Hat Help
June 2, 2010
Make your hat tops with the proper shape and care.
Find shape that best fits your interest, and then crease it to your own personal style.
From The American Quarter Horse Journal
Lyle Lovett probably said it best: “You can have my girl, but don’t touch my hat.”
There aren’t a lot of things men take too seriously about fashion, but their hats are definitely one of them. You can tell a lot about someone by his hat. No hat is shaped exactly the same, but there are a few basic starting points depending on what corner of the show barn you’re in.
Western retailer Sean Ryon of Fort Worth, Texas, laid out some basic ground work for hat shapes and care. Find one that best fits your interest, and then crease it to your own personal style.
Hat Shapes
There are two basic principles to start with hat shapes. The event you compete in is first, and the shape of your face is second.
There are certain basic standards judges look for in particular classes. For example in halter, western pleasure and showmanship classes, judges are looking for a crisper look. The front of the brim should be extremely straight and shouldn’t have a dip in the front. The crown will be fairly narrow, and the vents on the sides are pulled out a little longer.
Do you want to be a success in the show ring? With AQHA’s Showmanship at Halter DVD you will get the tools you need for success in one of the most popular classes at AQHA shows.
Cutting and reining have a little more leeway. Cutters usually have a lower crown, and the brim is laid out a little flatter. Generally, the reiner will fall somewhere between the cutter and the show crease. There’s no definite trend in the ranch horse versatility classes, but the general shape is probably closest to the reiner. It’s just a little softer in the front, and the sides are up a little higher.
The basic rule of thumb when it comes to the shape of a hat paired with the shape of your face is as follows:
- Narrow face – The hat should have a narrower crown and have the edges tipped up a little more than average.
- Round face – The front should sit a little lower and the sides not quite as high.
Storage and Care
Felt
The best thing you can do for your felt hat in the summertime is let it dry out. Never store it in a plastic bag, because it will hold moisture and lose shape.
Hat cans are great for keeping the dust off your hat in the stall, but after the show, take the hat back to the hotel and let it sit open and dry out. Keep your hat out of the sun, but leave it sitting a place where it can dry out. Always make sure your felt is completely dry before brushing it, or the brushing will actually rub the dirt in instead of off the hat. You can use either a soft-bristle brush or a felt hat-cleaning sponge. Don’t store your felt in the hot horse trailer. Remember to bring it into the house when you get home from the show. Figure on getting your hat professional creased about twice a year to maintain its shape.
Straw
Straw hats aren’t built to last forever, but with proper care, you can make them last a lot longer. You can clean off dust with Windex or a fairly mild cleaner on a rag.
Sweat stains are difficult to get out. Help prevent the sweat from soaking through the sweat leather by lining the inside of the band with a piece of Saran Wrap. This also works for light-colored felt hats.
Halter Hat Trends
Halter hats are moving up. Well, the sides of their brims are. Ryon says he has noticed people asking for their brims turned up a little more on the sides, so you can see the exhibitor and the hat doesn’t overpower the face.
While many believe showmanship is just an excuse to dress up in glitzy outfits, winning this class requires precision and attention to detail. AQHA’s Showmanship at Halter DVD will give you the knowledge and tools you need to be a competitor.
Comments
10 Comments on “Hat Help”
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June 20th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
It is a very sad day for the horse show industry when how you crease your hat is what is important. What happened to the days when a clean pressed shirt, sharp jeans, clean boots and hat were all that was necessary? If this article is factual, to show all-around you need several hats just to make the cut. What happened to the horse’s conformation being the judged criteria for halter classes? What happened to the way a horse moves (fluid and smooth, not the current day tropping,peanut pushers that are still placing at many shows) was what a judge was looking for in a western pleasure class? When I watch any performance class I see what the horse is doing and whether or not the rider is a distraction is the only time what that rider may have on comes in play. Too bad AQHA doesn’t practice what it preaches. We hear all about the judging criteria changing, but until the judges are brought to task for their performances nothing will be changed. I keep hoping that the horse industry will see the light. Some are, but most are too influenced by the old guard that doesn’t want to change what they know how to do.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:40 am
My goodness, no wonder I switched to Dressage with my cowpony…
July 26th, 2010 at 6:57 am
[...] sparking hat band for my western show hat. It is narrow and just adds a hint of sparkle to my hat. He had it sewn in for me as well, as a surpise. Is the hat band allowed in my AQHA show classes? [...]
