Abington Hills Farm
Waverly PA
2008
by Jennifer

A woman with a crop is 90% more likely to get what she wants

QUOTE: Horse Show SUCCESS

For women, sitting aside on a horse dates back to antiquity. For the main part, men rode horses; women were merely passengers, sitting behind the men, either holding the man around the waist or sitting on a small padded seat or pillion. This was partly due to their long, heavy skirts; it was impractical to ride astride. Also riding side-saddle was seen to preserve the ladies’ modesty.

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Riding-SideSaddle/

The idea of it being indecent for a lady to ride astride can be traced back to 1382, when Princess Anne of Bohemia rode side-saddle across Europe on her way to marry King Richard II. Riding side-saddle was seen as a way to protect her virginity. Soon it was considered vulgar for any woman to ride astride.

By the late Middle Ages, it had become obvious that for ladies to ride a horse, a saddle would have to be specially designed to allow the woman to control the horse but still maintain a proper level of decency.

The earliest functional side-saddle was a chair-like construction, where the woman sat sideways on the horse with her feet on a footrest, designed in the late 14th century. Catherine de Medici is said to have developed a more practical design in the 16th century. Rather than keeping both feet placed side by side on the footrest, she placed her right leg over the pommel of the saddle, so as to show off her shapely ankle and calf to their best advantage! Riding this way allowed the rider much more control of the horse and even allowed the rider to trot and canter safely.