The Rise of Equestrian Air Vests

Equestrian safety vests have been around since the 1980s in the form of padded foam vests, but in recent years, a new type of safety vest has emerged in the sport: the inflatable air vest. Although the air vest was adapted to equestrian sport in the early 2000s, only in the past few years has there been a large increase in riders wearing them. What led to this sudden increase? And what do industry experts have to say about the future of the air vest? Are they here to stay? I took a deep dive into the equestrian world to answer all these questions and more.
Interviews/Standup (in order of appearance):
Ella DiFazio: Amateur Rider
Ana Lisa Carr: Physician, Ringside MDs
Morgan Champey: @morganchampeymedia
Kevin Babington: Former Olympic Rider
Catherine Winter: Owner, Ride EquiSafe
Made with Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects.
I want to thank Ella, Ana Lisa, Kevin, and Catherine for being a part of this story that became more than just a school project to me. Thank you for the perspectives and insight that made this story one of my favorites to produce, and the one that I'm most proud of.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to my mom for all the help and support she gave me during the month and a half I spent working on this story. Love you :)

[@dance4life1208]

I wanted to learn more about them since I heard about them. Good info , if the price comes down it should be mandatory.

[@mimisplaze]

yes its so expensivee😭

[@Jamilliajb]

Thank you, this was very informative.

[@nadersherif5742]

Riding is not a cheap sport. If you can’t afford $600 to potentially save your life then you probably shouldn’t be riding. A visit to the ER is $10,000 these days.

[@gatosandwichera]

Safety vests are compulsory in cross country (one of the three things eventers do). Those vests are so incredibly much cheaper and potentially safer, since I’ve seen riders carelessly manipulating their inflatable ones without considering this could lead to little holes that will result in them deinflating too soon for safety. I’ve also seen riders come with the vest but forget the canister, or the strap… strong foamy vests like the ones eventers use are simply bulkier and less fashionable, but I feel they’ll be around for many years since they’re easier to replace and it’s just a simple item.

[@gatosandwichera]

Also slow motion falls don’t create enough pull from the tether for it to make the vest inflate