We hope you enjoy this short synopsis on Ladie's Sidesaddle - from it's humble beginnings over 1,000 years ago, through the Victorian age, and it's re-emergence as a popular discipline today.

The earliest depictions of women riding with their legs on the side of the horse can be seen in Greek vases, sculptures, and Celtic stones. Sidesaddle developed in Europe partly because cultural norms for the upper social classes dictated that it was unbecoming for a woman of apparent wealth or high social status to straddle a horse while riding. Further, since long skirts were the required fashion, riding astride in such attire was often impractical and awkward. However, women of status did ride horses and needed to be able to control their own animals, so there was a need for a saddle designed to allow both control of the horse and modesty for the rider.

Anne of Bohemia is said to have introduced the first "functional" sidesaddle in England in 1392. As if seated on a chair, the woman sat sideways on the horse with her feet on a small footrest. Since the design made it quite difficult for a woman to both stay on and use the reins to control the horse, the animal was usually led by another rider, usually male, and sitting astride.

By the 15th century , the padded seat had developed a central horn in the front and signs of a cantle at the back, but it still had the foot and remained unchanged for 200 years. Almost all the information relating to ladies riding Sidesaddle in a certain period of time come from paintings by great great masters, preserved in art galleries and in private collections. They tend to show ladies of royal blood or those of similar high social status

A more practical design, developed in the 16th century, has been attributed to Catherine de' Medici. In her design, the rider sat facing forward, hooking her right leg around the pommel of the saddle with a horn added to the near side of the saddle to secure the rider's right knee. The footrest was replaced with a "slipper stirrup", a leather-covered Stirrup iron into which the rider's left foot was placed. This saddle allowed the rider both to stay on and to control her own horse, at least at slower speeds.

Paintings of the 17th century portrayed the elaborate bridles, breast plates and saddle cloths being worn by the horses around this time. It was also noted that Ladies wore the same outfits for riding as those being worn for everyday use .

By the 18th century the side saddle was in general use. Some female riders still had a rail at the side and velvet covered slipper stirrup. Also around this time Ladies started carrying little whips (often made from whale bone ) and with a finely carved handle , which was more for decoration than for use on the actual horse.

It was around 1850 that various safety stirrups appeared , replacing the velvet lined slipper stirrup , in turn replacing the planchette (platform) . Later in 1875 the cut back to the trees was introduced enabling the front of the side saddle to be less cumbersome and sitting more flat. Prior to this the saddles were high in front and straight across the horse's withers. The rider therefore sat very much on a slope, with quite a dip in the seat.

It wasn't until the 1900's that the flat seat came into being with now only two horns enabling the rider to sit straight to the front of the horse and also to have full control. A lot of balance is required in addition to keeping straight and square. Today, the lady side saddle rider can achieve all that an astride rider can do, with equal security , as the side saddle is regarded as a very if not the securest piece of riding equipment.

Today's Side Saddle Rider wears an outfit known as a Habit which is based upon the original designs of the early 19th Century. Essentially it is designed for safety, as any long and full skirt would be very dangerous if a rider were to fall from their horse. The skirt is actually an apron with no back and jodhpurs of the same colour are worn underneath. When mounted it would not be known that it was only an apron because of the way it has been designed to sit 'around' the rider.