Derriere products are an essential on the holiday packing list!

What happened when Derriere Equestrian’s sales, customer care and marketing coordinator Charlotte Goodall took a trip to Romania in her Derrieres?

I’ve always wanted to go on a riding holiday abroad and having previously experienced some of the UK trips offered by The World on Horseback, their organised trip to Romania seemed like a fantastic opportunity. I was not disappointed. Traveling back in time to explore the unspoilt, unfenced bucolic ambience of Transylvania was a truly staggering experience.

Our itinerary consisted of 4 days in the saddle through never-ending countryside, woodland, and traditional villages, passing herds of goats, cows, sheep whilst being cautious of meeting the black bears (thankfully passing fresh prints in the soft ground was as close as we got!) It is safe to say the experience wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t for my Derriere Equestrian® underwear!

Averaging about 20km per day, experiencing nothing short of ultimate comfort in the saddle enhanced my ridden experience, both feeling good and looking stylish allowed me to further soak up the sun, relish the beautiful scenery, trusted horses, and charming company. 

Our days included stops at visiting beautiful sights and majestic churches in various local villages.  The food definition of field to fork,  elegantly presented, traditional, organic, and sustainably sourced, every mealtime was a delight, definitely keeping standards as high as the overall riding experience was.

The Derriere Equestrian® Performance Padded Panty combines science with style, scientifically designed for the equestrian sport, eradicating discomfort, and reducing concussion. The use of high quality Italian breathable, bacteriostatic and moisture wicking fabric ensures a feeling of both optimum health, hygiene, and comfort.

The new bespoke Derriere Equestrian Activewear collection pleasantly compliments the equestrian underwear range. They work in harmony together to provide core pieces for your equestrian wardrobe. The technical tops and riding leggings combine high quality, functionality with exceptional comfort. The advanced moisture wicking and temperature regulating properties incorporated into the breathable, quick drying sporting technology fabric encourages high performance whilst providing ultimate comfort and support. The elegant design is flattering to the body and offers a secure yet subtle grip to the saddle. 

I would recommend both the underwear and activewear combination of products as essential to riders of all disciplines.  The Derriere Equestrian Underwear has been designed to eradicate seamlines diminishing the risk of the dreaded VPL. Ensuring discretion and style whilst enabling riders like myself to ride for miles in the saddle with no negative implications.

The World on Horseback provided me with the most mesmerising riding holiday in Transylvania,  the trip assured adventure as well as a feeling of being immersed in culture. Derriere Equestrian® provided me with ultimate confidence and comfort on these rides.

What did the other riders think about riding in their Derrieres? 

                                www.derriereequestrian.com       www.theworldonhorseback.co.uk

 

 

Summer riding attire

 

Why choose riding clothing that has skin thermoregulation properties?

With summer approaching, the ambient temperature will be very changeable – this means the inevitable issue of becoming hot and sweaty when riding – something all riders are familiar with! Our arenas are commonly filled with ladies riding in vest tops in summer, to increase air-flow and reduce excessive warmth from riding clothing.

 

Maintaining our body temperature

Our skin, essentially one inter-connected organ, is very practiced at maintaining our body temperature within suitable limits; as best it can, at least. As the sun becomes hotter, the skin’s immense blood supply helps regulate temperature - blood vessels in the dermis, the middle layer of the skin, dilate to allow for heat loss, and constrict to retain heat.

 

With its large surface area, our skin plays an important role in body thermoregulation. As we ride and increase our metabolic and physical processes – for example, riding the faster gaits, or performing a showjumping round – our body generates heat. When it becomes excessive, the body cleverly vasodilates the skin’s blood vessels, to start the cooling process. A further key process is sweating, which roughly speaking begins when the body temperature rises above 37 C. As drops of sweat form on and then evaporate from our skin surface, they take body heat away with them. Another clever process is convection, whereby air circulation close to the skin allows heat to be dissipated.

 

Why wicking horse riding clothing is hot to trot!

Let’s look a little at what those little vest tops are achieving, when you’re riding – or any cotton based T shirt or underwear, for that matter. Because cotton is a natural fibre, it absorbs moisture, drawing it away from the skin – but what’s actually preferable is a wicking material. With a cotton top or underwear, the sweat just stays on the material - it doesn’t get drawn away from your skin and isn’t moisture-wicking. A technical material designed for exercise helps dry sweat faster by pulling the sweat away from the skin, out of the clothing, and into the environment. This allows for the cooling process of evaporation. If the top or underwear is tight fitting as well as being less breathable, as most are, convection, whereby air circulation allows heat to be dissipated, can’t take place so efficiently. Another side effect is that unpleasant build-up of perspiration, and the ensuing smell and discomfort!

