February 22, 2017 
If you ride horses, you sweat on horses. Probably, more than you care to admit.
In a sport where we willingly wear a helmet whilst riding and running around show grounds in all forms of weather for eight or more hours in a day, there are usually some certain, well, smells that follow. Ariana and I have decided to embrace the embarrassment and share our tried-and-true tricks on helping manage one small, yet very important issue: odor elimination.
Here’s our three-step process to help keep odors at bay.
For Your Helmet:
Step 1. Spray down the inside of your helmet padding with rubbing alcohol.
©Paul Scott/Flickr CC by 2.0
Don’t be afraid to use a generous amount. The alcohol will dry your helmet as it evaporates and the alcohol-y smell won’t be as significant the next day. (Make sure to spray your hairnet too!)
Step 2: For a deeper clean, most helmets offer a removable liner that is washing machine friendly.
Maybe wash the wine glasses separately though… ©Paul Scott/Flickr CC by 2.0.
For helmets that don’t offer that feature, put the entire helmet in the dishwasher! (Top rack, of course.) This trick works for cleaning your stirrups as well.
Step 3: To keep the clean feel/smells going, place a little sachet of baking soda or charcoal in your helmet.
©athriftymrs.com/Flickr CC by 2.0
Baking soda is a natural odor eliminator and much safer to use than spraying air freshener in your helmet.
For Your Gloves
Step 1: Vodka!
©Janis Petranis/Flickr CC by 2.0
You read that right. Vodka is highly effective for cleaning and eliminating odors. Spray down you gloves, inside and out, with a little bit of vodka! But be a bit conservative with your usage, unless you want to get some funny looks ringside the next day.
Step 2: For a deeper clean, steam your gloves.
©E M/Flickr CC by 2.0
At home, Velcro your gloves together, hang them over your shower door and let the steam from your hot shower sanitize them.
Step 3. Use glove inserts
©Rowena of the Rants/Flickr CC by 2.0
A folded sock or another baking soda sachet placed into the palm of your glove will help them dry faster and stay aired out.
‘Til next time, Ladies and Gents!
About the Authors
Chiara & Ariana Zuccolotto are the fashion mavens behind Zuccolotto Designs, a luxury crossover brand founded on a love of both fashion and equestrian lifestyle. Follow their fashion exploits on Facebook!
