Please keep in mind this is my opinion and my opinion alone. Everyone is entitled to their own!
Western Pleasure show outfits!! They are so freakin sparkly it distracts me from the horse. Yes I admit I like a little bling on my horse. My English bridle has a rhinestone browband, and my western tack has rhinestones on it as well. But I don’t wear outfit that would put Liberace to shame to go with my bridles!
I think why I like the English show attire better is that it is simple and everyone is dressed relatively the same. Yes there are different colored jackets shirts and breeches. But nothing is extremely flashy and way out there. Colors are generally muted shades or very neutral. When you see the horse and rider combo you are less distracted by the rider and your focus tends to go towards the horse.
A million years ago when I was a ballerina. We had very, VERY strict dress codes. Pink slippers, pink tights, black leotard, hair up in bun, no makeup and no fragrance. The reasoning was that everyone was to look uniform. Anything else would be distracting from the dancers movement. You couldn’t even wear underwear under your leotard and tights because they added distracting lines.( if we got caught wearing underwear we’d be punished by having to do pushups. It was a pretty serious rule!). I feel that disco ball western pleasure riders are very distracting from the horse. Yes I understand some classes are to be judged on the rider but I just don’t get why they have to be SOOOO sparkley! They also seem to cake on the make up..
Another good one! I grew up western, and loved it but some of the clothes..sheesh! I like the English attire because like you said, it puts the focus on the horse where it should be. I also like the true cowboy look, without the bells and whistles, except maybe for a nice, big, hard won, belt buckle. :-)
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