CHAPTER XIV
SHOW RING APPOINTMENTS
The harness should be of black patent-leather with square wire buckles. Crests, monograms, or initials should be small and inconspicuous: for a single horse, placed on the standing martingale; for a pair, on the breast plates.
Loin straps, which are part of the appointments of a victoria or other trap driven by a servant, should not be used for ladies’ traps driven by a lady. Pole chains with oval links are permissible or pole pieces, when the owner drives; chains are never permissible on any trap driven by a servant. The chains should fasten at the pole and no extra links should be allowed to hang.
Perfectly Appointed Lady’s Pair
Phaetons for use in the country have been shown of late, built on the lines of the George IV and finished in natural wood, and with them russet harness instead of black patent-leather is very smart, and, if the trap is a light one, Dutch collars may be used instead of Kay collars. All formal ladies’ traps finished in dark colors should also be lined with the owner’s colors, either black, dark blue, dark green, or maroon, and the servants’ liveries should match
the lining. Country traps of a light color should be lined in light colors, and it looks smarter for the lining to match the country livery, although gray liveries may be worn with any light lining. Ladies’ traps may also be lined in leather instead of cloth and in the same colors, and it is most important that the trimming of the lining should be strictly in keeping and very plain. The driving cushion should always be covered with the same material as the lining. The mat in the bottom of the trap should, of course, match the lining.
Lady’s Single Basket Phaeton
The running gear of all ladies’ traps should be finished in dark colors with inconspicuous striping, and the striping should be in keeping with the lining; that is, if the lining is other than black, the striping should be of the same color. All light colors for the striping, such as primrose, light red, and light green, should be confined to sporting traps and runabouts; light hues do not seem appropriate to formal ladies’ traps.