My silliest make ever?

I certainly feel silly when I wear them. And I wear them A LOT!

Jodhpurs! And here I am in them at Riding for the Disabled, (who also do lessons for able-bodied people like me), with the very cheeky horse Dylan, and the fantastic coach Natasha

Riding is hot, dusty – or muddy! wet (I can’t seem to go near water without getting soaked, and we wash the horses down afterwards), and sweaty. Bits of chaff stick to you, bits of horsehair horse sweat and horse smell sticks to you, leather saddle smell sticks to you. It’s just … mess.

How silly a contrast can you get to this oh so pretty fabric?

A tad … inappropriate?!

Why on earth this fabric? I wanted a comfy cotton/lycra stretch knit to try out the pattern. Spotties didn’t have any plain stuff, leaving me with a choice between very genderised boy-prints or girl prints.

The boy prints were all a bit gamon. So I narrowed the girl prints down to a blue floral, or this one. I chose this, coz, well, the silliness of choice made me laugh. And laughing is good for you! So is not taking yourself too seriously, right?

The backstory: I started learning horseriding last year and I LOVE IT. It can be funny seeing people’s reactions to when I tell them. Most people these days know me as a dancer, my life full of chiffon and pointe shoes in a very artificial stage or studio setting.

But it’s not so odd, really. The love of horses runs deep in my family, indeed both my paternal grandparents ran a riding school, and there are horse riders on my mother’s side too. And, in spite of my apparently pretty delicate ballerina air, I actually grew up mostly rural.

But regardless, I have very soft skin that blisters easily. As easily from a seam chaffing at my inner thighs when in the saddle, as it does pointe shoes in ballet class. Sigh.

Since jeans or leggings were chaffing badly, I investigated rtw jodphurs, discovering they are expensive, all look Very Serious, (ie boring) and have all the same fitting issues I have with any rtw trousers or leggings – too big in the waist or too small in the hip; pulling down at the back due to the shape of my crotch curve. And, of course, the thighs too small.

Yes, rtw trousers thighs are usually too small! Don’t laugh! The struggle is real, guys!

I decided to make my own jodhpurs to get a good fit and because it would be cheaper if making more than one. And also, I was curious as to how they were drafted. And unsure anyway as to good the actually were when in the saddle.

Enter Jalie Cora leggings.

They’re great. They do what they say on the packet, are very well drafted, and comfortable. And see the seam down the front of the legs? Perfect! No more blisters! And bonus, no more bootleg jeans swishing round my ankles being quite frankly, a bit of a safety issue.

For the record, I love these riding boots I bought from Saddleworld! Leather with a rubber sole and regulation small heel, they were sold as paddock to saddle or something like that. ie not just for riding, but for looking after horses too.

When I started, I didn’t really think so far ahead as to realise it would be a great excuse to buy more shoes. But hey, who’s complaining?!