I’m probably the absolute last person to talk fashion or trends mostly because I have zero fashion sense and couldn’t tell you a current trend if you offered me free full training board for a year.
When it comes to tack and apparel I’m a less is more type of woman. I really don’t like a lot of strap goods hanging off a horse and don’t even get me started on bling. Most brow bands these days make me want to rip my eyes out. Adding blinged out stirrup irons, helmets and saddle pads and eek.
There is one trend that I don’t understand and perhaps you all can fill me in. What is up with the skull caps with the cover that is lifted up like a visor of sorts? Why does the cover sit so high? Why not pull it all the way down on the helmet? It reminds me of boys in the 90s sagging their pants so you could see their underwear.
Other than that, to each their own. Just make it safe.
The Roaming Rider 
I’m cracking up here cuz yer so right. First of all, is it true, guys don’t wear their pants hanging down anymore? Please let it be true! What are “strap goods” hanging off a horse? Breastcollars? Saddle packs? I admit I like the sleek, reductionist look but I feel tense if I don’t have a bottle of water on my horse at all times, because what if I get thirsty out there, especially since I’m mostly on the ground (sigh). Speaking of that dreadful bling, when my new Just Chaps came, they included a catalog of all their chaps. I found three more I wanted – one had a silver reflective strip going along the zipper (safety and streamlining). Another had reflective chevrons, another safe/sleek design. Then they went too far with hearts and stars…the other one I liked was their popular endurance neoprene chaps in fancy colors like purple. Every so often I think of having a color other than black or white, like, I might go crazy and purchase grey or brown…..not yet.
I’ve never seen the helmets you described. I want my visor to keep the sun out of my eyes/cheeks, the rain off my glasses.
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I haven’t seen the saggy pants in a while. Maybe it is just around me? I’m glad for it though.
By strap goods I was mostly referring to endurance where the horses have the breast collar, crupper, pommel bags, cantle bags, extra bags hanging off the front for boots, a water bottle bag etc…. I know each has a purpose but the more stuff that gets strapped to the horse the more I cringe.
Some of those chaps are pretty gaudy. I’m boring though and like my black mesh ones.
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Hi Sara
Can you please tell me how to view comments on your blog? Even after adding it to my blog reading list, I still cannot access “comments.”
Confused,
beth (lytha) in Germany
________________________________
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No idea. I’ll look into it though! Anyone else having this issue??? Maybe I just need to change the template?
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you totally made me laugh out loud with the photo of the skull cap because YES I WANT TO KNOW. It really does bug me. SEE I GUESS I do have a few more pet peeves (ALONG with the saggy pant drama I hate too)
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It looks so dumb. Get a cover that fits!
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OMG YES I am with you on this one. As an eventer, I can’t get on the bandwagon with this trend because I just don’t get it. It always looks to me as though the cover doesn’t fit the helmet and it drives me nuts! My best guess is that there is no other reason for it than “everyone else does it so I will too because I wanna look like an event rider”. ;-P
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Yes! It’s good to know I am not alone 🙂 who started this trend??
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As a hunter rider, I was hoping some of the eventers knew the answer. I feel better now!
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Apparently nobody knows where it came from or why it keeps going
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Ok, so there is actually a reason that these helmets are a thing amongst eventers.
The peak is flexible, and in the case of a fall, less likely to cause damage to the head and neck should you hit the deck face first.
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Ah! Thank you for the explanation.
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The idea is definitely about safety – actually at the highest levels of competition in the UK, I believe it’s against regulations to wear a helmet with a fixed brim. Likewise jockeys on racetracks also do not wear fixed brim hats.
That doesn’t answer your base question of “why flip the visor so far back tho?!” And … I’m not so sure about that. Honestly I think it’s just about the “look” and being easily identifiable as an eventer. Tho I tend to dislike the look of a hat cover that looks like it could blow off at any moment lol. My personal cover is pushed up slightly to accommodate my helmet camera mount, but it’s now fastened in place by double elastic bands after I lost it once on course haha.
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Yeah…I get that the flexible visor is a big safety thing. But why on earth push it halfway up the front of the helmet?? My inner old lady is screaming “pull your pants up!” LOL!
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I THINK – and I could be wrong – but I think it gained traction after Phillip Dutton had a helmet cover that ended up flipping up like that. Then they started to make them so they did that on purpose. Charles Owen is the biggest offender and they sponsor a lot of top riders.
But the idea behind a flexible visor is as others have said, safety. I’m not 100% sure the idea plays out in real life, though. I get that it could cause neck problems – but I also once fell in such a way that my visor broke my fall and the visor snapped off and took the impact. If it hadn’t been there, I’m almost positive I would have broken my nose or an orbital bone. I really plowed into the ground face first.
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Ouch! Landing face first? My nose hurts for you! After reading responses I can understand the flexible visor thing. I still don’t like the flipped up visor though
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