on August 15, 2026
Autumn is the season that decides how much you actually ride. The horses still need working, the shows still run, and the weather stops cooperating around the middle of September. What you wear over everything else is the difference between a full week in the saddle and three days of watching the rain from the tack room.
What a riding rain jacket has to do that a normal one doesn't
High-street rain jackets fail at the yard for reasons that have nothing to do with waterproofing.
They are cut for standing up, so they ride up and expose your back the moment you sit in the saddle. They rustle, and a crackling jacket behind a horse's ear is a genuine safety problem, not a minor irritation. They are opaque, which means everything underneath — your show jacket, your number, your turnout — disappears. And they are usually bulky enough that once the shower passes, you have nowhere to put them.
A jacket built for riding solves those four things: length that stays put in the saddle, a shell that stays quiet in movement, enough drawcords to keep weather out at the hood and hem, and a size that folds into a bag rather than filling it.
Why transparent
Most rain layers ask you to hide everything you have put together. On a show day that is a real cost — you spent the morning on the turnout, and the first shower cancels it.
A translucent shell does the opposite. The colour of your show jacket reads through it, a number bib stays legible, and the silhouette stays yours rather than the coat's. At the yard the same logic applies in a smaller way: people can see what you are wearing, which sounds trivial until you have spent a winter looking like everyone else in navy nylon.
Our Shield hooded rain jacket is built on exactly that idea — a translucent, waterproof shell with tonal branding, so the layer protects the outfit instead of replacing it.
What to look for, in order
- Length. It should cover the seat when you are mounted, not when you are standing. Check it sitting down before you buy.
- A guarded zip. A full-length front zip with a storm flap over it is where most jackets leak first.
- Drawcords at hood and hem. Wind decides how wet you get more often than rain does. Being able to tighten both ends is what keeps water from finding a way in.
- Elasticated cuffs. They stop water running down your forearm every time you shorten the reins — the single most common way of getting soaked from the inside.
- Pockets that close. A phone in an open pocket in the rain is a phone you will replace.
- Packability. If it does not fold small enough to live in your bag permanently, it will live at home on the day you need it.
Layering underneath
A rain shell is not a warm layer, and treating it as one is why riders end up cold and damp at the same time. It is a barrier: it keeps rain and wind out, while the warmth comes from what you put under it.
In early autumn that usually means a show shirt or a technical top and nothing else. As the temperature drops, add a thin fleece or a light padded gilet underneath rather than reaching for a heavier waterproof coat — you keep the movement and the visibility, and you can shed the middle layer when the sun comes back out.
One practical note: a shell traps the moisture you generate as well as the rain you avoid. If you are working hard in mild weather, open the zip halfway rather than staying sealed in.
Riding in the rain — the parts that are not about clothing
Wet ground changes the work, and dressing for rain is only half of it.
Footing loses grip and gains depth, so shorten the session and skip anything sharp — tight turns, quick transitions on a circle, jumping on holding ground. Visibility drops for the horse as well as for you: a hood restricts your peripheral vision noticeably, which matters in a busy arena. And rain flattens sound, so horses that spook at what they cannot place are worse in it, not better.
Afterwards, dry the tack before it dries itself. Leather that dries fast and stiff cracks; wipe it, let it dry away from heat, and condition it when it is dry rather than while it is damp.
Caring for a PVC shell
Translucent shells stay clear if you treat them simply. Wipe with a damp cloth and hang to dry — no machine washing, no tumble drying, and never on a radiator, because heat is what makes the film cloudy and brittle. Fold it loosely rather than creasing it in the same place every time, and store it somewhere that is not a hot car in summer.
The short version
Buy a shell that is cut for sitting in a saddle, quiet in movement, adjustable at both ends and small enough to carry every day. Keep the warmth in a separate layer underneath. Ride shorter and rounder on wet ground, and dry your tack gently afterwards. Then autumn stops deciding your week for you.
See the Shield rain jacket and the rest of the rider collection. Shipping is free on every order, with nothing to pay on delivery in the US, EU, UK and nine more countries.