September 28th, 2010 at 4:03 am
[...] won’t see contestants at a vaulting competition wearing cowboy hats and spurs. Vaulters wear colorful one-piece leotards and soft-soled slippers. The horse is on a [...]
October 13th, 2010 at 7:07 am
Agree with Nancy. Also, am so disappointed when I hear of Botoxed necks, cut tails, cut and / or re-sculpted ears, Estrone used as a tranquilizer, Absorbine being poured into ears to cause deafness, tieing heads up high to tire out, bloody spur marks, torn tongues from jerking, etc, etc. The true Quarter Horse is gone when one has to resort such tactics.
January 28th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
[...] and horsemanship blouses. By saving money in those areas, it allows you to invest more in quality, custom-made hats and chaps, which are items that don’t go out of [...]
June 8th, 2011 at 8:19 am
G.S. I have been to many AQHA shows for 2 years now in the SE region. I’ve never seen the things you are talking about. Perhaps they happened in the past or in some other area. The professional trainer we have has never done the things you are describing. AQHA has increased the presence of drug testers and I have seen them doing their work, so anyone using banned substances or substances in an unacceptable manner will be punished. I do see some excessive jerking on horses mouths in the warmup pen occasionally and I wish officials or judges would warn these people, or fault them accordingly in a class for what they observed in a warmup. And Nancy, while I wish things were as simple as they used to be, this sport, like any other, has evolved to a higher level of difficulty due to attention to details, like hats, etc, in addition to the movement of the horse/skill of the rider. Those things are still primary, but many, many competitors have entered into this sport and have all those things and more. In a way it’s a good thing to see the level of competition increase. And the style of pleasure you are describing is now considered the “old” style and not considered attractive for the most part. Yes, it’s changed but in many ways for the better.
June 12th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Rebecca, well…the SE region sounds like fairyland. If you’ve been to most of the pro trainers in your area and haven’t seen the cheating measures that were mentioned then you truly have a horse utopia down there. I’ve seen SMALL barns here in the Midwest who compete at the State level cut tails…walked through barns at night and see horses with their heads tied high…and a very HIGH level trainer was just all over the news for blaming the bloody, cut up sides of a horse on an apprentice in his training program. As long as the higher levels of competing involve BIG money, this type of cheating will exist. If you have a trainer who doesn’t resort to these tactics and you compete at a high level, consider yourself very fortunate. About the attire, I do agree that the competition is fierce and if you want an additional edge, pay attention to your hat crease and give yourself every opportunity to place.
June 16th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Rebecca: I am also from the SE (AL & GA specifically) and agree that our trainers no longer do the types of after hours training mentioned in the one comment. Although I do remember about 20 yrs or so ago seeing the heads up when checking on my horse(s) at midnight. But things evolve and so it is here in the deep south. The TX trainer mentioned has not shown in this area in YEARS – and probably for good reason. Our shows now have enough folks walking the hall ways at all times of the day and night to pretty well prevent abuse. However, I do remember one do-gooder who came to one of the shows who got upset seeing sliders put on the brakes and reporting the rider to the local ASPCA. She was very nicely escorted off the State Grounds by Security for iterferring in something she had no idea what she was talking about. But she had a loud mouth and we heard about / from her for some time after. So before anyone makes a comment about how shows have evolved I strongly suggest they spend some time walking in the shoes of the folks actually doing the showing and spporting the sport monitaily. I guarantee their idea about how things are done will drastically change. Remember, don’t pass judgment until you have actually walked in my shoes. The folks who want the “good ole’ days” weren’t there. It wasn’t as good as it sounded!!
July 27th, 2011 at 6:06 am
Sean- Great article. too bad people use this to bash instead of learn from. Mary Lou- are the initials ES whom you talk of, if so, he is in the Miniature horse industry now. Very sad for us, I thought I was the only one who remembered/knew about him!