Another clinic question - riding without gloves?

[GGsuperpony]

Thanks to all who helped me decide what to wear to an upcoming clinic.

I have one more question. I have a friend who is planning to ride in the clinic without gloves. She only owns heavy black show gloves, and she thinks they'll be miserably hot. She also doesn't care about being fashionable or even fitting in. She's only interested in whether the clinician will think bare hands are inappropriate, show a lack of preparation/respect for the occasion, etc.

When she asked me, I told her I will be wearing gloves and that I don't consider them optional. But in fairness, I have never been to a clinic before either so I don't know any better than she does!

So my question is this: will the clinician be likely to see it as a lack of preparation or lack of respect for the occasion if a participant rides bare-handed? Or is it just a matter of the rider's personal preference?

If it's the former, she will wear gloves. If it's the latter, she won't. I told her I'd ask on her behalf. Thanks!

[Aliascml]

I would wear the gloves. Where I ride gloves are necessary for all rides, including hacking, lessons and clinics.

[AnotherRound]

Gloves. Always. Get used to it and ride with gloves. Besides, the clnicican can see your hands better.

[IsolaBella09]

I would definitely wear gloves. I like riding without gloves, but when I'm at a big show or at a clinic I always have gloves on.

[Horsezee]

GM rides sans gloves. :winkgrin:

[2ndyrgal]

who has an entire photo shoot in PH this month WITHOUT gloves, I should think you'll be fine, unless you have some difficulty with reins that gloves would remedy somehow. You can look at all the pictures in the article at all different gaits. The man's hands just are never, ever, wrong. Ever. Even, without gloves.

[DancingQueen]

For a very long time I preferred riding gloveless. I felt as though it gave me a better feel.

If the rest of her outfit is up to par and your friend has developed the calluses necessary to ride without gloves and not complain I wouldn't personally when holding a clinic oppose to a rider going natural.

If your friend worries about her performance in gloves, not being used to them (If it's simply a matter of not having good enough gloves, buy or borrow a cheap pair), she could simply ask the trainer before the clinic started what he preferred.

"I don't want to come across as disrespectful so I brought gloves but I'm really not used to wearing them, would you prefer I still did or is it ok if I rode gloveless?"

Any clinician who would not answer this question fairly without holding it against the rider is IMO not in it for the right reasons.

If there's a general uncertainty with the riders in the barn I suggest that you ask that your trainer/BO who scheduled the clinic to ask the clinician for his preferences or even took 10 for a Q&A before you all mounted up.
On the occation when I hold clinics I will often (when needed) start the first day with a Tim Gunn style "gather round" for everybody. For those mounted it's -Tell me about your horse and your prior experience. You need to zip your jacket up or take it off, your bit is too low, your martingale is too tight, you need to polish your tack and boots, explain to me your choice of bit, you need spurs and you need to carry a stick etc. Take 5 to fix it and then we start! The others will attend and they get the idea and fix most things before the second session.

If you are travelling for the clinic ask your trainer and take his/her advice. If nothing else you will want to represent your home trainer well.

Good luck and have fun!

[DancingQueen]

2 more cents.
Many things will obscure a trainers eye, loose baggy clothing, wierd hairstyles flying around etc but I don't think that a naked hand is hard to see at all, quite the contrary.

Speaking of GM. I attended one of his clinics from the bleechers once when I was still a junior rider back in Sweden. I had heard all kinds of things about how tough he was. He made up for his name, giving some of our riders hell telling them they shouldn't waste their time but rather pick up bikeriding (this is mostly swedens team from Barcelona btw.)

I had a question for him but I didn't want to waste everybodys time with it (or ask it in public LOL). I gathered up all my guts and found him during lunch one day to ask if he would care to help me ut by answering my question. He listened and said, I will answer, but not now. Ask me again when we are in session so everybody can benefit. I almost died and thought there's no way I will ask him again in front of our entire national team.
He actually prompted me to ask my question again during the next session and gave a very respectful and good answer. ( I still wanted to die though, LOL)

Now 20 years later I see his point. Some of the riders were perhaps not trying hard enough to follow the instruction given. That is very annoying when you try to give people the best of what you have. I had a sincere question and came to him hat in hand begging for advice.

With some experience as a trainer behind me I can say it I will never get upset or annoyed if somebody asks me a sincere question about something. When I try to help people and they don't even try, that get's to me big time!

I also now appreciate the skill that he used when chosing to not make it about one riders problem but instead made sure his answer got heard by everyone.

I learned from it two things, the information he gave me on the issue I had and also the importance of deflecting Q&As to public time both for the benefit of self and for the benefit of others!

I have ridden with him on a few occations since but I doubt he remembers me from back then. I still crack up a little about how gently and politely he shot me down, probably because I was just a teenager and he could sence I was already shaking with fear! LOL

I am a little softer and I don't always agree with his style of making fun of his students but that first impression of him was very good.

[Small Change]

Don't leave us hanging! What was the question???

[MintHillFarm]

While we are on the topic of clinc, is anyone really opposed to chaps? One of my field boot zippers broke and I won't be able to have it repaired by next week...I have nice Journeyman chaps, with Ariat zip paddock boots which look great together.

[BAC]

who has an entire photo shoot in PH this month WITHOUT gloves, I should think you'll be fine, unless you have some difficulty with reins that gloves would remedy somehow. You can look at all the pictures in the article at all different gaits. The man's hands just are never, ever, wrong. Ever. Even, without gloves.

I noticed that too although personally I just can't ride without them, I'm too uncomfortable with bare hands. In fact I keep my gloves on just about the entire time I am at the barn, except for bathing, it saves my manicure. ;):lol:

[MintHillFarm]

I can't ride without gloves either, and for barn work as well, setting jumps etc...

[Pirateer]

While we are on the topic of clinc, is anyone really opposed to chaps? One of my field boot zippers broke and I won't be able to have it repaired by next week...I have nice Journeyman chaps, with Ariat zip paddock boots which look great together.

I would go to the clinician privately and explain. Its not the best, but at least its better than being mocked publicly for your turnout.

[Anyplace Farm]

I'm also a die-hard glove wearer but if they are thick gloves, they almost sound like they aren't riding gloves or maybe they are winter gloves.

As long as they were expressly made for riding and not lined, I would wear them. Otherwise, I'd make a point to invest in a decent pair beforehand.

[cnvh]

I wear them 99% of the time just because it's become a habit for me; I'm more comfortable wearing them than going bare-handed.

A couple of months ago, I went down to Frying Pan Park on my greenie OTTB for his first XC school. Since it was going to warmer weather, I packed my lighter-weight riding gloves that I hadn't worn for months... got tacked up, put gloves on, and discovered a huge hole in one of the fingertips. So I took them off and grumpily went bare-handed instead.

Wouldn't you know it, Horsie decided to do his best Superman impression at one of the water jumps and sent me flying. Apparently I must have had a slow-enough fall to get my hands down to try and brace myself as I was hitting the ground, because I ended up skinning all kinds of flesh off the palms of both hands, got them nicely embedded with gravel, you name it. Let's just say that cleaning up after that fall was NOT pleasant, and it took weeks for the skin on my hands to fully heal. If I'd have been wearing gloves, my hands probably would have been fine.

So, moral of the story-- gloves aren't just aesthetic, they can also be safety attire.

[BAC]

While we are on the topic of clinc, is anyone really opposed to chaps? One of my field boot zippers broke and I won't be able to have it repaired by next week...I have nice Journeyman chaps, with Ariat zip paddock boots which look great together.

Do you mean half chaps? If so, I'm sure that would be acceptable.