By MARLEY LIEN-GONZALEZ
Spectators and ringside watchers of the 2024 Taylor, Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal Final were met with an unfamiliar sight when Cornetto (Cornet Obolensky x Comtessa) trotted in with rider Ella Endzweig of Palm Beach, Florida, in the irons, wearing a nose net.
The pair laid down an incredible trip, with a high score of 87 from a panel amongst the six judges, making it was clear there would be no point penalty for the gear rarely seen in the equitation ring, and likely never seen at a major equitation final championship; but undoubtedly, skeptics in the audience pulled out their phones to ask the USEF rulebook what everyone watching was whispering, “Are nose nets allowed in the equitation?”
A nose net is a partially transparent covering that sits over a horse’s nostrils and upper muzzle area. It does not wrap around or conceal the mouth, and the mesh-like material allows for horses to breathe as normal. Traditionally, it’s used for horses with head shaking syndrome, but it provides relief for horses with any kind of nerve, allergy, or sensation sensitivity. It can be the difference maker for horses that otherwise would have to retire from competition or be donated to the collegiate circuit due to whatever reaction they might have from the above mentioned afflictions.
The USEF rules on nose nets is explicitly stated for hunter classes: prohibited, jumper classes: permitted, and for the equitation: they are also permitted (USEF Rulebook, Subchapter EQ-2, 106 Appointments).
And yet, we rarely see nose nets in the equitation. Is it a flaw in advertising that enough people don’t know they are an available option? Is it a stubbornness to keep up the look of tradition? Or is because we simply haven’t seen them used often enough to accept them in an equitation lineup?
Why do they get the reaction they do–looks of doubt and disbelief– if nobody actually wants their horse to go in a nose net; it doesn’t give any special advantage, it’s not more aesthetic, and it’s not something Judges are looking to reward. There shouldn’t be any discourse on them, except for asking ourself if it’s possible to make them an option for an even broader category classes. Nose nets are for the comfort of a horse plain and simple, and we should celebrate seeing them at major venues like Indoors, and to normalize use when necessary and appropriate.
