Saddle up!

Andrea here, My current work-in-progress—a fictional biography of Lady Hester Stanhope—has called for me to think about riding a horse—or more specifically, about how ladies of the Regency era rode a horse. Lady Hester was a “neck and leather” rider, which in Regency cant means she was a superb horsewoman who loved galloping at a devil-may-care pace across the countryside.

And that was no easy feat, considering that it was considered scandalous for a lady to ride astride. Lady Hester, who broke  most every rule in the book regarding feminine deportment, didn’t pay much attention to that limitation. And the fact that she had a special skill for breaking ornery horses to saddle made the neighboring gentlemen very willing to turn a blind eye on her wearing breeches and boots because she helped them with their difficult mounts.

But most ladies of the era didn’t possess such skills, or such practical neighbors, and so were consigned to perching themselves on a side-saddle. So I thought I would do a quick dive down the research rabbit hole to look at the history of this contraption.

According to historic-uk.com, the taboo against women riding astride stems from 1382, when Princess Anne of Bohemia journeyed from her homeland to England for her marriage to King Richard II. She rode side-saddle in order to preserve her “virginity.” (Cough, cough.) From that time on, it was deemed horribly unfeminine for any proper lady to sit astride a horse. (This, of course, applied mostly to aristocratic ladies. Women of the working classes were not subjected to such impractical rules!)

The earliest side-saddles, created in the late 14th century, were basically chairs that allowed a lady to sit sideways on a horse, with her legs supported by a footrest. But by the 16th century, the first iteration of the side-saddle as we know it today came into being. Yet another apocryphal story holds that Catherine de Medici wanted to show off her shapely ankle and calf, so hitched a leg up around a regular saddle’s pommel. As it became clear that such a maneuver allowed ladies to exercise some control over their horse, as well as have stability, the side-saddle began to evolve.

A large pommel on the side of the saddle was designed so that lady could lock her leg around it and have have far more control of her body and her horse. By the 1830s, a second pommel was added for additional stability, allowing ladies to jump stone walls and fences without the constant fear of falling to their death.

It was in Victorian times that the design was refined to pretty much what we have now, including a “slipper stirrup.” However at the beginning of the 20th century, ladies began to rebel against the centuries-old restriction on their freedom to ride astride. The Suffragettes denounced the side-saddle as a symbol of male domination, and by the 1930s it was considered perfectly proper for a lady don snug-fitting breeches and to ride astride. (Lady Hester would approve!)

A lady’s riding clothes went through similar refinements over the years. In Regency times, riding habits were made with less voluminous skirts than normal fashions in order to prevent dangerous accidents. Later in the century, the first “safety skirt” was invented in 1875. It had a series of buttons on the seam that allowed the masses of fabric to be further shortened.

I took riding lessons as a kid and loved wearing my jodhpur pants and boots. As I was a tomboy and disliked skirts in general, I would have been appalled at the idea of trying to gallop with trail of fabric flapping in the wind.

It’s good to see that the rules for ladies on horseback have come full circle back to a practical and sensible way of riding—though even in our modern times, I did hear those nervous whispers about girls needing to be “careful” about bouncing in a saddle.

Are you a rider? Have you ever ridden side-saddle? If so, what did you think? I’ve never tried it, but I’m pretty sure that I would agree with Lady Hester and prefer boots and breeches!

Comments

[Lil Marek]

I'm thinking those medieval side saddles—the ones that are essentially a chair—were a way of transporting a woman who didn't know how to ride. Sort of like a package.

I can picture Eleanor of Aquitaine riding astride, and Queen Elizabeth I, but after that my imagination is getting blurry. Did the ladies of the Restoration Era ride astride? Did women in Colonial America? What about in other countries?

This is a fascinating topic!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Andrea, this is a great and comprehensive overview of ladies' saddles! I've had heroines who rode astride, and others who didn't. I read that in some older times, there were chair type seats that fastened behind a regular saddle so the man could ride and his lady could perch behind him. Not sure what the horse thought about this. *G* I'm glad the rules for ladies riding have evolved.

[Andrea Penrose]

Yes, it is fascinating! My sense is aristocratic ladies did NOT ride astride in the Restoration era. But that the working classes didn't pay much attention to the side-saddle rule. (That would have been expensive for one thing.) And America was more looser, too. though again the upper classes probably copied the British upper classes.

Not sure about other countries. More research needed!

[Andrea Penrose]

Yes, amen to evolution. Like in so many things, women ought to choose for themselves, rather than have rules foisted on them!

[Mary T]

Interesting post. But I find that I was more interested in the clothes those gals had to wear. I especially like the one in the second picture that is dragging in the dirt. Good thing they were rich - I would hate to have to clean that myself - especially if it was dragged through the barnyard.

[Pamela DG]

I used to ride horseback and had lessons. I can ride astride well in the Western saddle, English is another matter. I did try side saddle. I felt as though I was riding the saddle, not the horse. I didn't like having one foot in a stirrup and my right in a cradle. Jumping in that position requires abs of steel to maintain balance and to lay back as the horse jumps a fence. I daresay from the description of her riding style, Lady Stanhope would have had rock hard abs, a straight back, square shoulders, and powerful thighs.

Riding astride you have better control over the horse and I feel a better partnership. In some of my own historic research, some women would alternate the sidesaddle between the left or right position so they wouldn't over develop one hip and leg over the other, now people who ride mainly ride to the left. They will switch to the right when arthritis makes it hard to ride to the left.

[Pamela DG]

Oops, I forgot to mention Empress Elizabeth "Sissy" of Austria-Hungary. She was an avid horsewoman much like Lady Stanhope. She loved hunting! She was on of the first to wear breeches under a skirt that was buttoned to the waist of the trousers. Today's Sidesaddle "apron" skirt is based on her her riding clothes. Currently there is a lot less fabic than in Sissy's day.

[Andrea Penrose]

That's fascinating pamela! I didn't know about swtiching legs, but it makes sense. As do the strong core to stay stable when jumping or galloping.

[Andrea Penrose]

More fascinating facts! I should have asked you to co-author the blog with me :)

Thanks so much for sharing!

[Patricia Rice]

I would not want to be a lady's maid in those days! Can you imagine what laundry day must have been like? And these weren't permapress fabrics!

[Annette N]

What an interesting blog and I love the pictures. I think that the sidesaddle made certain that women had to be much braver than men to ride - and to jump a fence - took courage. But, then that is no surprise, is it?
When I was a kid, I inherited a pair of jodhpurs. My wardrobe was made up mostly of hand me downs. No,never rode a horse, but I thought I was a really stylish thing. Unfortunately for me, I had a growth spurt and the marvelous jodhpurs were passed to another kid who did not ride a horse....but we looked great not riding a horse.
Thanks again for the post and all the interesting comments.

[Joanna Maitland]

Interesting stuff. I did a blog about the lady's riding habit a while ago. It includes a video of how to ride side-saddle. Scary stuff! You can find it here:
https://libertabooks.com/costume/historical-costume-1800-1850-the-ladys-riding-habit/

[Jeanne Behnke]

Yes, this is so interesting & I love the pictures. If I did ride a horse, I'd want to be astride, but the pictures of women in glorious riding costumes sitting side saddle look so much more romantic & beautiful. Makes me smile.