Yesterday was the second time I’ve come off a bucking horse and broken ribs. I’m a dressage rider and the culture isn’t really about protective vests. I do use safety stirrups and a helmet at all times.
Can anyone suggest a non-bulky protective vest?
Please, please, please don’t even consider whether protective vests are part of dressage “culture.” Wear one! I would guess that air vests are the least bulky – until they inflate, of course.
there are no rules against wearing protective gear in dressage so if you feel the need to wear one, do so! Besides, with all the new relaxations in dressage attire, pretty much anything you wear will fit right in unless it is brightly patterned or a loud plaid 
I use a non-rated vest for stuff like this. I find them very comfortable. I am a petite person, and they are sort of designed for exercise riders, who tend to be more petite. I only say that because a larger person may not find them as comfortable (?)
I wear an Airowear vest when I ride due to a back injury and not wanting to re-injure or worsen my back. I like it because it’s long enough to cover my lower back and sacrum. I’ve found that most vest are a bit bulky but if they fit well they are comfortable. You can get an inflatable vest but sometimes they do fail to deploy when riders come off (or riders accidentally set them off by forgetting they are still attached). So if you need a situation that is fail proof, a traditional vest in probably best. The inflatable vest are much less bulky and less hot to wear though.
There is a new air vest out that many use in the hunter jumper market because it zips into the show jacket and looks as it is one piece so perfect for the dressage arena. Otherwise a stand-alone air vest can be worn over most clothing.
I got bucked off and broke ribs a few years ago and now I wear a vest the way I do a helmet, every ride, every time. I event also, so I just wear my Tipperary Eventer Pro. I live in the South and wear it even during the summer and, as long as I have it over a nice sun shirt, I’m now used to it even in the extreme heat. Air vests are quite popular but I don’t want to worry about it deploying (or not), so I just went for the tried and true. I got used to the Eventer Pro’s lower lumbar vest coverage in my dressage saddle but I know that’s a complaint for some. Tipperary has a carriage driving vest that has a higher cut back that I’ve thought might be worth a try for dressage saddles with higher cantles.
PS- I also think the more of us that wear vests it will become more normal. I do get stares sometimes but I’m fairly accomplished and happy to answer questions about it, so I do see more people consider wearing one themselves and getting a bit more educated on the topic.
I have both the hard thick vest (a Tipperary Ride Lite) that I bought for ground work, that is very adjustable, but it somewhat uncomfortable to ride in with my dressage saddle; and an Equitheme Air vest that I ride my baby horse in. The thing with the vests is that different brands fit different body types. I loved the Horse Pilot air vests, but they did not fit me (too narrow at the bottom). My Equitheme fits like a glove. I recommend Catherine at Ride EquiSafe. You send your measurements and she finds the brand that fits. She has a ton of YouTube videos on safety equipment too. www.rideequisafe.com There is no pressure to buy.
ETA: My Equitheme will zip into a show coat, which you have to buy much bigger so that you don’t look like the Michelin Man. I don’t mind it too much over my black show coat, but I do wish they would let us wear them alone when coats are not waived. One thing I would recommend is to make it a habit to dismount at a 3 step mounting block in case you forget to unclip!!! I dismount that way and saved my canister once (and thankfully my sainted four year old did not walk off after I got off!).
I wear an air vest every ride. We prefer Point2.
I want to second or third or…whatever number it is…this post!
Wear a vest. Proudly wear a vest.
Do not let anyone make you feel like wearing a vest is not the right answer.
Tipperary has a newer model called the “Contour” that is less bulky than an approved XC vest, designed for arena riding. https://tipperaryequestrian.com/category/vests-contour
I wear a racesafe provent 3.0 that I got from Catherine at Ride EquiSafe that I love. I live in the Canadian prairies where we get very hot summer weather and while yes, I do heat up in it, it’s not unbearable. Frankly, I forget that I’m wearing it.
Having said that, I’m not riding in shows, so I don’t know how it would look/work with a jacket, but in terms of functionality I 100% recommend.
I wear my Hit Air Advantage every time I ride. I wear it primarily in an attempt to stave off further concussions, so I went with the Hit Air because it had the largest neck roll of all of the air vests at the time I bought it.
Also, I think Hit Air just came out with a new model that provides more lower back/pelvis protection than what I have. I think it’s called the Advantage Pro.
It is not overly attractive, but I wear it over my jacket at shows. I feel like it keeps me in a black jacket so I can’t really branch out to new colors, but that’s okay. If that every gets to be an issue and I have some money burning a hole in my pocket (ha!), I might look into the ones that you can zip into a jacket.
And I find that most people dismount ONCE without unclipping and then never again make that mistake. I am definitely in that camp.
I recently started wearing a vest due to my latest mount being a bit fractious and not always making the best choices. I am a little afraid of the air vest situation, so i went with a solid one - The Champion Titanium Ti22. I wear it all the time now and love it. https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Champion_Titanium_Ti22_Body_Protector_Safety_Vest-Adult/descpage-CTBP.html
Another fan of the Airowear Outlyne. It’s stiff in the winter until it warms up, but then quite comfortable.
I have worn the Airowear Outlyne (for 4 years) and am now riding in the ProVent. I’d say the ProVent is slightly (very slightly) cooler and not quite as bulky. But they’re both good and they both are Beta 3 certified.
I’ll just add that it’s my understanding that air vests were designed to be used in addition to the standard hardshell vest and not as a substitute. This is despite the fact that many people ride in the air vests by themselves. So, I’m just puttin that out there.
If you choose a hard shell then I would recommend that they meet at least ASTM standard. BETA Level 3 is even better, but they are bulkier. For example Tipperary makes hard shell vest that meet ASTM standard and some that don’t. For the ones that don’t you have no idea if they will do any good in a fall. At least the ones that meet ASTM standards or the higher BETA Level 3, you know will offer some protection because they have to test them against something.
For air vests, there is no USofA national standard. The French just published some standards but is only local to them. Snell has also put out equiestrian air vest standards, but that hasn’t been adopted by any country yet. So it is a bit of a wild west out there. When I bought my Point Two about 4 years ago they say they subjected their vests to the same tests as BETA Level 3 and passed. They use to publish the results but not anymore.
Horse Pilot (who uses the InMotion system) says their air vests meet the new French standards.
Good luck in choosing. When I got my air vest no one else was using them, but now in the jumping world it is becoming quite common, especially amongst the older set. 
Another vote here for Airowear. Bulky but shapes while wearing, and is well ventilated. I did not want to go with an inflatable air vest when I was vest shopping for something to wear while riding my then-greenbean, but many people wear them- probably more than any of us realize since there’s now options for those that integrate into show jackets
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
