Ladies riding horses astride or sidesaddle

Someone can boost them into the saddle. They probably wouldn't ride out without a groom and it'd be his job.

You might want to look at Riding Side-Saddle, How to get a 1880's woman wearing a crinoline on a horse, and Regency Horse-Riding.

Women back then weren't stupid. Most would do whatever it took. Lots of women rode sidesaddle in town, and astride when they weren't in town.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

What Jim said. Away from the social constraints of England and the possibility of being ostracised, women would ride astride, especially if it was a question of personal safety. As for a mounting block - fallen tree stump could do the trick.

If they ride frequently, have them wear the long culottes. If it is not frequent, the full skirt with bloomers. JMO

MM

aruna said:

Need some advice here.
The novel is set in 1910 British Guiana, on a sugar plantation. There are horses, and my MC and her sister, upper-class English, ride. There's a scene where they ride out on the plantation alone. To have then ride side-saddle is most inconvenient! They have to dismount at one point -- how do they get back up? My research shows they would need a mounting block, but there just isn't one, and I can't conjure one up.

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They would most probably be riding side saddle, on the plus side, if they are alone ~(ie. no men) then decency goes out the window - a side saddle skirt of that time is likely to be a full skirt, and not an apron ~(split with trousers under)

Getting off isn't a problem, neither is getting on - you can mount from the ground the same way you would with a normal saddle - the only issue is the skirts - Personally I tend to pull the skirt or apron up and throw it over my shoulder (exposing my pants to the world) when mounting in a non-formal setting.

Mounting blocks (or fences, big rocks, tree stumps etc~) are recommended because it makes getting on easier, and puts less strain on the horses back, but they aren't necessary.

[quoe]I'd just really like some opinion as to whether having them ride astride in that day and age would be just a little too - let's say, immodest? Progressive? Unbelievable? Anachronistic? Too much literary licence? It seems that riding astride for women didn't really take hold until after WWI -- though there are some exceptions, according to this blog.[/QUOTE]

If they were farm girls or very young kids then astride would be normal and acceptable. Everyone else rode aside.

aruna said:

But would you throw the right leg over the horses back in a skirt, if you are riding side-saddle? I kind of thought you would have to put the left foot in the left stirrup, swing up -- but then you'd have to kind of push the right leg between left leg and saddle, to get it into the horn, which might be complicated.

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I get on in two stages - I put my left foot in the stirrup and mount as normal - swining my leg completely over, so I'm sitting astride.

Then I sort myself out - bringing my right leg across and smoothing my skirt etc.

Getting on a side saddle is quite hard to do in one movement, but it's doable.

Trouble is, on the cane fields the land is ocmpletely flat --no trees, rocks or anything. Only cane!

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If they are reasonably agile they can do it. It's the same as getting on any horse.

The saddle will determine how they ride as well.

Being English, they could ride with a standard English saddle, but this type of saddle did not offer any features to help the rider maintain her balance when jumping or running the horse. This type of saddle allowed for either ridding side saddle, or astride.

With a true side saddle, there is a small back on the right side of the saddle as well as the rear which allows the rider to wedge themself into the saddle. It forms a pocket. There is also a small knob on the left side that the rider rests her right leg around to give her grip when jumping or running the horse. If I remember right, the saddle would also be weighted on the right side to even out the balance for the horse. With this type of saddle, riding astride is not possible.

As far as the story goes, 1910, women were riding more astride back then than not. They would wear riding pants and knee high boots, especially in a warm climate like French Guiana in fields of sugar cane where there are the hazards of snakes if they got down.

Sidesaddle information

I'm a sidesaddle rider of many years and author or several ss books (including The Encyclopaedia of the Sidesaddle) so perhaps I can offer some first-hand advice on your literary angle.

In 1910, sidesaddle would have been socially more common and acceptable, but astride (or as would have been termed at that time, "cross-saddle") was also seen. No problem using either one.

For riding astride, if you want your young ladies to preserve their modesty (not appear hoydens), you could have them wear very long coats (down to or just below the knee, much like modern saddle-seat coats) usually with a strap buttoned around the thigh to hold the coat-skirts firmly in place. Or, also seen were long split or coulotte-like skirts which buttoned front and back to appear like a walking skirt when dismounted.

General riding attire for a young lady could include a more fashionable habit (not unlike what aside riders wear today in England), perhaps in linen for comfort; or a short Norfolk jacket; or even just a shirtwaist, since it's not "park" riding. A straw boater or a pith helmet would be probable hot-weather headgear. Breeches or jodhpurs would have been worn, even under the habit apron (riding trousers even under the skirt had been in use since the mid-1800s).

For dealing with the ss mounting "difficulty," I'd suggest small horses (not uncommon for girls/ladies, or in countryside regions). Also, the skirt was unlikely to be a full skirt by 1910--the safety apron had been developed and is much easier to handle. I can mount a 16-hand horse unassisted in a sidesaddle--and without having to sit astride first. Aruna, your description of ss mounting is, in general, correct--and not difficult with a safety apron.

In answer to a couple of earlier comments in this thread--and to be sure the right terminology is used to make the novel believable!--the aside rider hooks her right knee around a pommel or horn (not a knob). A second horn (called the leaping head) curves out over the left thigh, preventing the rider from being thrown forward. Other than the grip possible on these two pommels, one is never wedged into the sidesaddle. (There were saddles with a rail around the back and right side, but would not have been in general use by English colonials, or by 1910.) There were NEVER any weights on the right side to balance a sidesaddle--the saddlemaker and the rider's correct position do that. One would not use the same saddle for both astride and sidesaddle (other than some children's treeless pilches with a removable pommel). I'd suggest simply a standard sidesaddle if you opt for ss at all--while there were occasional offside saddles, they were not very common. There were also sidesaddles whose pommels could be unscrewed and switched to the other side, but such saddles are not secure or comfortable, and not conducive to security

If you'd like some further information, or even some photos to give you better description, please ask! I could easily send them to you.

sidesaddle5 said:

For riding astride, if you want your young ladies to preserve their modesty (not appear hoydens), you could have them wear very long coats...

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This would raise the question just how immodest or socially unacceptable would appearing hoydens be.