All hats and horse riding helmets worn for horse riding should be designed and manufactured to conform to the correct safety standards. Safety standards for riding hats in this country include BSEN1384 and EN1384 which are the basic minimum safety standards that get reviewed every 5 years if a complaint is made and PAS015, which is a revised safety standard that addresses new areas of protection for riding hats including stability tests on hats when worn. The Kite mark signifies continually tested products conforming to the required safety standards and the CE mark shows quality and ensures that any product being sold in the European Union meets the required safety standards. All riding hats and helmets should be replaced after a fall even if damage cannot be seen. Even with all the safety standards in place a riding hat or helmet that in incorrectly fitted can be useless and unable to provide protection in the event of an accident. Ill fitting riding hats can be uncomfortable and completely inappropriate for the job in hand. There are different styles of horse riding hats and helmets to suit different purposes and each hat should be chose with the discipline they are to be used for in mind. Each horse riding discipline, dressage, eventing and show jumping requires the rider to wear a riding hat with specific qualities and designs. There are many different riding hats but all fall into one of two categories, Riding Helmets and Skull Caps. Hats used in Dressage competitions are top hats and can be made from materials like velvet and fine fur felt. Riding Helmets are the more traditional type seen, some are velvet covered with a peak and others are plastic and look more like a bicycle helmet and are commonly worn eventing etc. Skull Caps are commonly worn by jockeys and can be personalised with velvet or Lycra riding hat coverts. It is important to remember that no hat can prevent serious injury but they can offer excellent protection. Hats can be replaced but heads cannot.
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