Admit it – it has happened to you or someone you know. You hear the rip as you get up into the saddle, bend over to pull your pant legs out of your boots, and feel air where there should be none.
Wardrobe malfunctions aren’t just for celebrities; they’re part of showing, and if you haven’t been a victim of this experience at a horse show, consider yourself lucky. Stories like exhibitors’ pants falling down or splitting at the seams in showmanship have become folklore in the industry, so we asked some of the leading exhibitors, both pro and non-pro alike, to share their funniest and often most embarrassing fashion faux pas.
Kellie Hinely – I was showing the first year the Three-Year-Old Pleasure Versatility Challenge was offered. About halfway through my pattern, the zipper on my jacket broke. It was just me in my black bra. I finished the pattern and quickly dismounted! I was wondering if I should continue showing or stop. I continued. It’s been a few years since “the incident,” so I can’t remember, but I’d assume it was hard to concentrate.
Rhonda LaVelle – I have a good one for my daughter, Kendall. 2023 Youth World Show – we lost the strap (buckle) to her black chaps. I ran to the store and got black zip ties. We had to zip tie her chaps on. She went on to win reserve world champion in the Level 3 13 and Under Trail that day. All of the photos had her chaps zip-tied on. It was a good memory.
Cindy Kaufman – At my first NSBA show, I was wearing my brand new show jacket. As expected with the Tulsa heat, I waited until the last minute to put on my jacket for my first class. It was time to enter the warm-up pen and my first class, and my excitement was high. Probably too high, as I aggressively zipped up the coat and pulled the zipper right off the top. Since the class was ready to enter, there wasn’t much opportunity to change, so Dawn Baker grabbed a large safety pin and said “Don’t move!”, jabbed the safety pin through the collar of my jacket, and gave me the sage advice of ride and don’t think about it. I did what she said, didn’t dare touch the zipper for fear it would undo, and ended up winning the class.
Cheyenne Augsburger – I was getting ready for showmanship at the youth world, and as I put on my showmanship jacket and was about to head up to the pen, the seams disintegrated, and my whole sleeve came apart. Kristy Starnes had to sew my jacket back together quickly so I could make my draw.
Patty Bogosh – So, it’s not so much a wardrobe malfunction as it was a complete weekend mishap. I forgot my cowboy hat, and we were only two hours away from home. So the next day, my lovely boyfriend drove back to Chicago to get my hat for me. However, in the meantime, I managed to sprain my ankle and end up in the ER while he was gone. When he returned and found out I was in the ER and couldn’t show, he graciously cared for me after making a four-hour round trip for a hat I couldn’t use.
Julian Harris – I was late to show the equitation after helping other riders get dressed and ready. I mount my horse and make sure I’m sorted. I was tucking my shirt in and buttoning my jacket. Being the first to go, I march up to the cone. As I went to sit up, I felt tugging on the back of my neck, so naturally, I panicked and thought throwing my body back would fix it. It did. But as I completed my pattern, I could hear the judges laughing and see that they were turning red. I had zipped my tie into my breeches when I tucked my shirt in. When I tossed my body back, I had ripped the tie in half, and the pink tie was sticking out of my breeches. Whenever I posted at the trot, my jacket would pull up a little, revealing a long, pink, half-torn tie sticking out of my zipper. I still won.
Beth Clemons – It was a cold, late-night showing of Ranch Rail at Sun Circuit. My client, who loves a good wild rag, suggests that this was it if there was ever a night to wear one. She was right. It was cold; anything to provide extra warmth would help. So, not knowing how to tie one, I let her tie it on me. When I went in for my split after warming up, I stripped off my jacket at the last second and forgot to ensure the wild rag was still secure. So we walk, trot, extend, my horse is being good, and I’m happy. Then we lope off, and I feel the wild rag has come free of its tie. Desperate to keep it with me, I shoved it down my shirt and popped open a snap. So now I’m loping around, my horse being amazing (thank goodness), and I know it’s coming off eventually. It finally flew off, and all I saw were my clients and friends doubled over with laughter. All I could do was smile and keep on going. It was one of the most fun rail classes because I laughed hard at the ordeal. Luckily, the judges didn’t hold it against me either.
Paige Wacker – I’ve had a few wardrobe malfunctions at shows! My hat almost flew off my head at the Sun Circuit during my showmanship pattern. When I was trotting up to the judge to set up for inspection, the most enormous gust of wind came into play, and my hat sat on top of my head at the most ridiculous angle. When I was showing at the Region 3 Experience in 2007, my showmanship jacket rose in the back, and during my inspection, I decided that would be an appropriate time to pull it down. I mean…I was only 10 years old at the time. It was NYATT day at the Congress, and I had gone straight from the showmanship pen, which was one of the early draws in the horsemanship. While trying to get ready, the zipper on my horsemanship shirt completely severed, and there was no way pinning it together would work. Moral of the story, we scratched the class that day.
Beckie Peskin – Oh gosh…well, sadly for me, mine was falling down in the showmanship warm-up pen only to realize that my pants had ripped from one thigh to just above my other knee. Thank Goodness I had another outfit, and friendly folks held my horse while I ran to change.
Ali Hubbell – I was at a show in New Jersey 10 years ago. I was wearing black pants underneath my black chaps. I was also wearing those pants for showmanship. When I went to get on my horse, the seam in the butt completely split all the way open. Thank goodness I had black underwear on also, but I didn’t have time to get that fixed and had to show with my pants completely split open.
Shelly Boyle – It’s not exactly a wardrobe malfunction, but it’s close enough. We went to a show in Centre Hall. It was my first year driving, and somehow, my driving whip had gotten left at home. If you know pleasure driving, you understand that no whip is a DQ. Thank goodness Jen Weisel found me one. It was a PINK PIG whip that they had in their trailer. A little black spray paint and problem solved!
Tiina Volmer – One year, at the world show before the equitation finals, I was getting dressed when my zipper broke on my English boots. I tried not to panic and solved the problem. I electrically taped them around my leg, spray painted them with horse black spray, and put the hoof shine spray on them. I believe it was the cleanest and shiniest my boots have ever been. I was in the top 10 that year.
Morgan Jennings – I show at most horse shows in the open and amateur trail. We were at the MQHA Easter Show and headed towards a clean run in the open. The last two elements of the pattern included a proper lead pinwheel, then breaking to a trot into a chute to back and walk out. At some point during my pattern, unbeknownst to me, my horse’s girth had come undone and started the slow unraveling of death. It wasn’t until right after the proper lead pinwheel that I broke to a trot with rhythm – the rocking side-to-side rhythm got me, I’m sure – and leaned left slightly too hard. My saddle and I both immediately went completely to my horse’s side. Bless his heart, he calmed quickly, allowing me to miraculously shift myself, the saddle, and pads into the middle of his back. After an ‘I survived’ salute to the judges, I thought finishing the pattern would be a good idea (sorry, mom). My horse finished the pattern with complete composure and no ticks. We can laugh about this because it could have injured us both. This was my first wardrobe malfunction in my 20+ years of showing. Double-check your girths, kids, you never know.
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