Jodhpurs in their modern form are tight-fitting trousers that reach to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding. The term is also used incorrectly as slang for a type of short riding boot, also called a paddock boot or a jodhpur boot, because they are worn with jodhpurs. Originally, jodhpurs were snug-fitting only from just below the knee to the ankle and were flared at the hip; modern stretch fabrics have allowed jodhpurs to remove the flare and yet remain supportive and flexible.

Jodhpurs originally were long pants, reaching to the ankle, snug from the calf to the ankle, with reinforced fabric protecting the inner calf and knee from rubbing. The thighs and hips were flared, a traditional oriental style possibly to help with bodily cooling in a hot climate,^{[citation needed]} but which, in an era before the invention of stretch fabrics, also allowed free movement of the hip and thigh while riding.

They originate from an ancient style of Indian trouser called the Churidar, which is tight around the calf and baggy at the hips, still worn at traditional Jodhpury weddings. This is a special traditional style of clothing in Northern India, especially in what is today the modern state of Rajasthan, which has its capital at the city of Jaipur. Sir Pratap Singh, a younger son of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, popularised in England the style of riding-trousers worn in Jodhpur, a design that he apparently improved and perfected by himself and first tailored in India about 1890.

Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986 in Rochford, Essex) is an English television presenter. Since 12 January 2009 she has been the co-host of Countdown. She replaced Carol Vorderman from the 60th series onwards. Nick Hewer is the chief presenter and Riley does the letters and numbers.

Riley was educated at Southend High School for Girls, and went on to study mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford, gaining an upper second-class honours degree, having obtained four grade As at A-Level.

After graduating she began work as a data analyst for a website company in London. She was encouraged to apply for the Countdown position by her mother, a charity fundraiser married to a City auditor, and also by her boyfriend's mother. She did not have an ambition to be a television presenter, but decided to apply because she was interested in the numbers part of the game. Riley was chosen from more than a thousand applicants despite having no television experience. In an article for the BBC news, she stated, "There's only one cool maths job around and I was lucky enough to get it so I'm absolutely thrilled". She began presenting Countdown alongside Jeff Stelling from 12 January 2009. In an interview in August 2009 she revealed that it had been difficult for her to step into Vorderman's shoes, and that she had been criticised by some of Countdown's viewers for getting some of the maths puzzles wrong.^{[citation needed]}