 

                         

Derriere Equestrian’s new Activewear range includes new horse riding sports tops and leggings boasting carefully positioned mesh areas (under the arms, over the shoulder and thighs and across the back and waist), wicking away moisture to keep you dry when the heat is on. The technical material is made from wicking fibres that allow skin thermoregulation to not only keep you comfortable in the saddle, but also keep the skin more healthy. You may be tempted to ride your horse in a vest-top to keep cool, but as we know from the above, if they are not made with exercise in mind, they are not the best choice. There is also the obvious sun damage and sun burn to consider too – the new Derriere Equestrian Activewear sports tops boast high-neck collars, to protect you from the undesirable effects of the sun (and look fantastic, of course!).

 

Derriere’s underwear range is too made from exercise specific, sports technology fabric to ensure advanced moisture wicking to keep riders cool and dry in the saddle.

 

Ask your local Derriere stockist or visit www.derriereequestrian.com to see the range – your skin will thank you!

The changing face of riding trousers – from twill to athleisure

When many of us learned to ride, you had a very limited choice of riding apparel. Black or beige jodhs with cuffed ankles were hardly the stuff of dreams, and adults especially were unlikely to proudly show off their riding-wear on the school run, or at the shops!

 

Just jodhs

Jodhpurs have always been very practical, long trousers; relatively snug from the calf to the ankle, usually with reinforced fabric at the calf and knee, and initially looser material at the thigh. Designed by and for men, and named after Jodhpur city in western India, the twill riding garments were first made for military riding in the late 1800s, and were then adopted for polo. Ladies began wearing jodhpurs during the 1920s, as they shifted away from riding side-saddle, and began riding astride; once females became involved in the jodhpur trend, they realised that the attire needed to become a lot more fashionable!  One of the first high-profile women to adopt the wearing of jodhpurs was Coco Chanel. She transformed the ‘practical’ jodhpur into a fashion statement, both on and off the horse.

 

Brilliant breeches

The more closely fitting (and shorter, calf-length) breeches can also be traced back to cavalry soldiers, notably in Poland, but also have their roots in the long under-trousers that 19th century male children and adults would wear from the age of around seven, whereupon they were deemed as having been ‘breeched’. (The alternative pronunciation and spelling ‘britches’ dates from the 17th century, when it referred to any trousers or long pants.) Around the time that Coco Chanel was converting women to the jodhpur, knickerbocker breeches and ‘plus fours’ were becoming popular in the UK, both fastening below the knee. (Plus fours very specifically fastening four inches below the knee!)

 

A form-fitting revolution

Lower riding attire rumbled along for many years without any special innovations, until the revolutionary Spandex and associated Elastane products like Lycra were developed in the 1950s and 60s. (Spandex is an anagram of the word expands, which is seemingly where the name comes from). Today, imagine any close fitting garment without Lycra (including swimwear) – what did we ever do without it?

 

Stretchy materials didn’t influence discipline-specific sportswear for a while, however – keep-fit ladies embraced close-fitting stretchy leotards in the 1970s, but it would take several more decades to reach equestrian’s style wardrobe, in the wider manufacturing sense.

 

Derriere Equestrian’s breeches

As breeches became more comfortable under long boots (losing the itchy Velcro fastenings), they began to take over the humble jodhpur for not just competition riders, but also for enthusiastic amateurs. Derriere Equestrian’s breeches are a fine example of modern, durable and comfortable riding trousers that boast a blend of cotton, microfibre and Elastane. The length of breeches has extended over the years, as manufacturers have developed close-fitting cuff systems (no more bunched up material at the calves!); the Derriere Flexi Cuff System provides a seamless, flexible design for ultimate support of the rider’s lower limb musculature.

 

Athleisure

Even in the early and mid 2010s, few riders would be seen dead in ‘pull on’ riding trousers; the available options were still baggy, without the snug-fitting waistband seen on today’s riding leggings. The early riding tights were not flattering or supportive for most female shapes! Yet today, ‘athleisure’ is increasingly popular, seeing inter-sport cross-over products that make perfect sense for the busy 21^st century rider. Athleisure is commonly accepted as all day attire – no need to get changed after your fitness class or riding session! Hence, we’re so excited to announce the imminent launch of the Derriere Activewear Leggings. These are form-fitting, supportive and comfortable, utilising the highest quality of breathable fabrics, designs and workmanship to offer superior comfort, support and style. The high stretch fabric is also wicking – ideal for warm weather riding. There’s choice between three colours and two designs, one featuring a full silicon seat and one with silicon knee grips.

 

With lower riding attire having reached the ultimate status of comfortable, smart and functional, today’s riders really can have it all, and proudly wear their riding leggings both in and out of the saddle. 

The Derriere Equestrian Activewear Range will be available from the end of March with pre-orders taken a couple of weeks before. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for more updates. 

Shop the current Derriere Equestrian range online:
www.derriereequestrian.com