Did anyone else know this? Anne Boleyn was considered one of the best English horsewomen of her generation? Pretty cool!
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you may be interest in Helen Preece… In 1912, while still in school, she attempted to enter the modern pentathlon in the 1912 Summer Olympic Games For a short time, she was the only woman slated to compete at the games.
She was ultimately not allowed to compete because she was a girl
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Very cool indeed. I watched the movie (The Other Boleyn Girl) and read some on her, but it’s always cool to see more come up about people as more information is discovered.
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Interesting read, but I object to the conjecture that Anne rode astride as sidesaddle would have not provided the same strength or accuracy.
I call BS on that notion.
I have never ridden aside, but have seen women riding to the hunt as well as competing over fences sidesaddle.
Hoping some of the COTH sidesaddle enthusiasts here will back me up.
Astride was the default until her generation. Catherine de Medici was the one who popularized sidesaddle.
Eta: @2DogsFarm, early side saddles evolved from a style where the woman sat behind a man on the horse & didn’t actually “drive” the horse herself so to speak. They were designed so that the rider sat completely sideways with both feet placed on a foot support. Catherine de Medici is credited with having redesigned the side saddle to make it more practical for independent riding (she basically hooked her right leg up over the pommel in the beginning).
Contemporary sidesaddle design does make it possible to do pretty much whatever one can do astride. Chances are good that Anne did choose to ride astride for the superior strength & functionality it would have afforded over the sidesaddles of her day. Stag hunting was more dangerous than modern foxhunting. And while women did stag hunt, it was unusual for them to ride the 16th century equivalent of first flight like Anne did.
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It always seems to me that the biggest attraction for women to ride sidesaddle was the opportunity to display huge swathes of beautiful, expensive fabrics and jewels, at a time when clothing and fabrics were legally defined as markers of social status (sumptuary laws).
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But “astride” allows you to display TWICE as much “beautiful,expensive fabrics”
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Her daughter Elizabeth I was also considered an expert horsewoman who rode to hunt. Paintings of her show her sort of astride rather than aside.
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The invention of the 2nd, “leaping horn”, around 1830, changed the ability of women to ride hard, hunt, jump, in sidesaddles. You are almost locked in place, as you ride. A total game changer in women’s ability to stay on!
I got to use a modern, “proper” sidesaddle at a clinic. Have to say it was an amazing improvement over my western, one-horn sidesaddle that I had ridden quite a bit in. The “Old Bat” was not happy with my rushing about to be on time for the riding portion, felt shortchanged in her warmup time. When we were asked to trot she bogged her head and crow hopped across the ring!! I was terribly embarassed, but my seat was like I had been glued on!! Just lifted my left heel to push left leg against the leaping horn and rode her out. Clinician used me as the example of security gained, using the leaping horn. Horse redeemed herself by going perfectly, smoothly, for the rest of the clinic.
Not sure how many ladies actually used those yards of fabric habits when hunting, after getting their portraits painted! They certainly look very elegant! I have read about some women getting thrown, killed, when the trailing skirts spooked the horse, got tangled in horse legs to pull the rider off. Those quality fabrics were TOUGH, heavy, unlikely to tear loose before rider came off. Probably why trailing skirts got shortened, changed into the more modern “safety habit” that actually is more apron over breeches, than a skirt now.
I really had no places to use my sidesaddle skills locally except in costume classes. I ended up quitting and selling the saddle to an Arab rider. Arab shows offered sidesaddle classes.
Like so many things done in the past, sidesaddle was a way to allow women to ride, in any form! It was interesting but not easy on me or the horse, to stay properly seated. Especially trying to ride any longer distances! Hunting for hours had to be exhausting!! Those ladies hunting sidesaddle now, challenging themselves, have my full admiration when watching the videos! I sure would not like it if we had to go back to sidesaddle being the only way women could ride in public. Old ways are not always a better way.
Editing to add, my western sidesaddle only had one horn to allow easier, faster escape should the horse go down. Riding in America, away from the “civilized” East Coast, presented problems of covering rough ground, poor or no roads in the mountains. So women needed a different kind of saddle to ride with their long dresses. Few ladies would be jumping logs, natural obstructions, no telling what hole or surprise was on the other side. Safer to ride around the problem. So the leaping horn was an “option” commonly left off their frontier, midwest area saddles. You wanted to be able to get clear of the falling horse, not pinned under him!
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