I always rode with straw or wool cowboy hat on my trail rides. I loved the style and the shade they provided. One horrible year we lost two great riders in our small community. Shortly thereafter, my Saddle Sisters & I went down to the local tack store and bought helmets. We struggled with them, tried all different types and ultimately just put up with them. Then we tried “da brim” which was an add on brim for shade, but they weren’t very secure and if a branch got a hold of the brim it would make the “Velcro” noise and spook the horses. One of my dear friends fell off during this unacceptable situation. Then there was the Resistol Helmet Hat, which I purchased with great anticipation. For my purposes it was too hot, too heavy, too bulky and the black felt attracted too much dust and debris. One very wonderful day I saw what someone put of Facebook as a “hellhat”. I was excited at what it looked like and I wanted one! I did my best to find one to buy, but was told that I need to make It myself. There were some wonderful tutorials, so challenge on! The first three were wonky and marginal, but with a few changes to the original, I came up with a pretty decent helmet hat. People in my community liked them and I helped them make their own and others did not want to even attempt making their own and hired me to make a helmet hat for them. I was fortunate to have a lot of leather, tools and stuff to help me make the next one and before you knew it, they have become my BESTSELLER, by a mile! Making these helmet hats keep my busy, happy and on the lookout for new ideas. I love it when customers send me a photo wearing their helmet hats! Thank you everyone!