On first impressions these Fouganza 100 light riding leggings look quite nice, they are made from a lightweight, silky material and this colour features a tonal swirly pattern all over. They are available in three colours, asphalt blue, cardinal pink and blue (pictured).
These leggings feature a nice swirly pattern and prevent any VPL
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The Fouganza 100 light riding leggings have a thick, high waistband that sits just on the hips. It only has a narrow elastic in, which meant they don’t feel as secure as other riding tights and leggings on the market that have a thicker elastic.
There are some bulky labels inside the leggings that were a bit irritating but they are easily removed with scissors.
A vented panel runs down the outside of the leg
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There is a shaped, vented panel down the outside of both legs, which provided a good level of breathability in warmer weather. There is a small tonal “Fouganza” logo on the left thigh, and another icon logo on the back just below the waistband.
The knee patches are soft faux leather and provide some friction but don’t offer the same grip as silicone gel
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The leggings don’t have any grip on the seat, but feature a soft faux-leather style pad on the inside of both knees – I wouldn’t say it is particularly “grippy” but does provide some friction when in the saddle.
The ankles are soft and sit nicely under socks
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The bottom of the legs have a lovely, soft ankle panel that tapers nicely with a thin seam. This sits really neatly under socks and doesn’t rub or rise up at all, I am 5ft8in and they finish just on the ankle.
The pocket is quite small but perfect for keys and treats
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There is a pocket at the top of the right thigh – it is a good size but has a very narrow opening, which meant I couldn’t fit my iPhone XR in it, even without a case. The top of the pocket has the same faux-leather binding, which looks smart. The pocket would be functional for keys or money or treats, but unfortunately not a phone, which is a shame.
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The leggings are available in sizes UK 2/XS–16/XL, which is a good range. I wear a 10/medium and they fit snugly, however they very quickly started to feel loose, and became baggy around the crotch area, especially when I sat down. When on, the material feels quite slippery and a bit like a swimming costume, which for riding isn’t ideal! Without any seat grip they did feel quite unstable in the saddle, but were comfy enough for hacking, yard chores and dog walking. The material didn’t show any VPL, which is a real positive.
The leggings retail at £19.99, which is the low end of the market. I feel this is reflected in the quality of the product, they don’t feel like they would be particularly hard wearing over time but for that price I wouldn’t expect them to. They washed well at 40ºC.
Verdict
Initial thoughts – These are smart-looking leggings, but quite the material feels doesn’t feel as quality as others I’ve tested and there is no seat grip. The phone pocket is also very small. I’d recommend them for someone looking for a budget buy for every day yard chores and general low-level riding.
Sophie Cheeseman is Horse & Hound’s deputy art editor. She has a four-year-old Connemara mare with Glencarrig and Coosheen lines, imported from Ireland, who she bought to produce for dressage. Together they also hunt regularly with The South Downs Bloodhounds alongside doing low level dressage. Sophie also rides for other people, producing young horses and gaining further experience on a variety of rides.
These are our first impressions of a piece of kit or clothing based on spending some time with it. We will have had our hands on it and given it a really thorough going over before trying it on ourselves or our horses and using it. The information we can give you after this first look will give you some sense of what it’s like to use, even if it’s only an initial view. As soon as we’ve given it a more thorough test, we will update the review with a full scoring and additional thoughts.
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