Wear really tall top hats???? Lucinda F doesn't but lots of the others do and they look very silly. Why don't they wear the same hats as dressage riders do?
Maybe tall ones are cheaper? I wouldnt be willing to spend a fortune on what wasnt my specialist discipline, particularly considering all the other costs that go w/eventing in comparison w/dressage.
Completely speculating. But I know what you mean I remember seeing WFT with a really tall top hat - it looked ridiculous, he looked about 8ft tall!
Some of the top hats are quite old, they get passed from person to person so I think the high tops are more traditional. WFP also has a really high Hunting cap.
I think the tall ones are traditional from hunting days. The half topper is a continental thing, and largely comes from those worn by the dressage riders.
There are 2 types of top hat, the traditional one used for showing and sidesaddle which is 5 1/4 inches tall and the dressage top hat which is 4 and something inches tall (can't remember exactly at the moment). The traditional one tends to be more expensive but as a previous poster said tend to be the ones that are passed down through families etc.