I was recently chosen to be part of a group of bloggers asked to review products by Horseworld (horseworldeu.com). As part of the group I was asked to choose products from the website to use and review. We were given a huge range of choices but I wanted to make sure I reviewed something that was new or of general interest so I asked a few equestrian friends for their advice. The general consensus was that riding tights / riding leggings are a product that has really exploded on to the market in the last year and one that people were curious about in terms of fit and use.
I had previously bought riding leggings from another website but had to send them back as they were, to be blunt, just not flattering on the crotch area (think camel, not good!!). I was keen to try another brand and found Horseware riding tights on the Horseworld website. I am a Horseware fan and I love that the company always tries to innovate in terms of fabric and design and I was hoping these riding tights would not disappoint.
My main questions before trying on the product were I would think fairly standard. Would they be flattering? Would they make my ass look good or atrocious? Would they be appropriate to be seen in public in? Would they be hard wearing enough for riding and working?
First up – the fit. These riding tights are lightweight, stretchy and true to size. I am a size eight and followed the size guide on the website so I bought the XS and they fit perfectly. If you are buying I wouldn’t recommend sizing up just because these are close fitting – they will be more flattering in the correct size and any bigger and they will ride down and won’t sit right. These sit nice and high on the waist and are firm without being uncomfortable. I am pretty short (5’2”) so these come right down to my ankles but the good news is they have a soft fabric finish on the bottom so if you are vertically challenged you won’t end up with the horror of having to roll something up or dealing with bulky material around the ankle. On the website I could see these had mesh panels on the hip area and this did worry me as I really didn’t need the world to see my hips through black fishnet. The good news is these are not see through at all! There are suede patches on the knee which are really soft and give a bit of grip. On each leg there is also a fabric pocket which is very useful and can hold a phone, keys or cash. The placing of these is very good as it won’t get in your way.
Performance wise I wanted to give these a good try before reviewing them. Luckily we had some hot weather which they were ideal for. I rode in these for the first time cross country schooling. The suede patches are great they extend a bit higher than the knee and are really comfortable. I had wondered about grip as these tights don’t have the silicone additions that some of the other brands have. I am pleased to say I didn’t have any grip issues in my gp saddle. The saddle is about 20 years old so the seat is fairly polished so it was a good test. At one point my horse did slip himself but I was secure and not in any way impeded by the tights. In my dressage saddle, a very old synthetic wintec I did find these slightly slippy. That said, no more than any basic cotton breeches it was just that the tights are thinner material so I felt it more than usual. The saddles age means there really is no grip any longer on the surface and I would have done with something to ‘stick’ me to it a bit more.
My favourite thing about these tights is the comfort. I have a smaller waist than thighs / ass / hips and with a lot of breeches I end up holding them up with a belt or constantly pulling them back up to where I want them. The high waist on these was really comfortable and meant that they stayed put. I am lucky enough to work from home in my day job and often struggle to find clothing that is comfortable to work in but allows me to pop down to the yard at lunch or straight after. These are incredibly comfortable to work at my desk in, drive in, teach in and ride in. I would also think that if you had to go somewhere straight from the yard, these look quite smart looking and as active wear is so in at the moment – if you swapped boots for trainers no one would even know they were equestrian related.
One word of warning – keep these away from Velcro or anything they can catch on. Mine had an unfortunate incident with some Velcro and as a result I have a little bobbly patch on one hip. It is not very noticeable and doesn’t affect them in any way but when washing or storing them just keep them away from anything that can catch the fabric.
So, would I buy these again? Yes, definitely. I find myself reaching for them over and over to wear as they are so comfortable. I think it’s a pity that they are only available in one colour (black) as I would love a cream, beige or white pair for competition and I would love another dark coloured pair for at home. Price wise these are €69.99 which I think is very reasonable and the cost per wear for me will soon be very low.
If you would like your own pair of Horseware Ladies Riding Tights you can view and purchase at
https://www.horseworldeu.com/products/horseware-ladies-riding-tights
Thank you to the Horseworld team for inviting me to take part in your blogger programme. I have another product from the team to test out and will have a review soon.
Equestrian Reality 