Riding hats, their styles and safety

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A riding hat is one of the most important pieces of equestrian equipment. It protects your vulnerable head area from impact injuries and as such, it should be worn whenever you are on a horse, regardless of discipline. So, whether you are at a horse show, schooling in the arena, out hacking or doing show jump grid work in a field, a riding hat should always been worn as a matter of course.

The different types of riding hat that are available in the equestrian market today directly reflect the particular equestrian discipline which they are designed for. There are several types of riding hat that one can choose from; below are explanations of each.

Skull/jockey riding hat/cap

Commonly seen in the eventing circuit, the skull cap is often one of the safest types of riding hat, with most conforming to the highest level of specification. As the name suggests, the skull cap has no peak so many choose to cover this type of riding hat with a peaked cover, known as a hat silk.

Once placed on top of the skull cap the silk gives the impression of a more classically styled velvet riding hat, the advantage being that one can change the colours of the hat silk to suit their particular discipline. For example, when eventing one may wear a black or blue silk for the dressage and show jumping phases, but then may have a different coloured silk for the cross country phase, to match their cross country colours.

Classic riding hat

The classic riding hat is traditionally covered by a velvet pile and has a hard peak. Most commonly seen in the show and dressage circuit, the classic riding hat has that certain essence of style that is required in the more showy equestrian disciplines.

In days gone by the classic riding hats were not the safest of equestrian headwear, and sometimes did not even come with a harness and chin strap. Nowadays with the advent of stricter guidelines, the classic riding hats have to conform to particular safety standards.

To give note to the modern styled classic riding hats, the Charles Owen H2000, Hampton and Wellington Classic are all fine examples.

Endurance skull protector

Looking somewhat similar to a cycle helmet, the endurance skull protector is extremely lightweight and has ventilation shafts for added comfort in the warm weather. Owing that they travel long distances and often in hot weather, the endurance skull protectors are usually used for endurance riding.

Show jumping hats

One subsection of riding hats is the new type of show jumping hat that is often characterised by a reflective strip, sometimes with ventilation holes, down the centre. More for fashion purposes than anything else, the show jump hats are a must for any show jumper that wants to keep up with the fashion conscious times.

The hat itself is similar in some respects to a classic riding hat; in the way it has a peak built into it and is covered by suede-cum-microfibre scuff-resistant material. It also shares similarities with a skull cap in its shape and style.

Riding hat standards and specifications

Three safety standards are acceptable in the UK. They are as follows: EN1384, BSEN1384 and PAS 015.

The EN1384 standard is the European basic minimum safety standard, and is reviewed every 5 years or sometimes sooner if a complaint has been made

The BSEN1384 is the equivalent of the above, but it denotes that the riding hat has been tested in Britain rather than another European country.

The PAS 015 safety standard is reviewed every two years and is managed by the British Safety Standards Institute (BSI). PAS 015 is the highest safety standard for riding hats when it comes to shock absorption and penetration.

Quality marks

As well as the aforementioned safety standards, there are also riding hat quality marks which show that as well as conforming to safety standards they also have been subjected to continuous quality control by tests on random batches.

The kitemark is registered to the British Standards Institute and is only seen on riding hats that have been certified by them. The kitemark guarantee is enforced by a system of regulations that include; design approval, an approved quality control system of manufacture, a regular audit of riding hats that are produced and a testing of samples prior to the release of the production batch.

A last reminder

Once you have covered all aspects of the hats safety, ensuring it is compliant to the regulations of the equestrian discipline that you compete in or the establishment where you ride, then the final and most important consideration of all is that you ensure the hat fits well.

You can have the safest most rigorously tested riding hat in the world, but if it does not fit correctly, the dangers are just as relevant as if you were wearing no hat at all.

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