Thanks for the replies, I will never complain about daft British turnout rules again. I can cope with having an uneven number of plaits in a horse’s mane (not including the forelock) being ‘correct’ but stuffing your hair in your hat so you get headaches and the safety of the hat is compromised… no. A step too far.
OP, you need to embrace the rebel within and say ‘stuff this snobby hair style rubbish’ and wear your hair so it is comfortable and your riding hat is safe.
Sure. You have to wear a helmet that meets the designated ASTM standard. But, the compliance of a particular helmet with the designated ASTM standard is predicated on the assumption that one will wear the helmet under the same conditions in which it passed the ASTM testing. And, as others have already pointed out, when you buy a bigger helmet so you can stuff your long locks up inside it, you’re no longer wearing the helmet in the way it was intended to be fitted and worn.
At work, our field crews are sometimes called upon to use certain types of PPE (personal protective equipment). There are pretty strict rules for how that PPE must be worn in order to ensure that it is most effective. That same thing is true of helmets today.
Because it’s not just this one trainer. I think people here don’t realize that this is just the look and this is how it is for all of them in hunters, eq, IEA, IHSA, and NCAA.
IME, in general, the more competitive, the more prevalent the hair in helmet thing is. Can you wear your hair out of your helmet? I mean sure technically you can but you will stick out. Is a judge going to place you lower because of your helmet? Well no, but it’s like riding in a really dated and ill fitted hunt coat. Theoretically, it shouldn’t matter because the best ride should win but you’re walking in with a bad first impression.
Maybe it’s different in other areas but I’ll be honest. In my area outside of jumpers, the majority of the people riding with their hair outside of their helmet tend to be novice/ beginner types. After awhile of seeing the same thing, your brain kind of starts to associate that style with a lower riding level. Same thing with ill fitted and dated show clothes… the only riders I ever see wearing them are beginner level riders so whenever I see someone wearing show clothes like that it’s just what my brain goes to. And this is coming from someone that wears their hair outside of their helmet and also has pretty dated show clothes.
This is why I think we need a rule change, because most people aren’t going to stop doing this unless someone makes everybody else stop it too.
One more thing, if you think this is dumb, unsafe, and not inclusive, and needs to stop, then write to USHJA and ask them to ban this stupid style and/ or write to helmet brands and tell them to stop modeling their helmets in an unsafe and not inclusive style.
Yes, I agree–because hunters and equitation (which are the disciplines the hair-in-hat thing really comes up) are subjectively judged, many show barns are obsessed with controlling every possible variable that might impact results.
Think of how many earnest posts there have been, wondering if it’s okay to wear a grey jacket in the equitation, or a burgundy coat in the hunters. And that’s at the silliest and least harmful level. Every time it’s 90F degrees, I also see FB memes floating around about how your trainer never permits you to take off your jacket, even if jackets are expressly waived. Add in barns that pressure kids to get horses of a certain color and size, regardless of suitability, for “the look.”
A lower level barn with kids that rarely show is just happy to get the kids out there, in somewhat appropriate gear, and not get run over in the beginner warmup ring, forget hair. So I agree that it would be helpful if higher level riders and barns people admire started adopting safer styles, as was the case when Charlotte and a number of other highly successful dressage riders began wearing helmets. Even so, a rule change is obviously going to precipitate change faster than fashion (again, as with helmets in dressage).
“But, the compliance of a particular helmet with the designated ASTM standard is predicated on the assumption that one will wear the helmet under the same conditions in which it passed the ASTM testing.”
I’ve learned ASTM testing involves steel headforms. Hair doesn’t seem to factor into it all. Here is a link to what the forms look like – one would presumably have to be completely and utterly bald to fully replicate the simulation.
This does make the point that a closely-fitted helmet is optimal but how one gets there will vary – thus, as has been pointed out, the most important thing you can do is be fitted with the help of a professional.
The Charles Owen site overviews testing and shows the headforms in use, theirs adds computer simulations – there’s also a great Laura Kraut video about her personal experience.
The only study I can find related to hair and helmets is one for football helmets, funded in part by the NFL. PDF here. While football players don’t wear their hair up, this report does note “The fit of football helmets varies widely [1] and football players have varying amounts of hair, ranging from bald to long dreadlocks” – therefore, even down, fit is still an issue and not necessarily guaranteed.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommended for high-school football players in 2016 that “The risk factor of poor helmet fit should be minimized through mandated adult supervision and midseason spot checks” because “Helmet fit can change and evolve during the season and games, due to sweat, hair style, rain, cold weather clothing, and other factors.”
Presumably spot-checks are more hands-on than visually observing the athlete’s hairstyle.
As a side note, I was amused to see the NFL has the opposite problem - players’ hair, flowing free from their helmets, has been a point of discussion and proposed rules given the dangers associated with hair-grabbing and pulling during tackles.
