But during the later middle ages, you do see images of women riding both astride and aside. Linking riding astride to preserving virginity is a whole dissertation in and of itself too. I cannot find an actual academic citation about her riding sidesaddle. I assume that she just rode to a ship that would take her across the channel because riding across the entire English channel would have been … awkward. I’m okay with that because I am not going to nitpick a movie interpretation of a mythological tribe of women.Īn oft repeated “fact” in the sidesaddle world is that in the late 1300s, Anne of Bohemia rode sidesaddle from her home to England to preserve her virginity for her future husband, Richard II. Movie Amazons apparently have saddles and stirrups, which didn’t exist at the time. Yes, it’s a superhero movie but the Amazons are based off of the mythological Amazons, ancient enemies of the Greeks. Let’s start out with one of my favorite movies, Wonder Woman. Sadly, there are few independent sidesaddle makers and saddle fitters/repair people around today so if anyone wants a new profession, this would be a good one. A few companies make quality sidesaddles today but the rest are cheaply made, won’t fit any horse, and aren’t safe. The best leather I have ever seen was on my 1920s Whippy sidesaddle. With good care, these saddles last literally 100 years or more because they are made that well. “Modern” is in quotes because these saddles were usually made from 1900ish to the 1950s(ish). Older sidesaddles are also often too narrow for today’s horses or were made for donkeys. The reason is that older saddles are rare and usually aren’t in any condition to be used without extensive refurbishing. Attire specifically for riding started in the 17th century and eventually evolved into the sidesaddle habits worn today.Ī note before we start off - films use “modern” sidesaddles like everyone else who rides sidesaddle these days. How they rode and what they wore while riding depended on who they were and what they were doing. The simple summary is that women rode either aside or astride or both throughout different time periods in history. Sidesaddle, where to start? Like all things historical, sidesaddle riding on the screen is often inaccurate or used for effect. She started riding at 9 and hasn’t stopped, nearly 40 years later. She’s a horse-crazy independent costume historian in the Washington, DC, area. Frock Flicks note: This is a guest post by Deb Fuller.
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