FEATURE by Helen Pollock photos by Kristin Lee
Say “Yes” to the Vest! T H E A I R BAG T H AT H A S YO U R BAC K
It
is certainly an understatement to say that 2020 brought change to our world. Not only did the pandemic put a pause on what we thought was ‘normal,’ it also raised our awareness on health and safety in all aspects of our lives. The more conscious I was about washing my hands regularly, sanitizing surfaces and always leaving the house with my mask, the more aware I became of taking safety and precaution measures at the barn. One new trend I have noticed, both at horse shows and in my weekly riding routine, is that more and more riders are wearing airbag vests. I am now a proud member of this group. I’ve said “Yes” to the vest! I know I am not the only rider who is scared of falling off his or her horse. Ironically, when I first tried the airbag vest I was less afraid of falling off my horse than I was of having the vest go off while riding, and subsequently spooking
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my horse. That might sound silly, but having ridden for over 35 years, the idea of wearing a deployable C02 canister gave me the jitters. Nerves aside, I decided I wanted to give it a try, and, after my first ride I became very comfortable in my vest. Six months in, I am hardly aware of it while riding. I remember skiing as a young girl wearing a knit hat and goggles. My parents were one of the first to make me leave the hat in the car and try this new thing called a ‘ski helmet.’ Now ski helmets are everywhere, and I can’t imagine being on the slopes without wearing one. I truly believe this will be the way of the equestrian airbag vest. Ever since I started wearing the vest and writing about it on both my Instagram page and blog, I have had dozens of messages from fellow riders. Many have asked why I chose Horse Pilot’s vest in
particular. Before buying, I tried on both Helite and Horse Pilot, which are equally great vests. But, in the end, Horse Pilot was the vest for me for two reasons. First, the Horse Pilot vest was the only vest that had additional coverage through my lower back and tailbone area. Second, I chose Horse Pilot for their structured fit and overall comfort. The Horse Pilot vest has neck coverage that offers support without forcing my head forward which was a better match with my particular helmet. This was my own process and reasoning, but the most important thing to do when looking for an airbag vest is to TRY THEM ALL ON and pick the one that fits best for you. As it happened, in November of 2020 I had an unplanned dismount that put the vest to the test. I was in the jumper ring at Desert Horse Park and I thought it was a good idea to ask my horse to leave long, while cross-cantering to a skinny vertical.
