Picture of Safety Top Hat on Rider

SpottedCat

SpottedCat

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I've been searching and searching for a picture of a safety top hat on a rider, because I wasn't convinced they could look as elegant as the 'real thing' and still pass safety tests.

Now they are £££, but I for one reckon that the profile is pretty impressive if this picture is anything to go by:

http://www.dressage-news.com/?p=10964
 
I think they look good and are certainly the way forward. However, I think they are too much money for me. When I wear tails, I am now going to follow the likes of a few riders I have seen recently in hats and tails. I was surprised how good these look (there were one or two at Burghley).

This FB page has pics, and I think they look good...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dress...th-helmets-Honor-Role/215318018511816?sk=wall
 
i think the helmet + tails look good together too.
there was a rumour that the dressage judges at Burghley were supposedly marking down those riders (Americans/Canadians iirc) who wore a helmet instead of a topper. i hope that rumour gets scotched very quickly. ANY judge qualified to judge at that level would look far beyond what the rider had on his/her head, no?!
 
kerilli said:
i think the helmet + tails look good together too.
there was a rumour that the dressage judges at Burghley were supposedly marking down those riders (Americans/Canadians iirc) who wore a helmet instead of a topper. i hope that rumour gets scotched very quickly. ANY judge qualified to judge at that level would look far beyond what the rider had on his/her head, no?!
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I just cannot believe that is true at all. I wrote for a judge, and a well-known male rider came into the arena at a CCI* wearing tweed and a normal hat. He was the only person to do so, everyone else was in top hat and tails. The judge expressed a personal dislike for said rider, and was infuriated by the end of the test, because in her words 'he just will not let me take marks away' - referring to how well presented the test was. That rider led at the end of the dressage.

So really good judges will not allow this to cloud their judgement - and I think they use really good ones at Burghley ;) Anyone who thinks otherwise probably needs to look to their training...and to the pool of competitors they are usually up against perhaps?!
 
well, yes... it's very easy to blame 1000 things other than the fact that you didn't do an utterly beautiful test! if the test if fabulous, ANY judge has to give you good marks.
the comment about the alleged marking-down was on an American site, iirc... maybe a little bit of sour grapes perhaps. :( :(
utterly daft to try to blame it on the helmet though, those few brave (sensible?) enough to wear a helmet with tails need encouragement, not putting off!
 
I think when it becomes compulsory, or near to when it becomes compulsory to wear a safety top hat, other manufacturers will likely prick up their ears and start producing them, which should bring the price down. :)

Hat looks fine to me, although I'd take an ugly hat to keep an intact head anyday :)
 
I think it looks fairly elegant. In the extremely unlikely, if not impossible event of me getting to riding at that level, I would wear one. I would suspect if things like this caught on then then someone would find a way of manufacturing them for much cheaper, but as said before, you cant put a price on safety.

So, Mr Patey, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, ie innovating, re-designing and re-inventing themselves.
 
TheoryX1 said:
So, Mr Patey, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, ie innovating, re-designing and re-inventing themselves.
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Amen!


I love the look of Patey's, but havig had a pretty hard fall (spinal board but got away with broke ribs) just getting on (!!!!!!!!!) a sharp horse the other day, I have realised how important my head is. My hat was trashed, and if I had been in a beagler / top hat, I would be tomato ketchup...

As much, as I value style, I value my head more. So I think it is great people are talking about safer top hat options. Otherwise it would take a tragic accident of someone in a top hat for people to realise accidents can happen at any time on any horse.

So I will be GPA + tails whenever I have the chance :D:D
 
I'm having to swallow my words here. I fully expected a top hat with a harness to look awful and have been convinced that they would never catch on but, looking at this, they really do look pretty good. I'm genuinely impressed....
 
