British Riding Clubs (BRC), a national organisation representing over 27,000 equestrians, is changing its rules across all competitions to allow riders to wear black or navy breeches.
White, cream and beige are still accepted but the addition of black and navy as permitted colours is intended to help female competitors feel more comfortable and confident to perform at their highest level while they are on their periods.
Head of British Riding Clubs, Rachael Hollely-Thompson said: “As an equitable organisation that exists to support its membership, changing the rules around the colour of breeches to be worn in competitions is an important and significant move as more sports look to adapt to be more relevant and more inclusive.
We expect more equine organisations to follow suit on this change over the coming months especially as the movement gathers momentum across all sports with people like Judy Murray and the Manchester City women’s football championing the cause to ditch mandatory white sportswear.”