It is June in Aiken. The ring is an oven. Your warm-up was fine until minute eight, and now you are sitting on a horse who has decided that the corner judge’s tent is suspicious, and you are sweating through your collar before you even pick up your first trot. This is not a hypothetical. This is most of my summer show season, and if you are riding dressage seriously in the South — or anywhere that hits 90 before 10 a.m. — you know exactly what I am describing.
The honest truth is that you cannot fully solve heat in a show ring. You are wearing a jacket. That is non-negotiable at most levels. But you can make every other layer as smart as possible, so the jacket is the only problem and not the shirt underneath it too.
This post contains affiliate links. If you shop through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — and you’ll get my reader discount. I only feature gear I’d actually put on my own horses or wear for a full day in the saddle.
Here is what I actually wear, and what I recommend to any rider who asks me about summer show turnout: a Cassidy or Amelia Show Shirt as the foundation layer, and the FRE Competition Jacket over it when the rulebook demands it. Both are from Free Ride Equestrian. Both are built differently than traditional show apparel, and that difference matters when the temperature gauge is not doing you any favors.
The Show Shirt Underneath: Cassidy vs. Amelia, and Why It Matters More Than You Think
Most riders treat the show shirt as an afterthought. The jacket is the statement piece, so the shirt is just whatever you had clean. That logic is backwards when it is hot. In summer, the shirt is doing the actual work — it is what sits against your skin, it is what handles your sweat, and it is what either compounds or mitigates the heat load of the jacket on top.
FRE makes two show shirts that I use and recommend: the Cassidy and the Amelia. Both start at $65. Both use FRE’s cooling fabric. They are not the same shirt, and the difference is worth understanding before you order.
The Cassidy Show Shirt — $65
The Cassidy runs slightly more relaxed through the torso. If you are someone who runs hot, sits deep, and wants a shirt that does not feel like it is wrapped around you during a sitting trot, this is probably your pick. The collar is structured enough to look sharp in photos and under a judge’s eye without being stiff enough to choke you when you finally drop your reins after the halt at X.
Colors worth noting for dressage specifically: White is the obvious choice for traditional turnout, and it photographs clean. But if your show allows colored shirts — check your current rulebook, because this has shifted at some levels — the Navy and the Hunter Green both read polished rather than casual.
One real-world note on fit: the Cassidy does run slightly fitted through the shoulders on some body types. If you have broader shoulders or prefer to layer a thin base underneath, size up. The fabric does not have a lot of give across the upper back, and you do not want to be pulling at your collar on centerline.
The Amelia Show Shirt — $65
The Amelia is a little more structured and closer-fitting than the Cassidy. The collar has more presence — it sits higher and holds its shape well even after two hours of sweating. If your priority is looking extremely sharp and put-together in the ring and you run cooler or are willing to trade a little extra structure for a cleaner silhouette, the Amelia is the shirt.
It also comes in a short-sleeve option, which is something to consider if your competition schedule includes any schooling shows or breed shows where short sleeves under a jacket are permitted. I have the Amelia in Ocean for warm-up and the white for rated shows, and I reach for both consistently.
The honest comparison: If you tend to feel claustrophobic in heat, go Cassidy. If you want a shirt that looks exactly right in every photo and you do not mind a closer fit, go Amelia. If you cannot decide, order white in both and return whichever one feels off — they are the same price.
The Competition Jacket: Yes, You Still Have to Wear It, So Wear the Right One
Here is where I want to be direct with you: no jacket is going to feel good at 90 degrees. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. What a well-made lightweight jacket can do is dramatically reduce how bad it feels, and that gap is real.
The FRE Competition Jacket is one of the better options at its price point for summer showing. At $150, it is not a throwaway piece, but it is also not going to require a second mortgage. What it does well: the fabric has genuine stretch and breathes better than traditional wool-blend jackets by a significant margin. It moves with you. It does not create that trapped-heat greenhouse effect that you get from a fully structured traditional jacket.