I don't like the look of the showjumping hats with tails (its the stripes on top) but really really like the concept. There are hats with flesh coloured harness so wondered why they don't use them? Haven't researched it though so maybe the SJ type hats are of a higher standard?

but can't see why Patey can't make hats that are safer?
 
zxp said:
Otherwise it would take a tragic accident of someone in a top hat for people to realise accidents can happen at any time on any horse.
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very unfortunately, that has already happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awJDYBhBPzk

This is a former Olympic dressage rider. She was riding a sane horse on a surface. He tripped. She didn't have her hat on because she was in a rush.
She's very lucky to have survived.

As Peter Storr said in this week's H&H:
"It's a seismic shift, but good on British Dressage, because we're all riding sharper, more expressive horses these days, so it figures we should think harder about our own safety. It's a shame it took Courtney King's accident to prompt it."

AMEN to that.
 
camilla4 said:
I'm having to swallow my words here. I fully expected a top hat with a harness to look awful and have been convinced that they would never catch on but, looking at this, they really do look pretty good. I'm genuinely impressed....
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Ditto, was really never expecting a serious contender.
 
Kerilli - yes, I was aware of Courtney King Dye's tragic accident. And I think that there are (albeit small!) ripples of change with regards to people riding at home with hats on. There are a few high profile dressage riders who DO ride with hats. I was refering to an accident in the ring, as I think people forget these things can happen at any time.

I also like Peter Storr's comments, but I disagree that it has anything to do with riding bigger, sharper, more expensive horses. I think I am just as likely to have a freak fall off our 26yr old happy hacker as I am my 5yr old eventer. EVERY horse can stumble, trip, slip or have a funny turn and us, as riders end up on the floor or underneath them.
 
zxp said:
Kerilli - yes, I was aware of Courtney King Dye's tragic accident. And I think that there are (albeit small!) ripples of change with regards to people riding at home with hats on. There are a few high profile dressage riders who DO ride with hats. I was refering to an accident in the ring, as I think people forget these things can happen at any time.

I also like Peter Storr's comments, but I disagree that it has anything to do with riding bigger, sharper, more expensive horses. I think I am just as likely to have a freak fall off our 26yr old happy hacker as I am my 5yr old eventer. EVERY horse can stumble, trip, slip or have a funny turn and us, as riders end up on the floor or underneath them.
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ah okay, i see. i can't recall hearing of anyone sustaining a head injury while competing in a top hat. plenty out hunting though... :( :( :(
i do think that the more powerful and expressive wbs are more likely to jettison us, though. all that power and athleticism is fantastic when it is working for you, and hell when it is working against you suddenly...
i agree that ANY horse can suddenly trip though, and it's always in the lap of the gods how you'll fall... i've seen innocuous looking falls that resulted in serious concussion, and absolute purlers where the rider bounced up right as rain...
 
I echo everything Kerilli has said. Even the sanest, safest most trustyworthy horse can trip, stumble, be startled and we end up with our heads pulped through not wearing a hat. We have 2 ittle dressage dollies (teenaged ones) on our yard who 'know their horses inside out, and they dont rear or buck .........' usual stupid argument etc, etc, etc, who dont believe things like this. I am pretty evangelical over it anyway, particularly seeing my daughter crack her HS1 over a massive table jump earlier this year, so anything that can be done to improve rider safety gets my vote.

However, there are always those who prefer to make their own choices etc, their horses have never been known to rear or buck, its on their own land, etc, etc, etc, etc. I am sitting her feeling quite annoyed that its not LAW to ride wearing at hat, whether its on your own land, or not.
 
it doesn't seem to say anywhere what if any certification the safety top hat has including on the L'hiver website, I am assuming it is EN1384 but can't find this and the article just says it is approved by europe is this the same?
 
ester said:
it doesn't seem to say anywhere what if any certification the safety top hat has including on the L'hiver website, I am assuming it is EN1384 but can't find this and the article just says it is approved by europe is this the same?
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I was wondering this, what safety standards does it have and does it compare to 'normal' harnessed helmets?
 
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