Cob Jockey

Every 5 years, I replace my helmet on International Helmet Awareness Day.  I get a discount, and I also use IHAD's excessive social media promotion as a "Time to make sure my helmet isn't expired yet" reminder.

I won't buy a helmet without trying it, and this year, I really wanted to try the new Charles Owen My PS MIPS helmet, but since my "local" tack store didn't have it (or any MIPS helmets), I ended up buying the same helmet as my expired one but in a different color (OneK in rose gold).


And then I went to the LandSafe clinic.  Danny is sponsored by CO, and had the entire range of CO helmets available to try on.  Aaaaaand the second I put the My PS on my head I knew it was coming home with me.  It fit like a glove, and made my OneK feel like a cheap toy.

I asked "Can I order this?" and he said "You can walk out the door wearing the one you've got on if you want."  So I did 😂

I had already spent a lot of time researching MIPS myself, and decided it sounded like a good idea for equestrians.  The concept is that the brain actually benefits from a certain amount of "slip" in blows that don't happen square on from the top of the head - which is how current helmet safety testing is performed, and how most falls don't actually go.  So MIPS helmets have this inner liner that moves:

The yellow part, which is very thin, moves around a bit

Of course I was aware that Danny had a vested interest in selling me something, but given that he's made a career out of equestrian safety after his own high-risk riding career, I asked for his opinion on whether MIPS was worth it.

I think it looks like a motorcycle helmet from the side, but I don't hate it

Paraphrased slightly, his opinion was: "MIPS is absolutely worth it, and today, if I was doing Dressage and Show Jumping I'd wear any of the CO MIPS helmets, which are the best for low-speed falls like you'd see in those sports.  For XC, I still think the CO 4Star is still the best helmet out there, but as soon as they put MIPS technology in the 4Star, that's what I'm buying." 

And yes, he's sponsored by CO, so he's not taking (other current MIPS helmet manufacturers) Champion or Trauma Void into consideration here, although he did seem very educated on the offerings of other helmet manufacturers in general.  I found his comment about the 4Star interesting, but I didn't press him for more info since I'm not shopping for an XC helmet.


In the end my feeling on this is that our helmets are only as good as the research that went into them at the time they were developed, and MIPS technology seems worth it to me after reading up on it. The bicycling world has flocked to MIPS much faster than the equestrian world, but I expect we'll see more and more helmets start to come out with it shortly.

And that's how I ended up with two helmets...

Bottom line: Top safety technology? ✅ Fits my head well? ✅ Removable, washable liner? ✅  Cost in line with other mid-range helmets? ✅  Sold.

What: Charles Owen My PS MIPS Helmet - Matte
Price: I paid $220 with the LandSafe discount.  $244.95 at Riding Warehouse
Where to Buy: Riding Warehouse