In today’s world, our schooling togs and accessories are just as fancy as our show ones. In my day, however, the idea of high-end schooling gear had yet to be discovered.
Nothing matched, and if I had to guess, much of what we wore was covered in smudges and dried dirt. Our clothes, thankfully, had a longer shelf life back then, and when a good shirt was too dingy to dawn in public, it was relegated to barn wear and given a second chance at life.
It would take me mere seconds to get ready to go to the barn, as I would put on whatever shirt I had at hand, and whatever jeans I wore yesterday, and thought no more about it.
And do you know why I thought no more about it?
Fringe
If I was sporting fringe, it was because I was wearing chaps or half chaps, which is how I got away with riding in jeans.
It’s unclear how fringe made it into the English world. Perhaps someone from the western world stepped onto our side and brought their fringed chaparreras with them and we as a collective, thought, Yup, I’ll have some of that, thank you very much.
Maybe it was the contrast we were after. A dash of the Wild West with the bouncy, flouncy fringe juxtaposed with the tight lines of English tack. “A little bit country—A little bit rock ‘n roll,” as Donnie and Marie would have said.
Perhaps the fringe made us feel rebellious and hardened to barn life, yet still feminine and capable, like Leather Tuscadero. It’s hard to know, but when chaps and half chaps hit the market, it meant our blasted show boots could stay in the boot bag until show day; the fringe was just a bonus.
Not much has changed with full chaps over the years, other than the adding and subtracting of leather tassels. Half chaps, on the other hand, have gone through quite the metamorphosis.
Today, they are made with plenty of elastic to ensure a tight fit, and they come in real or ‘faux’ leather that zips up nice and tight while maintaining a low profile. In the ’80s, however, they were a looser-fitting suede situation, with Velcro closures that never stayed closed. That meant they slid down, which added to the disheveled look we seemed to favor all those years ago.
Paddock Boots
The perfect pairing for the above would of course be the paddock boot: The Grand Prix paddock boot, to be exact.
It was a time when Aqua Net hairspray and shaker knit sweaters were must-haves—and so, too, was the Grand Prix paddock boot. I preferred the lace-up version, while others favored the zip-up; either way, you were considered cool and hip to the game if you had a pair of those.
The paddock boots of today are lovely, but they seem rather high-tech. You’ve got front-zip, side-zip, laces, pull tabs, elastic gussets, bendable soles, and tread. Heel support, ankle support, and arch support. You’ve got summer ones, winter ones, and waterproof ones. But most of all, you have specific half chaps that go with specific boots that mesh so well, it’s easy to mistake them for tall boots. Fancy that.
Those Grand Prix paddock boots that we swanned around in had none of the above. It was more a case of, “Here’s your leather-soled, inflexible, very narrow, and slightly uncomfortable boots with zero traction.” But we loved them.
In the End
All I can say is that we were stylin’ and profilin’ with our chaps, paddock boots, and of course, our fringe!