The Year in Horses: 1990-1991

1990-1991

• 1990 was a big year for equestrian sport as the first-ever
  FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden. The
  sports included were dressage, combined driving, endurance, eventing, jumping
  and vaulting. West Germany
  dominated these games, winning a total of 12 medals. The runner-up, Great Britain,
  earned half as many.
• Youth hunt seat competitors ran to the tack shops as the
  American Horse Shows Association revised its requirements for protective
  headgear. While the association had previously used the United States Pony
  Club’s guidelines to determine which hard hats were acceptable, the new
  ASTM/SEI standards that we know and love today became the new law of the land
  in 1990.

In the Pages of Horse Illustrated
When you think of tapered leg, stonewash, pleated-front jeans with a waist that rises to heights way above the average belly button, you may be thinking, “Mom jeans.” But in 1990, that was haute couture. Wrangler, the longtime leader in cowboy jeans, had expanded its market to reach out to the fashionable females who may or may not have ever sat in a saddle. Click the thumbnail image to the left to see how great those jeans look with a giant belt buckle. Also note the oversized hooded sweatshirts on the same page. It’s a shame that was a black and white page, because the description says, “…the airbrushed print in blue, yellow and bright pink streaks will warm up your day.” Undoubtedly.

In July of 1991, our fashion column featured a pair of riding tights that would be sure to get you noticed. These were not just any old breeches, but stirrup pants with a neon stripe down the side, just to keep things interesting. Hey, if you have to be conservative and wear beige breeches (or rust breeches, as were the preference of the day) in the show ring, why not let the world see your wilder side on schooling days? Note that this model has paired her neon-striped stirrup pants with a bright white pair of riding sneakers. They looked like any athletic shoe, but with a heel and support appropriate for riding. Truly an outfit appropriate for the busy woman of the 90s who doesn’t have time to change between her riding lesson and a trip to the gym.

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