By Lisa Fergason (Equines by Design, Sanger, TX)

From the April 1999 issue of Mules and More

*New in 1999: The Cowboy look, browned or blued conchos, buckles and bits*

On the Subject of Silver:

If you’ve watched a western class at a horse or mule show lately, you can’t help but notice the incredible amount of silver used on tack these days. SILVER BITS, BRIDLES, HALTERS, and SADDLES translates to lots of money being invested! Is all this silver really necessary to win in today’s competition? Let’s talk about the reasons for the popularity of silver show equipment and some less expensive options.

The Pro’s:

Sterling silver trim on tack is attractive. The tradition comes from the Vaqueros who used to dress up their stock saddles and bridles with silver coins. Silver trim is often the mark of an expensive, sometimes custom piece of equipment.

And yes, it often times helps you to stand out in the show pen. In a large Western Pleasure class, in addition to having a well-trained animal and a good ride, you need to attract the judge’s attention from amongst all the other entries. Polished silver is an accepted way to bring notice to yourself in a class--it’s only natural that some silver trim might catch the judge’s eye just as some nice tasteful flashy jewelry might enhance an attractive woman. And in a halter class, a nice silver trimmed halter can further enhance the donkey or mule you are showing.

The Con’s:

But outfitting your tack with silver can be quite expensive, sterling silver requires some upkeep....and the idea of fancy silver may not appeal to you personally.

Do you have to have silver show equipment to be successful in a show? No.

The commonly used horse and mule rulebooks specify that an entry with silver equipment is not to be given an advantage over an entry without silver. The 1998 American Mule Association rule 101.C states that “Silver tack shall not be considered by judge.” And the AQHA and NASMA rulebooks both include “Silver equipment will not count over a good working outfit.”

So, no extra points are given for silver....the classes are to be judged on the conformation or performance of the animal. As long as you have safe, well taken care of equipment that fits your animal, you are fulfilling your responsibility to yourself, your animal and to the requirements of the class.

*Is silver trim necessary to do well in the show pen?*

Over the years, I’ve seen donkey, mule and horse show competitors using plain working tack that have put on a showing performance they could be proud of (many times the winning performance) and I must say that I gave them even more credit for not using “flash” to prove they have a well-trained animal.

Some options to Sterling Silver:

Nickel and German silver are an affordable alternative to sterling silver--from a distance, most people can’t tell the difference. There are other brand names for some of these silver alloys and combinations. Check with your tack store or the mail order catalogs for some examples.

You can add some silver to your tack if you want to, so that it is affordable but still attractive, here are some options:

There’s quite a few things you can do to dress up a western saddle, that you already have, with silver. You can usually replace inexpensive conchos on the saddle yourself, with silver conchos (screw in conchos without saddlestrings, slotted conchos with saddlestrings). Or add a silver horn cap for the saddlehorn. Possibly a silver nameplate on the cantle (however, nameplates on cantles aren’t as popular as they were a few years ago). You could add silver stirrups--but they are expensive and can be ruined if you let them bump against the arena fence. Silver cornerplates don’t usually fit in well unless the saddle is already tooled around a blank left on the corners.

Adding silver buckles on the cheek pieces and silver conchos at the bit ends is a good way to dress up a plain leather headstall. Often times the cheek buckles are attached with Chicago screws for easy replacement, if they are sewn in, a local shoe repair or saddle shop can replace them at a low cost.

If you have a nice leather halter with stainless or chrome hardware, think about just replacing the harness buckles on the crown with some nice silver buckles.

What’s new to replace silver on show tack?

The old cowboy look is popular with everyone--trailriders, team penners, cutters and reiners--and this is starting to show up in the showpen. I’m seeing a lot of the heavier blued or browned conchos and buckles on saddles, bridles and spurs. This unique old time look for equipment hardware is an oxidized or even rusted design that is especially liked by the men who might have felt a little overdone in a silver parade saddle look!

So, I’m adamant in saying that the expense of sterling silver is not necessary to be successful in the showring--and I hope I’ve given you some ideas on what you might do if you want to dress up your tack!

Prep Talk for the Show Ring: Silver