AirVests in Hunters/Jumpers/Eq

[ChicagoEq]

Thinking about getting an air vest and want to be able to wear it in all three rings (hunters, jumpers, eq). Curious what you have found to be the pros and cons of the brands available as well as what you think about the aesthetic of the vests (do you wear it under your jacket? over your jacket? over your jacket with a cover over it?). If you do wear it under your jacket, what brands of jackets are stretchy enough to allow for the vest to deploy? Or do you only wear it with the compatible brands?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

[mouseinlux]

I don’t think it’s recommended to wear them under jackets. I know that in the EU there are some companies that build the air vest into the show jacket. This one is an example. Obviously you couldn’t wear it for every day training but it would give you a much cleaner appearance.

Helite Air Show Jacket

[Huntin_Pony]

Why do you want to wear the air vest? Another option is a body protector worn under the coat. A little bulky but better validated for impact protection, if I understand correctly.

[MHM]

I have not used one, but I have seen them a lot more in the show ring in the last six or eight months. I think they are perfectly acceptable in all three rings, and there is a USEF rule that specifically says they may not be penalized:

“GR 801.4. Any exhibitor may wear protective headgear (ASTM/SEI) and/or a protective vest either body protecting or inflatable, specifically designed for use in equestrian sport in any division or class without penalty from the judge. The Federation recommends that the vest pass or surpass the current ASTM standard F1937 or be certified by the Safety Equipment Institute. For Eventing, inflatable vests are permitted only when worn over a body protecting vest.”

If you do a search on here, I posted a thread within the last couple of months about someone who got seriously hurt wearing a vest because she did not separate from her horse when the horse fell. Her Facebook post and the subsequent discussion on here contained a ton of useful information on the subject.

[greysfordays]

I tried them all before settling on the newer version Helite. Much lighter than the Horse Pilot jacket and I believe better neck protection. I wouldn’t wear it under a jacket not designed for it. Dada makes compatible jackets. I know that Charles Ancona is making jackets that can be worn over the vest and stretch enough if deployed. I think Free Jump is coming out with a line as well.

I’m getting a Dada Carthago navy vest and planning to wear it over a navy long sleeve show shirt. I saw someone with that set up and from far away, you couldn’t really tell she was wearing an air vest.

Carthago - Airbag jacket

It was quite streamlined. And definitely better in the heat. But I ride in the jumpers… I wouldn’t wear it in the eq with the gold zipper. Maybe you could get away with it in the hunters. Particularly on a hot day.

I appreciate the incident of a rider riding her horse to the ground and crushing ribs under the cannister, but in 22 years of riding, I have never been able to stay on that long. But I agree the risks of its not deploying are real and worth considering.

[MHM]

I had no luck trying to find my own original post on the topic(!), but here is the Facebook discussion about it from the person who got hurt when her vest did not inflate.

Jen Bauersachs

[Pennywell_Bay]

I wear a body protector at AA shows. In Ocala- I wasn’t the only one. I wear it over my coat.

[173north]

I’ve seen plenty of people just wear them over their show coat - especially if you have a black coat it blends nicely.

A handful of companies also now make show coats compatible with the air vest - Dada Sport, Free Jump, Horse Pilot, Helite. I’ve also seen people in the Dada softshell vest with the gold zipper over their coat, but only in the jumpers.

My understanding is that you should not wear the air vest under a regular show coat as it may impede it from inflating correctly.

https://www.rideequisafe.com/ is a pretty new company that specializes in safety equipment and can probably answer a lot of your questions!

[MHM]

It’s also possible to have the vest inflate while you are still on the horse. This article includes a video of such an occurrence, plus it has links at the end to other articles with more information about using a safety vest.

Side Effects of Air Time: Matt Archer Completes Course with Deployed Safety...

[NaturallyHappy]

I know someone whose horse spooked badly and shook her loose-and then lost it when the air vest deployed. She thought she would have stayed on if the air vest deployment hadn’t further spooked her horse.

[bingbingbing]

Are some of the vests quieter than others when they deploy?

[anon510129]

Side note: I watched this round live and was SO impressed with both horse and rider. My horse would’ve been GONE.

I have an air vest and honestly I worry about this as she can jump me out of the tack over bigger oxers. And then I worry about getting injured worse from falling like that than if I just didn’t have the vest on.

[Words_of_Wisdom]

I have been wearing the Freejump air vest, which is compatible with the Dada jackets, as well as Freejump’s own line of Oscar & Gabrielle jackets.
If I did the hunters, I would still wear the vest. The Dada jackets in particular are nice and it is a surprisingly streamlined look.

I am pleasantly surprised by the number of safety vests that I have seen at WEF this winter. Many, if not most, of the amateur jumper riders are now wearing them.

[shedllybip]

An air vest will only protect you IF it delploys before you hit the ground. In the case of Jen B, she ‘rode her horse to the ground’ and the safety strap didn’t come undone so the vest didn’t blow. Kind of a worthless piece of equipment at that point right?
A hard shell vest will protect you regardless since there is no saftey mechanism to set it off.
You should not wear an air vest under your jacket - unless it is one of the ones designed into your jacket.
Hard shell vests seem to be the safer product to wear.
I saw lots of vests at HITS this winter - more hard shell than blow up ones.

[BITSA]

I have the Helite and really like it. Most people get the vest it zips into made by Dada – they look really nice and its hard to see when worn over a black jacket. I got the Dada show coat it zips into too; its super stretchy. But you see a lot of people with just the zip in vest (the style is called Carthago) over their coats.

[hoopoe]

I agree that a conventional impact vest will be there for you in any situation. They have a longer track record . This article gives a good overview and note that flat riding and SJ/hunter riding shows questionable benefit of air vest.

Vested Interest: What Do We Really Know About Body Protectors And Air Vests?