Watch out, Fuller Fillies are about

Fitting into those tight jodhpurs is a thing of the past, with a new range of clothing for larger riders.…

In Yorkshire it’s the puddings, in Lancashire, the hotpot and in Scotland, they blame it on a whole host of gourmet delights, from deep-fried mars bars to haggis – what are we talking about?

The ever-increasing size of the average Briton, that’s what!

Contributing to the issue is the fact that once we’ve got to a curvy size 20, we think we look too bad in lycra to even contemplate a trip to the gym to shed a few pounds. Presumably this notion impinges on lots of different sports because whoever saw a chubby downhill skier or a swimmer carrying a few extra pounds? The sad fact is that anyone over a size 12 gets hung up on what other people think.

There is one sport, however, where the size issue has been confronted head on. Yorkshire rider Suzanne Wild was so frustrated with the lack of clothing available in her size (a curvy 18/20) that she decided to design and manufacture a range of her own.

In February this year, the Fuller Fillies collection was launched at the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) Trade Fair. And in two short months, the collection has been taken throughout the UK as well as Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and the USA – but, most importantly to our horse-loving readers, the entire Fuller Fillies collection is also on sale in Norfolk.

“Fuller Fillies was in research for almost 18 months before the launch,” said Suzanne. “As a bit of a round person myself, I knew all too well that the issue of getting well-fitting clothes was a huge one, and so it was vitally important to me that we got the statistical information spot on.

“I placed a couple of small advertisements in equestrian magazines and the natural ability of women to spread the word soon kicked in. Within six months I was being fed information by around 300 plussized lady riders.

“I think the workgroup now totals 750 and it grows daily. Not only do my ladies share their vital statistics with me but they also tell me what they do with their horses, which means that I can produce a collection that fits both them and their needs.”

It seems that the men aren’t happy that they’ve been excluded from the ‘Fuller’ range – could Fuller Fellas be the next move?

Fuller Fillies came to Norfolk when a riding friend of Two Trees Tack Shop owner, Tessa Musgrove, asked whether she was going to stock the range. “I tried to visit the company’s stand at BETA 2007 but ended up sending an email directly to Chris (Fuller Fillies’ financial director) and we haven’t looked back since,” said Tessa. “As other local saddleries don’t cater for us larger ladies, we thought we would.”

Suzanne added: “You have beautiful countryside in Norfolk and I think that our job, with Two Trees Tack Shop, is to help all you larger ladies go out and enjoy the countryside in style.”

As it turns out, it’s not only larger lady riders who struggle to find well-fitting riding clothes either. Suzanne and her team have recieved a number of unusual enquiries and requests from men.

“We realised that we were getting a lot of calls from men,” explained Suzanne.

“Ordering brochures ‘for their wives’ and we just thought that they were being caring. Then, a gentleman phoned up and enquired about the sizing and it all became very clear – he was asking for himself.”

After this discovery, several Fuller Fillies stockists have reported the same thing happening in store. In fact, the rate of men purchasing the chaps and gaiters currently stands at just 3:1 in favour of women.

The popular Snuggle Fleece has also caught the eye of the Fuller Fella. “We had lots of phone calls from men asking if we would do the Snuggle Fleece with 8cm longer arms as this was the only dimension that didn’t fit,” said Suzanne. “We deliberately designed the Snuggle with 8cm taken away from the arms as we didn’t want our ladies to look like orangutans. I knew there was a gap in the market for larger lady riding clothing, as it turns out, there might be one for larger men too!”

Two Trees Tack Shop can be found at Point House, High Street Coltishall, Norwich NR12 7AA, alternatively you can call them on 01603 266220.