A perfect top for the British Spring & a quick tip on dealing with nerves

If you are freezing cold in the morning and boiling hot by the time you ride you are probably bang on in the middle of the British Spring! The only thing that seems to work for this season of morning snow, midday drizzle and an afternoon sun tan is some smart layering, set of waterproofs and a smile 😉

In the last few months I had a pleasure to test drive Noble Outfitters Lauren 1/4 Zip Mock top in charcoal. Let me say straight away, I never like to write any reviews unless I have properly used something hence I have given it some time and a good amount of wear before posting today.

The top is fabulous that is sure! I personally do love the new colours that the company now has for sale so if you would like to check it out, here is the link to some really nice looking variety of Noble Outfitters base layers: http://www.nobleoutfitters.co.uk/collections/womens-baselayer

I wore this top for teaching, riding, XC schooling sessions, casual dog walking, both on its own as well as with some decent amount of layers under and over it. The material is soft yet strong and lasts unchanged through frequent washing machine washes.

I found it dries super fast even after a hard working, sweaty ride (!) and unlike some other base layers I have tried, it keeps you warm while you are cooling off. On a cold morning it works fantastically well with a warm fleece and my favourite Jack Wolfskin waterproof jacket.

Buddy the dog is not available for sale on Noble Outfitters website but he is a great companion for any photos 😉

One of my clients has Noble Outfitters Elite Performance jacket in navy which I reckon would work super well in combination with this top too. She loves hers!

Mairi and Gilly during Aspire Equestrian’s weekend Training Camp at Brackenhill Stud. For more photos from the camp, click HERE

To sum up – I have tested the top for about 4 months in all sorts of weather conditions in and out of the saddle, washed the hell out of it and I can honestly say it’s worth a purchase. I am eying up other colours combinations myself 🙂

The opening photo to this little post shows Alicia, one of my lovely riders on her loan pony, Basil. She has struggled with nerves when riding but has made a fabulous progress over the year we trained together. I thought I would share a quick tip on how we arrived at more confident sessions…

Forget building confidence. Forget assuming you are a wuss of a rider and have no guts. Start building knowledge about your horse and about yourself as a rider in terms of awareness of movement and use of your muscles. Learn how the horse thinks and moves. Focus on trusting the horse and on reinforcing that trust by in-hand work, varied lessons content and off the saddle time with the horse. It can transform you as a rider even if, like Alicia, you only ride 1-2 a week 🙂

Happy riding clothes shopping and happy riding!
Wiola