Once upon a time, being a self-professed ‘horse girl’ wasn’t something anyone would proudly admit in public. Horse-related interests were whispered about behind closed doors, and wearing My Little Pony T-shirts or anything vaguely equestrian could get you banned from being part of the ‘cool crowd’. Horse girls were often deemed socially awkward outcasts to be shunned and avoided at all costs. But thanks to a handful of celebrities, luxury brands, and the ever-shifting pop culture zeitgeist, it’s the trending aesthetic currently taking over our feeds and giving us a look at what it feels like to live in the fashionable, sexy cowgirl dream we never knew we had.

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Many of the fashion industry’s top it girls are no strangers to horse girl style. Once seen as cringeworthy and uncool, celebrities such as Bella Hadid, Edie Campbell, and Kendall Jenner are now rocking excessive denim and infusing high fashion with equestrianism.

Hadid is firmly in her cowgirl era, dating Mexican-American cowboy Adán Banuelos, and putting equestrian gear on the map by turning up at New York Fashion Week on horseback. English model Edie Campbell dedicated her 2013 Model of the Year award to her pony Dolly, being a keen horseback rider who competes in dressage, showjumping and cross-country events. Then there’s bona fide equestrian Kendall Jenner, who starred in Stella McCartney’s AW23 campaign surrounded by majestic white horses.

Needless to say, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter era has only fueled the rising interest in cowboy culture and its Americana style, especially with her recent Levi’s collaboration making it easier for more horse girls to embrace the trend.

Country musician Kacey Musgraves is also embracing her inner horse girl, once wearing equestrian-style boots to the 2021 Met Gala and now releasing a collaboration with Reformation in 2024 that refines cowgirl style just in time for horse girl fall.

And let’s not forget when singer-songwriter Kim Petras wore a Collina Strada gown to the Met Gala which featured a three-dimensional horse head, proving that when celebrities get their hands on horse girl style, it’s anything but ordinary.

Never one to miss out on the fun, high fashion has also been getting in on the action with collaborations and collections that scream horse girl. In 2020, Gucci’s ‘Of Course a Horse’ campaign featured models alongside horses in real-life scenarios ranging from deboarding a flight and riding shotgun in the passenger seat to washing hooves at a car wash.

A year later, the brand collaborated with Balenciaga on a limited edition drop that included a $2,900 horse helmet that was horse girl-coded. Chanel’s SS22 Haute Couture show saw Charlotte Casiraghi, Grace Kelly’s granddaughter, riding her horse Kuskus down the runway in tweed. More recently, in true ‘it girl but make it horse’ fashion, Gigi Hadid rode on horseback alongside Kendall Jenner as part of Vogue World’s Paris show in June 2024.

Of course, we can’t analyse the horse girl aesthetic without acknowledging the British royal family, whose love for riding horseback has been known for generations. Queen Elizabeth II rode horses her entire life well into her old age just for fun, and King Charles III has been known to wear Polo Ralph Lauren shirts at polo events and while competing. Ralph Lauren’s logo is a jockey riding a horse after all.

But it’s the people’s princess, Gen Z’s posthumous style icon Princess Diana who truly influenced equestrian fashion. Her iconic looks at polo and derby events inspire new generations, even if they’ve never ridden a horse.

In a broader sense, equestrian swag and style are becoming more open, diverse, and fun to experiment with, as TikTok videos range from creepy horse girl skits to all-black aesthetics (both clothes and horse) to her favourite animal is a horse and the horse girl trend being many riders’ version of the Roman Empire. Maybe that’s why the interest in all things horse girl has led to #horsegirl TikTok videos having over 1.5 million posts while Horse Girl Aesthetics has over 28.2 million posts and counting.

@justinfukoo

She hasnt spent alot of time around…humans🤧 #horsegirl #creepy #skit #pov #countrylife

♬ original sound - justinfuko

@erinwilliams_1

All black aesthetic 🖤 #equestrian #horse #dressage #dressagerider #horseriding #horserider #equestriangirl

♬ original sound - Erin Williams

@bellehenriques

nostalgia 🥹 if you know you know & if you don’t soz #fyp #foryoupage #thesaddleclub #saddleclub #childhoodmemories #equestrian #equestriantok #equestrianlife #equestriangirl #equestriangirls #equestrianaesthetic #horsesoftiktok #horsegirl #horsegirlaesthetic #horseaesthetic #coworthpark #coworthparkascot

♬ original sound - Unlocking your Nostalgia☀️🐬

Then you’ve got creatives such as @horsegiirl420, a DJ and singer who dons a horse mask for Boiler Room sets and more, breaking out of traditional horse girl confines, which is leading Reddit users on the r/NoStupidQuestions thread to question and debate what the identity of this style, nay, way of life, truly is.

The horse girl revival has become the latest way to tap into stealth wealth and old-money aesthetics, as the signature look—marked by equestrian chic and polished prep—is a way for people to cosplay and subtly signal affluence and social standing.

In other words, the horse girl style allows people to flex and align their fashion identities with groups they may want to be a part of. What once symbolised suburban awkwardness (even though it was a rite of passage for many young girls) has transformed into a fashionable expression of a new era of cultural cool.