Features

What To Wear

 

What To Wear

 

Find out what today’s mounted shooters are wearing both in and out side of the arena.

 

Like many other equestrian arena events, Cowboy Mounted Shooting has a dress code designed to keep the sport Western and represent the life and style of the American Cowboy.

 

The rules are pretty straightforward. “Competitors shall be required to wear traditional, classic, recognizable Western Cowboy style clothing in order to compete.” This includes long sleeved shirts, Cowboy hats and boots. Western five-pocket jeans may only be worn with chaps or chinks.

 

In addition, competitors are encouraged to exceed "the minimum dress requirements” by dressing in traditional Western Cowboy style apparel that portrays the overall look of the West in the late 19th and early 20th century through the Silver Screen era.

 

This leaves a lot of choices for today’s mounted shooter, and with that being said Western Shooting Horse takes a dive into the fashion aspect of the trend-setting sport that is perhaps the most traditionally colorful of all Cowboy arena competitions.

 

With the enormous influx of younger competitors, mounted shooting apparel is narrowed down into what you would typically see at the PRCA Rodeo but with a lot more flair. Dominating the scene is Wrangler, whose five-pocket classics with extra long leg lengths are the standard. But as the younger crowd continues to grow, it brings with it newer entries onto the scene with jean manufacturers like Cinch, Cruel Girl, Cowgirl Tuff, Petrol and Adiktd as well as accessories and fun wear from Cowgirl Justice, Ranch Royalty and Sissie & Me. For the ladies, the only real way to decipher which brand they’re wearing lies in the back pocket design.

 

These manufacturers also produce shirts to match their bottom designs, but in this category the choices are far reaching. Barranada, Resistol, 20X, Rockmount, Scully and Miller Ranch are among those who build durable and very fashionable shirts for the Cowboy market. Everything from the colorful rodeo-style shirts to the traditional yoked and snap button as well as the gentleman rancher can be seen in competition.

 

When it comes to the traditional Old West, Wah Maker is the largest manufacturer in the market with the biggest selection of period trousers, shirts, vests, coats and accessories. Old Frontier Clothing Company also builds fine quality period clothing and specializes in the frock coat and vest combinations, worn primarily when the shooting is over and the socializing begins.

 

Boots and hats run the gamut and it boils down to personal preference since there are so many to choose from. Alongside the giants of hat makers like Stetson, Justin and Resistol, manufacturers like Milano Hat Company and Charlie 1 Horse have carved a niche. Also very popular are the custom brands like Rand’s, Double H, JW Brooks and O’Farrell who will make a hat specifically for you. Although the custom route raises the bar and the cost, these well-made hats bring uniqueness—and you usually get what you pay for.

 

Boot manufacturers also cover wide ground with the big players like Ariat and Justin yielding market share to the designer makers like Jurassic, Corral and Old Gringo. Bootmaking has become an art and the choices Cowboys have today are simply mind-boggling. Stitch patterns are no longer the norm. Inlaid designs, exotic skins and weather-beaten lines have moved the market and allow Cowboys and girls to really express their inner soles.

 

Rounding out the mounted shooters’ dress code are the chaps and chinks that are required when wearing five-pocket jeans. Since no major national manufacturer puts out a product, it is best to purchase your leggings from a reputable leather maker that brings durability and functionality together with style. M. Shelhart, Shasta Leather, Sawtooth Saddle and John Clark Leather make quality chaps and chinks that not only look great but also function as the tool they were originally designed as.

 

Mounted shooters bring a vigorous market to the apparel world and stand out among the traditional Western equestrian sports because of the rules and encouragement set forth by the governing organization. With the large influx of youth helping to set trends and bring new ideas to the arena, riders young and old are adopting a style that is unique yet traditionally American. Next time you’re at a shoot, count the pockets and see if you can tell what we wear. Just make sure to tell your spouse the looking is all for the cause of research.

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