You might not know this but I have been dying for a pair of riding tights for ages and had started looking for a pair, so when the Mark Todd Collection asked me if I’d like to review* a pair of their Winter Riding Leggings, you can guess how quickly I took their arm off! So, for the last month I have almost literally lived and died in these leggings so I can bring you a full review of what I thought of them and how they perform.
My first impressions when opening the package was that they felt nicely thick but not chunky, quite soft and good quality. I liked the high waist and the thigh pocket feature, handy for your mobile phone and I can confirm that even larger smartphones fit securely. The Mark Todd Collection do have several different styles of winter riding leggings available with different coloured stitching or mesh behind the knees, but I had the normal ones. Mine are available in black or navy and have a full silicone seat and breathable fabric.
When I put them on at first, I felt like they needed to pull up on the legs a bit more and I was a tiny bit worried that they wouldn’t be a good fit, but after a few minutes the material seemed to relax and they felt absolutely fine. That was the only time I felt this, even after washing so I put this down to just being new as they actually have plenty of stretch, literally if I could actually do the splits, then these were flexible enough to allow it easily. I am a size 10 in jeans and breeches and was wearing the leggings in size M/medium and I think they would be fine if you are a size 12 too.
I wore them while I tested the Mark Todd short waterproof jacket for my last review (it’s here in case you missed it, where my mum literally hosed me down on the yard to test it! seriously!) I’ve never had a silicone seat before so I rode without stirrups in all 3 paces. I have to admit that to begin with I wasn’t sure if I liked being gripped in the saddle by the silicone, it really did feel strange to me, but honestly it didn’t take long to forget all about how different it felt and to just enjoy the extra security in the saddle.
Over the weeks I’ve worn the leggings to ride 4 different horses regularly, and they’ve been to the Under 25s Championships with me to wear in between classes, they’ve been worn to muck out loads of times, washed and dried lots and still looked good enough to wear for my PONY! Magazine vlog where I always like to look super smart. I felt even though these are winter leggings, being breathable they were still so comfortable and wearable even when it was hot. They have turned into my “go to” outfit when getting ready to ride or spend time at the yard.
What was my favourite feature? Everything, the comfort, how they look, the phone pocket, and I really love the high waistband which means I don’t need to worry about muffin top, you know the struggle is real girls!
Is there anything I would change about these leggings? The black is super smart as I said and would have been my first choice, but now I have the black, I’d really love them to be available in some more colours too. I will definitely be buying a second pair.
The Mark Todd Winter Riding Leggings are available from all Trilanco stockists. Just google and pick your favourite trusted seller!
*This is not a paid review