentic 1880s Western habit. The dress is a pale yellow cotton twill with seersucker sleeves and was custom made by The Crossroads Mercantile. The hat was made by Recollections.
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Edwardian style habit (1910) complete with long coat, riding apron, pith helmet, and matching gloves. Notice the very masculine look to this habit.
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I'm not sure what time period this falls in, but Lynn
Studebaker shows off her Hungarian habit. Notice that her horse wears an authentic Hungarian bridle.
Another questionable time frame for this style.
Leslie Davis is wearing a Western habit
with lots of embroidered flowers.
Her mom Susie, shows another early Western style.
Modern Day
Saddle Seat - Mary Weeks displays the Saddle Seat style.
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DRESSAGE - Training through Fourth Level, the apron should match the rider's jacket, with breeches or jodhpurs of the same color. The recommended dress for those levels includes: short riding coat of conservative color; tie, choker or stock; breeches or jodhpurs; boots or jodhpur boots; hunt cap or riding hat with hard shell, derby or top hat.
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HUNT SEAT - Jami
Wormer is showing the informal Hunt
attire. This would be worn on informal hunts
(formal hunt requires a top hat and hunt whip)
and for showing.
Photo courtesy of Daydn Ginther
Donna
Huffman shows the Formal Hunt style.
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STOCK SEAT - Shirt, vest, trousers/breeches, boots, hat, etc., identical to requirements for the breed/type/class of the astride rider. Many western-style aprons are made of leather or suede and can be made to resemble chaps with scalloped edges and silver embellishments.
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