Well, I for one am dying to know how the hair helmet debacle was solved for the weekend’s show!
Just to add, I started with a JR8 and found it a bit tight when I put my hair up. FWIW, we were required to ride with our hair in hairnets and in our helmet (2008ish time). I ended up switching to an AYR8 which I found gave me more room for my hair and was more comfortable on my head.
I put my hair up in two ways depending on the day:
So I talked to my barn’s tacking assistant and she said that the hairnets were too loose. I tried using smaller hairnets and making them tighter and my head was slightly sore after I rode with it, but that much I think is normal. 
I mean, for me it’s not but whatever floats your boat I guess.
Haha this forum sure has taken a turn but I’ll weigh in here - back in my day (ha!) juniors were allowed to show the hunter under saddle and hack in a hunt cap and were only required to wear a helmet for the “real” O/F classes. I have no idea how my ER doctor father allowed that one but my junior mount at the time was as fancy, push-button, and quiet as they came. We were at a show that required helmets for all juniors when mounted, regardless of class, when my horse pulled his suspensory in the HUS and came down on top of me on the flat. Its the only time I ever hit dirt the entire 8 years I owned him and it happened to be the only time (up to that point) I was wearing an ASTM-approved helmet when riding him on the flat.
So, OP, you’ve obviously learned by now that there is no magic to tucking your long hair in a helmet and it sounds like your trainer is a lovely woman who will listen to you when you tell her no, you won’t be doing that. Horseback riding taught me a lot of things but the assertiveness I learned is what I credit with taking me the farthest in life.
I hope your pony was ok after that fall. That’s gotta be traumatic for you from both the fall and the injury. :(. But there’s some sound advice in there and I hope it doesn’t fall on deaf ears.
It’s helmet awareness week and most approved helmets (including many MIPS helmets) are 15-20% off. Now would be a great time to find a new, safe. well fitting and good looking helmet that your noggin and your trainer can live with.
“Hunter hair” has been around for at least 50 years. I don’t agree with it, but I think calling it a fad ignores that it’s actually a deeply ingrained norm in the hunter and eq rings and has been for decades. Like, string girths are a fad right now. Wide noseband bridles, maybe. 50+ years of one hairstyle is going to be a bit trickier to dissuade people from than your typical show ring trend.
Thanks, but I think my current helmet will work fine, it has stopped hurting when I wear it and i don’t even notice my hair being in it anymore
I really wish h/j world wasn’t sticklers for the hair net. It does ruin the fit and can be dangerous.
Have you tried other brands? I found the Charles Owen to be too narrow for me. I have a round head. The Samshield made me look like an astronaut. The OneK helmets fit me awesome and are a more affordable higher end brand.
Round head here… tried the GPA Little Lady and lovvvvvved it. I have a One K and I’ve had Charles Owens before this… but the Little Lady has been the best fit I’ve had in a long time. Don’t be afraid to go to a bigger size. Apparently my noggin is a 58cm (7 1/4). I rock the Medium in the One-K, but the 7 1/4 was an incredible fit… doesn’t move and stays put. Fits low and correct without feeling like it will pop off. Give it a try! I do feel like when I look at it off my head like I’m about to play a black ops game of polo or go on a very dark safari… but safety is paramount and people have said it looks great… so I’m all for it.
Thanks for the suggestion, but we realized that the ladies at the tack shop just did my hair wrong and it fits pretty well I wore it for a 2hr show practice and I barely noticed it was there
Nice and helpful are not mutually exclusive, meaning they can happen at the same time, but don’t have to always overlap.
Something that is helpful: advice on not wearing your hair in your helmet to prevent traumatic brain injury risk, does not have to be NICE.
Your trainer prioritizing an unsafe practice, in this case, *hair in helmet" for an IEA show at 18 inches or flatting is widely accepted as completely inappropriate from a professional and safety standpoint. We don’t have to be nice when an adult is encouraging a widely known unsafe practice for a very insignificant reason (low level IEA showing).
As a junior, I’ll let you have that this is your favorite trainer. Doesn’t mean she is perfect or always appropriate. Most of us have been riding for longer than you’ve been alive, and some of us longer than your parents have been alive. If many of us are commenting that something is inappropriate when it comes to safety – it is likely true.
Good luck at the show. I recommend discussing with your parents the safety risks and I am sure a parent will be able to facilitate a safe decision.
FYI - I have long wavy hair that goes past my mid-back. I braid it and tuck it into the back of my sports bra as I hate when it smacks me in the back at the canter/ over fences. Occasionally I will braid it wet and wear it in a low bun, dressage style. Many a USET clinicians have complimented my bun for elegance and safety after I dismount and take down my super long lion’s mane hair.
My first show went really well!! I got two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 4th. My helmet didn’t bother me very much at all, and I really enjoyed the show experience. Tysm for your advice and help, everyone!
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