Aeromade: Reinventing the Technical Competition Jacket

For fifteen years, we’ve constantly looked to other sports to better serve our own: cycling for breathability, sailing for freedom of movement, trail running for lightness, and ski cross for contoured cuts.
The Aeromade jacket was born from this cross-disciplinary approach—rigorously applied to the demands of competition.

The competition jacket: a garment in a class of its own

No other piece of sportswear carries a symbolic weight comparable to that of the competition jacket. It is an outfit, a uniform, a discipline. It embodies respect for protocol, the elegance of movement, and the memory of tradition. It is seen before the rider.

But it is also a performance garment. It is worn when jumping, when turning, when releasing the reins, when sweating under the July sun, when the heart rate rises between the warm-up and entering the arena. It must support, not constrain.

For a long time, the competition jacket prioritized appearance over movement. Stiff fabrics. Static cut. Heavy linings. Buttoning incompatible with an airbag vest. A frozen elegance, inherited from the dress codes of another century.

At Horse Pilot, we’ve chosen to challenge each of these assumptions. Not to break with tradition, but to serve it better.

Aeromade | Vieux rose | Veste de concours d'équitation femme | Horse Pilot

Fifteen years of reinventing the technical competition jacket

Since 2010, we’ve been designing equestrian apparel based on a simple observation: the rider is an athlete. Their gear should be, too.

We started by looking at what other sports had already figured out. How cycling manages heat during long rides. How sailing combines waterproofing and breathability. How trail running lightens the load without sacrificing durability. And above all, how ski cross designs its suits around the downhill position— body tucked in, arms and hands extended forward—exactly like a rider approaching a jump.

From this observational work, a method was born: to incorporate the best textile innovations into a discipline that had previously benefited little from them, without ever compromising its aesthetic codes. It is this approach that now shapes each of our competition jackets.

Aeromade: the culmination of our expertise

The Aeromade women's jacket is the culmination of this approach. Every detail meets a specific requirement—whether aesthetic, technical, or both.

A fabric designed for movement

The main fabric of the Aeromade is bi-stretch: elastic in both directions of the weave. In practical terms, this means the jacket moves with you without ever restricting your movement, whether you’re reaching forward to clear an obstacle, twisting your torso during a turn, or simply taking a deep breath before entering the course.

Its composition combines recycled nylon, technical nylon, and spandex. The fabric is OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified, guaranteeing the absence of substances harmful to health and the environment.

Aeromade | Bleu vintage | Veste de concours d'équitation femme | Horse Pilot

Aerotech technology: breathe, truly

A competition jacket that gets too hot means a rider who loses focus at the worst possible moment. Our proprietary Aerotech technology addresses this issue with the same seriousness as an endurance sport.

Three combined principles:

A quick-drying fabric that actively wicks away sweat instead of trapping it.
Laser-cut micro-perforations, strategically placed on the back, under the arms, and at the waist—exactly where
heat builds up during exertion.
Laser-cut panels at the elbows, which add flexibility, ventilation, and freedom of movement.

The result: a jacket that breathes like athletic wear, with the drape of a competition jacket.

Preform Fit: a cut designed for the riding position

A casual jacket is designed for a standing body. A competition jacket must be designed for a body in the saddle. The difference is greater than it seems.

Our Preform Fit pattern incorporates this reality from the very start of the design process. The sleeves are pre-shaped, angled slightly forward to follow the natural position of the arms when holding the reins, exactly following the principle we borrowed from ski cross. The cuffs are ergonomic: neither too short when flexed nor too long at rest. The interior shoulder pads structure the silhouette without restricting movement. The back vents allow the jacket to drape properly, whether in the saddle or on foot.

Every pattern line is the result of years of feedback from athletes—show jumpers, dressage riders, and eventers—who have tested our jackets in real-world conditions, right up to the highest international level.

Fidlock® magnetic buttons: airbag-compatible, elegance preserved

The arrival of the airbag vest in equestrian competition posed an aesthetic and technical challenge: how to wear an airbag under a competition jacket without compromising either safety or the silhouette?

We solved this equation with Fidlock® magnetic buttons, a technology derived from the world of outdoor sports and professional equipment. These buttons:

close with one hand, in a precise and silent motion;
are designed to withstand airbag deployment, remaining closed during inflation, withstanding the pressure of deployment without opening, and thus preserving the jacket’s fit without compromising protection;
retain the classic appearance of traditional buttoning, with the technology remaining invisible.

The Aeromade is an integral part of our airbag-compatible line. It can be worn with or without a protective vest, eliminating the need to choose between safety and competition attire.

The details that make the difference

An inner pocket for your phone, the start list, or a sugar cube for the horse. A regulation collar that meets competition requirements. A carry and storage bag included to protect the jacket between competitions. A lightweight design—530 g in size 36—that you’ll barely notice during long days in the arena.

A jacket, a philosophy

The Aeromade is not just a competition jacket. It represents a way of viewing equestrian sports as a discipline in its own right, one that deserves the best textile innovations available, without sacrificing elegance.

Fifteen years after launching Horse Pilot with the belief that riders deserved better than a compromise, the Aeromade is the most accomplished embodiment of that conviction. Designed in France, crafted to exacting standards, and worn in the arena by athletes on the international circuit as well as by discerning amateur riders, it brings together everything we have learned.

The elegance of a discipline. The technicality of a sport. The precision of a workshop.