When it’s blazing hot, these are the ONLY breeches you need

These will be the number one item in your horsey wardrobe for summer

We’ve all been there. When the sun’s beating down, the last thing you want to do is drag on those thick, restrictive breeches and sweat your way up onto the horse.

Aztec Diamond has combined form with summer function and come up with some supremely comfortable leggings/breeches that give an ultra close contact feel with the saddle.

I was skeptical about them at first. When they arrived in the office, I took them out of the package and put them on the desk. They promptly slithered off the edge onto the floor, in a slimy, shiny green-brown puddle.

If they are reluctant to stay on a desk, what chance to have of them helping me stay on a horse, I wondered.

As soon as summer kicked in, I tried them. To pull on, they feel like a super stretchy second skin. The wide waistband is super comfortable and the shape of it means they give a supportive feel around your midriff without being in any way restrictive, and they stay in place both on and off the horse.

As someone who usually rides in full-seat breeches, I was worried I’d slide around in the saddle in these sheer leggings. In fact, the feeling they give you when on board is of super-close contact: no restrictive, uncomfortable seams in embarrassing places or tightness over the knees.

As someone who sometimes struggles to do up my close-fitting boots in the summer when my legs are hot and just that bit fatter than in the winter, the thin fabric means I no longer have to tug on the poor zips like my life depends on it and put up with the pulsating feeling in my calves for the first few minutes.

The material is so light that you could quite feasibly use them for both riding and running/exercise. They’re completely breathable and do not get clammy, no matter how much you sweat in the saddle.

Although the fabric is a bit unforgiving in terms of covering thigh bulges/cellulite, their sport performance far outweighs that negative in my view.

The seams are positioned really cleverly — they seem to be cut to fit real thighs rather than impossibly thin models or unrealistic shapes. It also ensures there’s no pull or twist in the fabric over the knee.

On one occasion I wore them to the supermarket and ran into a friend, who said they looked like “Moët & Chandon breeches”. I think that’s a good thing.

The pocket on the side of the thigh is genuinely big enough to carry an iPhone, which is a major advantage. The logo on the other thigh is reflective, which is a nice addition for summer evenings and hacking.

In fact, I’m off to ride later today — the hottest June day for 127 years — and I think you can guess which breeches I will be wearing.