Jockey skull cap for work riding

APD123

New User
Joined
5 February 2014
Messages
4
Visit site
Hi all, am looking to upgrade my daughters skull cap as she has recently started work riding for a local racing trainer. Question is, what do you recommend?

White rose saddlery offer a champion, a Charles Owen and an las skull cap - just would like some advice on what you all prefer?

Thanks, Annie
 
I have a Champion which I find comfy but is a bit like a bucket on your head! LAS hats seem to be a favourite round here for riding racehorses :)
 
ive also got a champion, the one with a breathable strip down the middle. so comfy i forget its there....i tried on loads and it fitted me the best. daughter should go and try them all on then decide as everyones head is a different shape..
 
None of them work . A fall on the gallops and you are not going to be worrying about penetration of the hat, only impact energy absorption. The old hats were good at this but expensive to make and needed careful fitting,so the hat manufacturers changed the method of testing so that they could cheaply produce hats that pass their safety tests but in my opinion are as much use as a chocolate teaspoon
 
Not sure what you're on about Mike, the new hats are pretty good for both...

Whatever fits her really. Al has a Champion, because that's what she uses for everything!
 
Fit is crucial, go to several stores and try lots on and buy the best fitting. I have had champion skull caps for years and then I tried an HS1 from gatehouse and will quadruple my budget for my next skull cap for comfort and safety.
 
Not sure what you're on about Mike, the new hats are pretty good for both...

!
Seriously , No they are not. The old design used webbing straps to absorb the impact stretching and decelerating the body over a distance of about half an inch.Compare that with a foam padded hat where the deceleration takes place over about 1-2 mm . The compression on the neck vertebrae is vastly greater and can crush the Brachial and phrenic nerves . As my doctor said , not ones you can afford to loose !
 
But the actual material is more effective at taking and dissipating the load- the deceleration is the same, and that's what matters. And the deceleration is the same because the material takes the loading better...
 
No its not ! If you stop your car by applying the brakes over a few yards ,its a damn sight better than by stopping it against a block of concrete. It is all about the time taken to absorb the energy. Because of the surface area the polystyrene does not compress much at all and so the skull comes to rest within a couple of mm ,yet the rest of the body is still moving !The difference between 2mm and 13 mm can be the difference between paralysis and walking away.
 
Last edited:
Top