When I was a teenager I noticed that I quite often fell off when I was wearing new clothes for the first time. A new t-shirt or jumper was usually okay but specifically horsey things like riding hats made me fall off. Once I wore a new hat cover and carried a new whip at the same time. I was bucked off whilst out for a hack by myself.
I have no idea how many times things like that actually happened but it was enough for me to develop a superstition about it. I had to make sure that if I got anything new I did not wear it for the first time at a competition. That would just be asking for trouble.
Of course, the rational part of me knows that a new hat will not make me fall off. However, I also know that the mind is incredibly powerful and if I think I will come off it makes it much more likely that I will. Which is why this week I found myself hacking out in a new hat cover and new (to me) show jacket.
It felt a bit odd but also as if I was in one of Ruby Ferguson’s Jill stories which I love so actually I was very happy. Perhaps we should go back to hacking in hacking jackets!
Jill never had to wear high viz but the jacket and hat look very smart. Hope the competition goes well.
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It does spoil the look a bit! It’s a shame – perhaps we need a hacking jacket with some kind of built in fluorescent/reflective material.
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PS Thank you, I had a great day – I’ll tell you all about it next week!
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good story. I remember hacking jackets!
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Thank you. They do look nice – standards have slipped!
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