Horse Pilot vs For Horses - Which Brand is Right For You?

Horse Pilot and For Horses sit on opposite sides of the European equestrian apparel world — one French, one Italian — and both have earned their place in Australian riders' wardrobes. But they're built for fundamentally different things, and the reality is that most riders only need one of them.

If competition jackets and airbag safety are your priority, Horse Pilot is the stronger pick — their aerodynamic cuts and NF S72-800:2022 certified airbag vests are genuinely ahead of anything else available in Australia. If breeches and show shirts that fit like they were tailored for you matter more, For Horses takes it — their Ultra Move breech line brings a tailoring standard that's hard to find anywhere else.

Both brands are premium. Both will outlast budget equestrian gear by years. But they solve different problems, and spending $700 on the wrong jacket or $390 on the wrong pair of breeches because the brand name sounded right is a mistake that's easy to avoid once you know what each actually does well.

Two European Houses With Very Different Approaches

Horse Pilot was founded in 2010 in Cysoing, a small town in northern France, by three riders who wanted to bring cycling and trail-running engineering to equestrian apparel. Aurelien Guillon, Simon Dewavrin, and Guillaume Janin built a brand around aerodynamic cuts, sport-science fabrics, and safety innovation. They backed it up by becoming B-Corp certified (score 87.9) — rare in this industry. Fifteen years in, they're the brand you see on international show jumping and eventing circuits, and their Aeromade jacket remains the benchmark for technical show jackets.

For Horses is the older brand by a decade. Giovanna Novello and Andrea Piovan started it in 2000 in San Vito di Leguzzano, near Vicenza in the Veneto region — the heart of Italian textile manufacturing. Giovanna's background is in fashion design (her family revolutionised Italian sportswear in the 1980s). Andrea is a chemical textile engineer. They're a husband-wife team, both riders, and everything is 100% Made in Italy. Where Horse Pilot takes the sport-science route, For Horses takes the artisan-engineering route — proprietary fabrics like IPERBIFLEX for bi-directional stretch, FH GRIP SYSTEM for seat stability, POLIUPILE for cold weather, and UV SUN PRO for 50+ UPF protection that actually matters in the Australian sun.

The ten-year gap between their founding dates shapes the philosophy. Horse Pilot arrived when wearable tech and aerodynamic sport science were becoming mainstream. For Horses grew up in the Italian textile tradition, where the fabric itself is the technology. Both approaches work. They just work differently.

Side by Side: What Each Brand Stocks at iRide EQ

Product Category	Horse Pilot (FR)	From (AUD)	For Horses (IT)	From (AUD)
Competition jackets	Aeromade	$702	KAP Unisex	$271
Breeches	Optimax Tights	$89	Ultra Move ENNIE	$347
Show shirts	Aerolight Long Sleeve	$229	DAPHNE	$219
Airbag vests	Twist'Air 2.0	$950	PIA Vest	$280
Riding gloves	—	—	Leather Gloves	$68
Riding boots	Teknit Boot	$710	—	—

Prices in AUD, verified against iRide EQ Shopify inventory September 2026. Check product pages for current availability.

Where Horse Pilot Excels — Aerodynamic Jackets and Airbag Safety

The strength of Horse Pilot becomes obvious once you look at the stock numbers. We carry 41 competition jackets from them — from the Aeromade flagship at $702 through to the Storm Hybrid at $299 — and 12 airbag products. That's not a clothing company dabbling in safety gear. That's a sport-science company that happens to make clothing.

The Aeromade jacket is the one that put them on the map. It's cut for aerodynamics — not a word I use lightly — and the 4-way stretch fabric means you can actually move in it. I've watched riders scope 1.20m courses in Aeromade jackets with zero restriction, which is more than I can say for most traditional show coats that bunch at the shoulder when you close your body over a fence. On a 35-degree Sydney afternoon, the breathable panels earn their keep too.

But the real reason Horse Pilot exists, in my view, is airbag technology. Their Twist'Air 2.0 airbag vest retails at $950 — not cheap — but it's certified to the NF S72-800:2022 French safety standard, which is the most rigorous airbag standard in equestrian. What I've found in practice is that the riders who wear HP airbags are the ones who've already had a bad fall. They don't buy it because it looks cool. They buy it because they know what happens when you don't.

For everyday riding, HP also makes solid show shirts — the Aerolight range starts at $229 and breathes well in Australian summer heat. But if you're looking for breeches, Horse Pilot is genuinely not your brand. We stock two — two — HP breech products, and they're both tights, not competition breeches. That tells you where their design focus is. Browse the full Horse Pilot collection — Aeromade jackets, airbag vests, and competition shirts all in stock at iRide EQ.

Where For Horses Excels — Italian Breech Craft and Tailored Fit

For For Horses, the story is the inverse. Where Horse Pilot has two breech products, For Horses has 25 in stock — and their Ultra Move line is the benchmark for quality in this category at iRide EQ.

The Ultra Move breech comes in multiple fits (ENNIE $347, RITA $390, SANSONE $368, POPPY $238), all using IPERBIFLEX fabric for bi-directional stretch. The reality is that most "stretch" breeches stretch one way. IPERBIFLEX stretches in every direction, which means the breech moves with your leg rather than against it. Combined with the FH GRIP SYSTEM — a silicone pattern on the seat that locks you into the saddle — it's a breech designed by people who understand that fit isn't just about looking good. It's about riding better.

What I've found in practice is that FH show shirts are their other standout. We stock 49 of them — from the ARIELLA at $149 through the DAPHNE at $219 and GRISELDA LTD at $217. The range is deeper than Horse Pilot's, and the Italian tailoring shows in details you feel rather than see. The collar sits flat. The placket doesn't gap. The fabric doesn't go transparent after three washes. These are things that don't show up in a spec sheet but matter enormously when you're walking the course at 7am trying to look like you've got your act together.

For Horses also makes riding gloves ($68 leather, $72 mesh), vests (PIA $280, ALTERA $289), and outerwear (KAP $271, NINA $347). No riding boots in their iRide EQ range — that's a gap, not a flaw. Explore the full For Horses collection — Ultra Move breeches, Italian show shirts, and competition outerwear.

Price, Sustainability and Real Value for Australian Riders

Neither brand is cheap, and I'd be doing you a disservice to pretend otherwise. Horse Pilot's range runs from $10 accessories to $990 top-end jackets. For Horses runs $35 socks to $1,190 for premium outerwear. In AUD, delivered to your door in Australia, both are investment-grade gear.

The value question isn't just about price — it's about what you get for the money and how long it lasts. In my 15 years around horses, I've seen $400 breeches fall apart in a season and $200 breeches last five years. The difference is almost always in the construction: stitching density, fabric weight, the quality of the silicone print. Both Horse Pilot and For Horses build to last. I wouldn't recommend either if I'd seen quality issues coming back through returns.

On sustainability, they take different approaches. Horse Pilot is B-Corp certified (score 87.9) — an internationally audited standard covering environmental and social practices. For Horses is 100% Made in Italy, which means a shorter supply chain, locally sourced fabrics, and Italy's relatively strict environmental regulations on textile manufacturing. Neither is perfect, but both are genuinely trying, and that's more than most equestrian brands can say.

For Australian riders, the practical consideration is range. We stock 217 Horse Pilot products and 97 For Horses products at iRide EQ, all with local delivery. Neither brand has the massive catalog you'd find from a mass-market retailer, but what they stock is deliberate — chosen for riders who want quality over quantity.

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