It's 100° in September and we're still wearing jackets
It's supposed to be September. We're at 100°+ and still wearing wool coats. A round-the-table honest talk about surviving the heat at the barn — and the show-ring traditions we won't give up, even when we're melting.
Show notes
Turnout Time — Episode 3: It's 100° in September and we're still wearing jackets
September is supposed to mean cooler weather. Instead we're at 100°+, growing winter coats early, and still climbing into wool show coats when the jackets aren't waved. Emmy, Sunny, Sydney, and Caitlin talk through what's actually working at the barn right now — and the horse-show traditions none of us are willing to let go of.
In this episode
- The heat itself — record-breaking September heat in Georgia and Oklahoma, muggy Ohio storms, Caitlin's horse already growing a winter coat
- Water reality on a well — bucket-slaves, algae that no goldfish trick fixes, and Caitlin's boarder-neighbor's rainwater collection system on a timer
- Riding schedules that survive the heat — 9pm rides win, why 5am doesn't fly at boarding barns, night turnout tradeoffs
- Wash rack vs indoor — Sunny would give up the indoor for a real wash rack, Emmy's homemade wash rack is a swamp but she'd never give it up
- Sun shirts and the perforated-turtleneck epidemic — hunter riders in 100° wearing long-sleeve turtlenecks, wicking material honesty (spoiler: it stops wicking when you're really sweating), and why Emmy remains a tank-top loyalist
- Show attire when jackets are waved — hunt seat vs dressage, wool coats that have not changed in decades, and the regional split on whether "jackets waved" means "coats off"
- Stock pins, pink piping, and dressage color trends — Emmy caving on the pink piping for her daughter, Sunny's stock pin from age four, Caitlin's take on brown tack (anti)
- Mom-as-trainer honesty — the awkwardness of coaching your own kid at horse shows
Quotes worth stealing
- Sunny: "I'm signed up to suffer, so I'm going to suffer in my nice clothes."
- Emmy: "You cannot pay me enough money to wear a turtleneck long sleeve shirt."
- Caitlin: "I want it to be fall. Like I'd be happy with 65 degrees, 55, even 45."
Fall prep guides — for anyone getting a head start
We mention these in the outro; here they are:
Blankets
- What blanket weight do I need at what temperature?
- Is last year's turnout blanket still waterproof?
- Does last year's blanket still fit my horse?
- When do I switch from a fly sheet to a rain sheet?
Feed & weight before winter
Coat, hoof, and mud
- When should I body clip my horse?
- What is thrush in horses?
- How do I prevent scratches and mud fever?
Vet, worming, and facility
Bonus — if fall showing is still on your calendar
Next episode
Fall prep — blankets you keep meaning to wash, whether you body clip or pretend you will, keeping weight on the seniors before winter, and Georgia mud versus Ohio snow versus Oklahoma tornadoes, because apparently that's fall too.
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