Should I share show clothes with my friend?

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I would avoid sharing your show clothes if at all possible. As you brought up, there may be times when you have classes right after one another, or even want to compete in the same class. If you have a class right after your friends, the judge won't care if you're still changing into your show clothes; they'll mark you down as a no-show. Plus, if you're showing in hot weather, one of you is bound to get a little sweaty. Are you prepared to share a helmet that is still sweaty inside, or breeches that have the infamous "butt sweat"? I know I wouldn't...I'm all for sharing and caring-especially between good friends-but I have my limits.

I would definitely recommend against sharing a helmet...you should each get a helmet that fits you personally...an improperly fitted helmet will do nothing to help you in the event of a fall. And what happens if one of you does fall? A helmet should be replaced every time it hits the ground; after that it's no longer as safe as it's designed to crumple to protect your skull. Even if there's no obvious damage to the outside, you can bet there will be damage on the inside. How will you handle the situation if one of you falls in the helmet? Are either of you willing to pay the other back for their portion of the now unsafe piece of safety equipment? Or will it become an issue? I think it's best not to find out, and to just avoid the situation altogether.

Speaking of falls, what happens if one of you has an accident while showing, and the shared clothes get muddy, dirty, or even ripped? If you are sharing those clothes, there won't be time to wash them if you're both riding on the same day.

Who will keep the clothes when not being used? When I was younger, my friends and I had the brilliant idea to do basically what you're talking about. We started sharing things like clothes, purses, etc. with the agreement that we would trade off with one person getting the item for one week, the next for the second week, and so on. Inevitably every single item got "misplaced" while at someone's house. I ended up paying plenty of money to share items I never saw again.

When talking to your friend about it, try to explain it to her from HER perspective. Instead of saying "I might not get to wear the clothes if you go right ahead of me" say "YOU may not get to wear the clothes if I go right ahead of you". People tend to listen a bit better when you explain the situation from their point of view.

Tell her basically what you said here; if she understands and respects your feelings then it's not an issue. Recommend that she check out used show clothes; there are plenty of websites on Facebook that are centered around trading tack and riding clothes. If you buy a quality, lightly used item you're likely to pay about the same amount as if you had shared the item.