Yes, it seems that those Mounted Rifle and Light Horse Volunteer units of the late 1850s and early 1860s were very dapper and dashing in their dress and very much at the discretion of their respective commanding officers. If you have an interest in the uniforms of the Mounted Rifle Volunteers or Light Horse Volunteers I would recommend a couple of articles that appeared in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research: Vol. 71, No. 286 (Summer 1993), JOHN SIMMONS TREGONING and the MOUNTED RIFLE VOLUNTEERS & LIGHT HORSE VOLUNTEERS IN LIVERPOOL 1860-1863; Vol. 48, No. 196 (WINTER 1970), AN OFFICER OF THE 1st LANCASHIRE LIGHT HORSE VOLUNTEERS AND A LADY, c. 1865; Vol. 36, No. 148 (DECEMBER, 1958), H. Y. Usher, HELMETS OF THE LANCASHIRE MOUNTED RIFLE VOLUNTEERS AND THE 1st LANCASHIRE LIGHT HORSE VOLUNTEERS; Vol. 22, No. 87 (Autumn, 1943), H. Y. Usher, THE LIGHT HORSE AND MOUNTED RIFLE VOLUNTEER CORPS. In fact, a photograph of an example of my helmet appears in one of the articles by H. Y. Usher… it's indeed a rare and exquisite helmet! I hope you find this of interest, happy reading!
David
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