What it does not do: it does not ventilate the way a mesh-back technical jacket from a performance-sport brand would. It is a show jacket, which means it looks like a show jacket, which is the point. The tradeoff is that it is going to be warmer than no jacket. That is unavoidable. But compared to showing in a thick wool blend with a stiff lining, the difference is meaningful over a long show day.
Available in black and navy. Black reads more traditional in a dressage context and photographs better against bay and chestnut horses. Navy is a cleaner look on greys.
Fit note: The jacket is cut for a traditional dressage silhouette — it is not a hunter cut. If you are used to a longer hunter jacket and you are crossing into dressage, note that the proportions are intentional. Shoulder fit matters most; the length should fall right. Size for your shoulders first, then adjust with what you wear underneath.
Ready to try the Cassidy Show Shirt and Competition Jacket? Use code ELEVATED10 for 10% off at Free Ride Equestrian → https://shopfre.com/elevated10
How to Build the Full Hot-Weather Dressage Outfit Around These Two Pieces
The shirt and jacket are the core of the problem, but the rest of your outfit either makes the strategy work or undermines it.
Breeches: For summer dressage showing, I reach for the Lux Hybrid Full Seat Breeches in white. The full-seat silicone grip is a functional requirement for dressage riding — not a preference — and the Lux fabric is lightweight enough that you are not adding unnecessary heat load from the waist down. If you are someone who prefers a zip-front, the Lux Zip in white works just as well and uses the same fabric. Both are $95.
Gloves: Hot-weather dressage means sweaty hands, and sweaty hands mean slipping reins. The FRE Cool Grip Gloves at $40 are designed specifically for grip in wet conditions, and they are worth it. I have tried skipping them on hot days and regretted it every single time.
Between classes: This is the piece most people miss. The jacket comes off the second you leave the ring. Have a cooling towel or wet cloth in your gear bag, swap back to your warm-up shirt or a light layer, and put the Competition Jacket back on only as close to your next entry time as possible. You can also hear me talk through more of my summer show-day logistics on the podcast — the heat management episode gets into the specifics of timing and warmup length in ways that are harder to cover in a written post.
The Sara Sun Shirt, which I covered in a dedicated post earlier this week, is what I wear during warm-up before I switch into the Cassidy or Amelia for the actual test. That rotation — sun shirt for warm-up, show shirt plus jacket for your test, back to sun shirt or light layer for cooling down — is the most practical system I have found for all-day shows in summer.
Who This Outfit Suits (And Who It Doesn’t)
This setup — Cassidy or Amelia plus the FRE Competition Jacket — is the right call for:
- Riders at USDF recognized shows and schooling shows where traditional turnout is expected or required
- Riders showing at the lower and mid levels who want to look polished without spending $400+ on a jacket
- Anyone who is already sweating through their current show clothes and needs a lighter option without abandoning proper dress code
It is probably not the right fit for:
- Riders at the grand prix level who need a jacket that photographs with absolute precision at high-stakes competitions and are willing to invest significantly more
- Young riders who may size out quickly and want to spend less in the interim — for those riders, the Children’s Competition Jacket at $120 is worth looking at, especially paired with the Children’s Amelia Show Shirt
The Bottom Line
Ninety degrees in the dressage ring is not going away, and the rulebook is not changing to accommodate the weather. What you can control is whether your base layer is fighting you or working for you, and whether your jacket is the heaviest thing it can be or the lightest version that still looks correct.
The Cassidy Show Shirt or Amelia Show Shirt at $65 each, and the FRE Competition Jacket on top: it is not a magic solution to summer heat, but it is a materially better setup than wearing traditional show apparel in July and wondering why you cannot ride the second half of your test.
Start with the shirt. Get the fit right. Then build the rest of the outfit from there. The jacket matters, but the shirt is what you are actually living in from warm-up through your final halt.
Ready to put together your summer dressage turnout? Use code ELEVATED10 for 10% off your entire order at Free Ride Equestrian → https://shopfre.com/elevated10
