While speaking to my friend Jordyn from South Africa, who only recently learnt how to ride horses, she told me she was bringing only one pair of horse riding pants to her week-long horse riding holiday in Luxor, Egypt. I realised it might not be obvious for beginners or people that are new to horse riding holidays to stock up on different and more jods! However, for a week of riding twice a day, swimming with horses and riding in the heat of the desert, it definitely is a good idea to bring a few. In this post I’ll tell you about my favourite horse riding jods and jeans for different occasions.
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It really depends where and in which season you will be riding, and whether you have the opportunity to do some washing during your stay. Most horse riding holidays do offer washing services but it’s always useful to check with me when you book one of the HATW rides. There’s different pants for different types of horse riding and you can see below which ones would suit you best or which ones you’re looking for for your horse riding trip abroad.
If one of the activities on your ride is swimming I highly recommend some thin and light riding jods or sports leggings for horse riding. You can of course swim in your bathing suit, but if you’ve ever done that before, bareback on a horse, you probably know the pain after about a minute of splashing around... That’s why I always swim in thin leggings, they dry up super quick and are comfortable to swim with. These leggings are also perfect for rides on hot days, for example in Egypt and Zimbabwe in the summer. I also recommend these for the ultimate South African horse riding adventure as you’ll come across quite a few big river crossings! I almost always ride in leggings when I’m riding in English saddles.
Also read: Horse riding in Zimbabwe
Jeans are absolutely perfect to take with you when you book the Mexico ride by Hooves Around The World. They are super comfortable to ride in the traditional Charro saddles with, and thick jeans are perfect for the mornings and evenings when it’s quite cold. For the hotter days I always ride in thinner jeans which are super comfortable but not flared and a bit cooler than the thick western jeans.
Also read: Horse riding in Mexico
You’ll definitely need one of these if you’re riding in countries that are a bit colder such as Wales and England, or Switzerland in winter. I personally don’t like it when these types of jods stick to the saddle, so I own ones without silicone or leather on them for more freedom of movement. If you’re a beginner, intermediate or not so confident rider it might be nice to get some sticky pants so you don’t accidentally move in the saddle too much. Also make sure you come equipped with a rain suit when you are headed to the wetter, rainy countries. In Mexico I didn’t mind getting wet every now and then because the rain is not heavy and it’s still warm. However if you get caught in the rain on a cold full day ride in Wales, you will be very happy you took your rain suit!
Also read: Horse riding in Switzerland
Extra: Interested in photoshoots with horses? It’s nice to have a wavy long dress for this, with which you can ride bareback! You can find one of these dresses here.
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