Alright alright, I know what you’re thinking. A lifelong horse girl like me touting horse girl style? Groundbreaking. I get it; I’m too obsessed to be objective. But I’m not the only one who can’t get enough of the equestrian life. Everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon as of late, including fashion designers from Carolina Herrera to Stella McCartney. They’re realizing what my fellow hippophiles of past and present — think Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie Kennedy, Martha Stewart and the Hadid sisters — have always known: Equestrian style is eternally chic.
Photography by Bettman
For those of us who spent our childhood at the stables (colloquially and lovingly known as barn rats), the outside world’s infatuation with our way of life comes with a small dose of irony. After all, the real ones among us have spent long hours doing chores, mucking stalls and throwing hay bales. We also acknowledge that we’re guilty for perpetuating the idealized iteration of ourselves, looking like we walked right out of a Ralph Lauren ad when we actually take the time to dust off and polish up for a horse show. It’s this version of us that’s gone viral, thanks to splashy spectacles like Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg donning dressage shadbellies during the 2024 Paris Olympics. That’s fine by us, because we like that rendition of ourselves, too.
Photography by Henrik Montgomery / TT
You can probably picture it: a class tweed riding jacket over a crisp white Oxford shirt, figure-hugging breeches complete with an obligatory Hermès H belt and knee-high dress boots that look like they haven’t worked a day in their life. Or for a more casual day, perhaps a playful polo paired with Double RL denim and a pair of Hunter wellies. Have these clothes ever been near a horse? Probably not, but that’s not the point.
Of course, that’s to say nothing of English riding’s counterpart, the Western world. Cowboy (and –girl) culture has gotten a major boost in recent years thanks to pop culture phenomena like Yellowstone and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. Our collective fascination with this seemingly simpler way of life has created a buying frenzy for rustic, rural ranches across Montana and Wyoming as well as look-the-part wardrobe requirements such as Stetson hats, Wrangler jeans and Lucchese boots. Lest anyone question Western wear’s place in the fashion world, model/equestrian Bella Hadid confirmed its cool factor when she and boyfriend Adan Banuelos (an accomplished horseman and cutting champion) transformed New York City’s Meatpacking District into a makeshift riding arena last fall to unofficially close out Fashion Week.
Photography by The Hapa Blonde
Unlike the fleeting fads that come and go based on what the TikTok algorithm serves us up, enthusiasm for the equestrian aesthetic isn’t going anywhere. Why? Because it reflects humans’ enduring infatuation with equines that dates back millennia (talk about staying power). Simply put, we hippophiles entered the chat centuries ago and never left. But the impact of social media isn’t all bad. Coupled with pop culture, it gives everyone access to horses in a way that many haven’t experienced before, inviting people into our equine-obsessed universe. (I, for one, have always argued that the world would be a better place if everyone had horses in their life.)
Photography by Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
It’s no surprise, then, that we see equestrian-imbued collections parading down the catwalk every season courtesy of top fashion houses from Gucci to Burberry to O.G. Hermès, which has been crafting custom saddles and other leather tack since the 1800s. Sometimes there are even actual horses parading down the runway, as was the case when princess Charlotte Casiraghi (oh, and did we mention Grace Kelly’s granddaughter?) rode her steed, Kuskus, at Paris’s Grand Palais to kick off Chanel’s haute couture spring/summer 2022 show.
Let me be clear — I’m definitely not complaining that everyone wants in on the horse girl look. In fact, we’re happy to be the talk of the town. It’s just that not everyone who talks the talk can walk the walk. How to spot the real deal? She’ll likely be sporting hay in her hair and donning dust-covered breeches to post-barn brunch, without a care in the world because she just got done with her horse therapy.
Photography by Pascal le Segretain
Ultimately, the reason why the equestrian aesthetic is always trending is because it embodies a lifestyle that has long been synonymous with luxury. Beyond the envy-inducing apparel, there are the opulent estates in horse country destinations such as Middleburg, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; and Wellington, Florida (where well-heeled families like the Bloombergs, Gateses and Springsteens winter). There are the star-studded equine affairs, from the Hampton Classic Horse Show to the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event to the Aspen Snow Polo World Championship. And in every barn across the country, there are the stable staples — the tack room chock full of luxe leather goods, the aforementioned barn rats, the impish kids’ lesson ponies, and the throngs of horse show dogs (Queen Elizabeth II famously bred and kept dozens of beloved corgis throughout her lifetime).
Photography by Tim Graham
Though alluring, all of that is just window dressing. If you ask us horse girls, the real luxury is spending time in the presence of these majestic creatures that demand that we live in the present moment. It’s hearing that knowing nicker the moment we set foot inside the stable. It’s understanding that, against all odds, equines allow us to partner with them to achieve great things. And it’s experiencing a sense of freedom astride a horse’s back that’s unlike any other feeling in the world.
