Grand prix tack

When I post tack photos from an equestrian event, I usually start with bridles. However, this inevitably evolves into a discussion of bits and bitting vs. training and similar topics. I am not in the mood for that today...

so let's talk stirrups!

When I was living on the circuit, nearly every rider used the same, basic, fillis stirrup irons; four and one quarter inch for women and four and three quarters for men.

The hinged stirrups with the black sleeves on the sides were introduced towards the end of my mobile tack shop days. 

Nowadays, stirrups come in a multitude of styles...

and colors.

Black looks almost traditional...

but orange?

I also spotted a number of riders using these oddly shaped Free Jump Soft'Up Pro stirrups. They sound interesting, but at $370 a pair, I probably won't be trying them anytime soon!

Moving onward and upward, just about every horse in the class wore a running martingale...

a breastplate...

or both.

The most popular option was a breastplate with a running martingale attachment.

The variety of breastplates exceeded that of the stirrups. 

We saw both all-leather and leather and elastic types...

and all sorts of styles.

I'm reasonably well versed in jumper tack, but I did see one piece of equipment that was new to me.

This is an EquiFit Belly Band for Spur Protection. 

I suppose there's a market for this, but I can't help but think there's a better and simpler way to address the problem. In any event, this is one tack item I will not be reproducing in 1:9 scale.

Hope you enjoyed this edition of real world tack. I might post bridle pictures later, but don't count on it!