This message is from: Cynthia Madden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Teresa K., I really appreciated your even handed comments about standards.
Yes, there is a time to dress up and a time to be casual and that is in showing your horse and in the everyday work/non-work world. One of the things I love about driving is that when driving around home, I can wear tennis shoes and shorts. If you want to exhibit your fjord in the all-breed world, you conform because you want to compete to your best advantage. How much do people showing in a western pleasure class spend on their outfits? Well, when I shop for carriage driving show clothes, let's see - hat bought at Kohl's, $12; blouse bought on sale at Penney's, $7; apron, made by friend; $40(apron covers the Docker's I like to wear); shoes bought at Shopko, $12. Gosh, that's a lot of money! If you read the Carriage Driving list, you will find lots of hints of where to buy clothes for a driving show at Salvation Army stores, etc. I love the casual atmosphere I've experienced at Blue Earth and Libby and I do not see any slobs there! I think those who protest dressing up a bit (an Ruth is not alone!), protest just bit too much. I also think these shows are a great and non-threatening place to learn and practice how to show in the open shows - IF you so desire. If you don't want to, that fine too! My serious objections to A. Fraser's showing at High Prairie is that he chose to show with the big girls and oys and did a very poor job of it. He could have stayed in Montana and gone to a schooling show or CDE and no one would have cared and he would not have wasted the owner's money and embarrassed the Fjord world! (I don't mean to introduce this topic again, but my original comments seemed to start all this recent discussion and I remain unapologetic about them). I also would like to point out that my comments were not about "dressing up standards," but about training and ethical standards. ===== Cynthia Madden Las Cruces, NM [EMAIL PROTECTED] (messages received on Saturday or Sunday can not be responded to until Monday)
