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Calling ALL Equestrians!

Off Course
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#1

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out with a project for school.

I’m a senior studying marketing at Georgia State University. I am currently taking an entrepreneurship for marketers course. As part of the course I need to research a customer segment that I am interested in solving a problem for. As an equestrian I thought what better segment than others like me!

You may have seen my previous post (Calling all plus size equestirans!), while I still want to persue that segment, I want to make sure I cover all my bases and see if there are any overlapping problems.

I am not looking to sell anything, only making sure that there is a problem in the equestrian segment that I can potentially help solve.

Please answer one or both of the questions below:

  1. What is the hardest thing about being an equestrian?

  2. What is the hardest thing about finding riding apparel?

If you feel more comfortable, you can PM me as well.
Thanks for your help!

#2

  1. Expense

  2. Expense

10 Likes
#3

  1. Expenses to do the things I would like to do and especially the cost of quality hay.

  2. Finding quality garments in sizes that are for normal ladies; unfortunately not everyone is a size 2.

3 Likes
#4
  1. Finding the time. Too much time spent working to actually enjoy the horse.
  2. Finding clothing to fit a real size person that actually does the work for their horses. I have a terrible time finding shirts and jackets with enough room in the shoulders and upper arms.
2 Likes
#5

Expense for both, and I second the sizing problem.

I’m really small - 5’1" and 100 lbs, and I have a bear of a time finding stuff that fits me. I used to wear a child’s 12 in a specific type of Tailored Sportsman breeches, but they don’t make them anymore and I can’t afford the regular ones. It’s difficult for me to find clothes that fit me that I can afford.

2 Likes
#6
  1. The Ground
  2. Affordable practical clothing, in recognizable size format.
8 Likes
#7
  1. Both horse and rider have to master conditioning and technique, so it’s twice as difficult as any other sport.
  2. Sizing! Like supershorty, I’m small but childrens clothing does not really fit me. Since I switched to Western it’s a bit easier since I’m usually in jeans, but tops, chaps, etc can still be difficult.
2 Likes
#8

  1. the cost and difficulty of troubleshooting horse concerns- I wish horses could talk. But since they can’t, we peel the onion.

  2. It is hard to find reasonably priced, attractive, durable, and well fitting riding clothes unless a person is tall and thin.

2 Likes
#9

I am OK on time and money because of how I’ve set things up for myself. For my other friends, definitely time.

I would say though if I had ambitions to show or to progress in a linear fashion, I would find that very difficult and costs would go through the roof.

it’s a hobby for me, so it isn’t meant to be really hard to manage to do. I would say that different horses present different challenges, so I can say with horse x, the hardest thing is this, with horse y it’s that.

I’d say for many ammies, the difficulty is that a horse with the ability to be competitive is also often a horse that is too hot or too big for the rider. And for aging ammies, the biggest difficulty is losing your nerve a bit.

As far as buying riding clothes, I have figured out my brands. Actually I only buy breeches, helmets and boots at tack stores. I buy all my tops, rain jackets, winter jackets, polo shirts, socks, etc. from sports and outdoor stores, usually very much on sale. I do have a couple of nice show blazer jackets, one wool, but hey, I wear them to work as office wear!

I would say the size range in riding clothes is a challenge but so far I am inside the largest sizes of enough brands that I am OK. When I find discounts on my brands/styles, like Pikeur Laguna and Cavallo Candy, I get multiples.

2 Likes
#10
  1. What is the hardest thing about being an equestrian?

Tough call - even split between “expenses” and “time management” (essentially, "what is affordable is far away, what is near and convenient timewise is too expensive). This answer may actually more realistically be “lack of a variety of boarding options in diverse price points”.

  1. What is the hardest thing about finding riding apparel?

Finding things that aren’t designed for a skinny pre-teen or modelesque adult. If you are a “non popular**” size or shape, you are frequently very limited in your options of equestrian apparel. Most of what I seem to see is designed around “ideal proportions” which are rather divorced from the reality of what people actually look like.

**and when I say non-popular I do not mean non populated, but that it is not a popular demographic to serve.

1 Like
#11

  1. What is the hardest thing about being an equestrian? Finances.

  2. What is the hardest thing about finding riding apparel? Finances.

If things weren’t so wildly expensive (or if wages kept up more with the cost of living so that people overall had more disposable income for this kind of thing) then every single aspect about the horse world would be so much easier. Money can’t buy happiness, but omgosh it sure does help a lot.

