5/20/2023 0 Comments Sidesaddle jumping line drawing![]() There was a wooden plank to support her feet and she could grip the mane if needed. When Princess Anne of Bohemia traveled to England to wed King Richard II in 1382 she was transported in a chair-like affair that was based on a packsaddle design. That can be credited to a Royal Princess.įor the Royal European households, delivering a virgin bride to her future husband was of the ultimate importance and riding sideways was one way of keeping a certain part of the royal female anatomy intact. Yet while clothes became more elaborate and therefore restricted movement, they were not the reason behind the invention of sidesaddle riding. The free thinking Wife of Bath from Canterbury Tales made lengthy journeys astride in Chaucer’s time with whip and spurs around the 1200s and Joan of Arc rode astride in armour. Greek toga attired men were stunned at the daring exploits and riding abilities of “amazon” lady riders who wore pants and rode astride! When Central Asian women wanted to ride for fun, sport or for war, they rode astride like their comrades and brothers while the Mongolians, Hawaiians and the Comanches viewed their ladies riding astride with pride. The leaping horn was added in the 1800s by Frenchman Jules Pellier and this allowed ladies to enter the hunting field and jump. Later a horn was added and the famous Catherine de Medici is credited with adding a second horn for stability also offering the rider the ability to face forwards. Later a saddle with a foot rest and back rest were developed called a “planchette” and this too had my fair lady sitting sideways. This was called a pillion, and the woman had to sit sideways on the horse and was led by a man or boy. These ladies of the late 19th and early 20th century, and indeed some famous ones centuries before, refused to bend to the wishes of men and the emancipation of women, the suffragette movement, and the right to vote were key issues.īefore the 14th century, the first “sidesaddle” was a pillow strapped to the back of a man’s saddle. ![]() The history of the sidesaddle unearths a load of social and political issues with the sidesaddle itself becoming a much disliked symbol of the social, political and equestrian domination of the fairer sex that women were ready to fight and ride against. When I researched the history of sidesaddles I believed I’d be writing about the mechanical changes to women’s “saddles” or so called saddles…a tweak here, a foot board there, an extra horn tacked someplace else…simple stuff! Well, my eyes were opened wide.
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