Charitable Show Clothes

Mo Purdie is giving back by helping other riders look show-ready.

- PAIGE CERULLI

Finding that perfect outfit for the show ring can be a challenge. For Mo Purdie, finding show clothes was even more difficult. She started riding at age 12, and as a teen, grew to 6 feet tall.

“Finding show clothes has always been a struggle for me,” she says. Mo shows western pleasure and quickly discovered how important the right outfit was to her confidence and success.

“I had an amazing outfit handed down to me, and I started doing so much better because I felt so much better in the show ring,” she explains. “No kid should lack the confidence to step into the show ring because of what they’re wearing.”

STARTING NILA'S CLOSET

Since kids and teens grow so fast, finding and repeatedly buying show clothes can get expensive. When Mo was about 15 years old, she came up with the idea to create Nila’s Closet, a charity that connects young riders with donated show clothing. Mo originally started the charity in Florida as a 4-H project in 2021, but it grew quickly and now reaches riders throughout the country.

To get started, Mo went through her own closet and pulled out clothes she no longer wore. Her mother, Terry Hooker, posted about the idea on Facebook, and local riders donated clothes that they had outgrown.

Mo’s trainer, Caitlyn Daniels, posted on Facebook that she would be gathering donations at an upcoming Paint show at the World Equestrian Center. Mo named the charity after her mother’s horse, and news of Nila’s Closet started to grow.