4 Likes
#12
  1. expenses - seems to be the death by a thousand cuts
  2. cost - I am tall and thin and the high end brands that have more sizing options fit well but are not available locally, the off the rack stuff available locally does not - if it’s small enough it’s too short in the sleeves and legs, if its long enough its too wide. Not too bad too have to pay the higher prices and do the special shopping trip for a few investment pieces for showing, sucks for everyday usage.
2 Likes
#13
  1. Time Management
  2. No problem with clothes. Usually buy almost everything on line and it ends up being trial and error to find brands that work for me. Actually the thing I had the worst problem finding was a place to put my cell phone. After I tried a bunch of things and 9 months later found something that worked and didn’t fall apart that I could strap on my leg. Around my waist didn’t work because I have lower back issues.
1 Like
#14

  1. The expense of the sport and the time it take to get training, your horse trained up, and travel.

  2. Sizing and expense. I often will shop second or 3rd hand for my basic items. I am 5’4" with a long torso and short legs. It took until 3 years ago to find off the shelf tall boots that would mostly fit me (Ariat short and slims are still too tall) and most breeches are too long. However my hip area is a “normal” sized area for ladies. So when I find breeches that fit in the hip I often have to roll them up. This affects where the patches hit and adds extra bulk under my boots.

1 Like
#15

Money for both. Even the “cheap” brands are still crazy expensive. $75 for a pair of pants is a lot, especially when they will likely last for only a year at most.

3 Likes
#16

Time for the first one!
For the second, sizing and quality. I am forever looking for genuine work clothing that fits a petite in height, but broad across the shoulders/and breast woman who is otherwise thin. It is hard to find clothing that works and lasts. I generally do much of my horse work on the ground and/or in the woods and/or with machinery. For awhile Duluth Trading carried women’s clothing that genuinely acknowledged that women work on farms and in the woods. Recently, they have started to shift away from that, so I’ll probably go back to buying from their men’s section and resign myself to bag wear.
And can we move away from fleece and knit fabrics? Canvas and genuine denim don’t attract hay, manure, dirt, horse hair and they hold up to teeth. I’d like to get several years out of my clothing, and I would like to be able sew a rip back up when it happens.
Also, I’m a redhead. How about something other than pink?
Most of my clothing is Walmart Haute Couture despite the fact that it really doesn’t last well, because of the expense thing. I am lucky, my favorite jeans, and my partner’s favorite ‘cute girl!!’ jeans come from there.
Money is a real issue. As soon as the ‘horse’ tag gets on something, I swear the price doubles.

2 Likes
#18

  1. Expense (in both time and money), more nerves as I get older

  2. Value when it comes to fit vs performance. I’m actually grudgingly okay paying $200 for a pair of premium breeches, in theory - they are specialty apparel compared to Levi’s, after all. What I’m not okay with paying $200 for a breeches that fit/flatter but do not perform well or feel comfy in standard barn conditions, or vice versa.

2 Likes
#19

  1. Time and money

  2. functionality - why can’t breeches have a pocket big enough to carry a phone for the 3+ hours of chores at the barn where I am not riding, but might get a call/text? And yeah, if they are going to cost $150-200+ a pop, could they last a few years before falling apart?

3 Likes
#20

Please answer one or both of the questions below:

  1. What is the hardest thing about being an equestrian?

For me, the uncertainty that I can master the goals I have in mind. The constant self-second guessing, and the number of times I threaten to go buy golf clubs instead (but not really). The hardest thing is working so hard to make the reality match the visualization. Sometimes it does. Then the next day is a hot mess and you wonder why? None of this detracts from my love of the sport. It’s supposed to be hard. My dad always said “if there is no challenge to it there’s not likely going to be any fun in it, either”.

  1. What is the hardest thing about finding riding apparel?

That’s become easier for me with a 38 pound drop in the last year (gave up carbs). When you’re wearing clothes that are basically skin tight from head to toe, it is difficult to look in the mirror and think that you look like a supermodel. Especially at 5’2". But now with a proportionate build, it has become easier, as to fit. I think the hardest thing is that so few of us have a tack store right down the street, so it is difficult to try things on in person. These clothes are not sold in Macy’s or Target so access to the full selection is limited. There a lot of hit-or-miss ordering and returns. Logistics present challenges and frustrations.

1 Like
#21
  1. Time Like most sports, you only get really good if you do it a lot. With my horses at home, and a more-than-fulltime job, so much time is spent caring for the horses and farm that actual quality riding time is limited. It’s a great problem to have, I love the lifestyle, but I’d say that’s the main thing that keeps me from being a better rider
  2. not an issue for me, I have not had any problem with fit or function when buying from catalogs.
1 Like

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