Crossword Genius

Colourful equestrian attire has character of a fairy tale (3,6,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

red riding hood

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'character of a fairy tale' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'colourful equestrian attire' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'colourful' could be 'red' (similar in meaning) and 'red' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ridinghood' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'has' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for red riding hood that I've seen before include "Fairy tale character involved with a wolf" , "Girl in tale encountering wolf" , "Little fairytale character in a cloak" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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