By Marti Friddle

At the end of the War Between the States the Gathright cousins from Kentucky, who had fought on opposite sides during the conflict, returned to Louisville and set up shop to produce saddles. They brought home from the war a new design for saddle trees, which was based on a Mexican saddle. This saddle, later called the Morgan tree, named for Col. Henry Morgan, was a radical departure from the European style tree that had previously been used in this country. Soon, sidesaddles were built on Morgan trees as well. The American sidesaddle boom had begun.

Now farmer's daughters as well as grand ladies would be able to ride in style to church. The Gathright cousins, Josiah and John, held individual patents on the Morgan and Eclipse sidesaddle trees, and the sidesaddles produced in Louisville soon found their way into the big mail order houses, and thus to the American consumer.

Of course the sidesaddle has been around a lot longer than 130 years. Early Chinese and Arabic drawings show people riding with both legs on one side of the horse, and medieval tapestries show ladies out hawking while sitting totally sideways on planchettes - a sort of chair with a footrest for the feet.

The idea of preserving a lady's modesty was in vogue for the higher social classes hundreds of years ago. It took the Victorians however, with their excessive ideas of female virtue and modesty, to make the sidesaddle popular, and when less expensive models became readily available, ladies of the era snapped them up.

Sidesaddles have been found on American soil since Colonial days, and there are even a few examples of these very old saddles still in existence. European and American sidesaddles remained much the same through the mid 19th century, until American manufacturers like the Gathrights went in a new direction with sidesaddle designs.

Instead of basing the saddle on the European model, which relies heavily on padding to produce the correct fit, American designers opted for western style bars, which are cut to fit the back of the horse, resulting in a closer contact ride, and a better general-fitting tree. Sidesaddles remained popular up through the years just before World War I, as the women's suffrage movement took root, and women decided that if they could vote, they could also ride astride.

My first sidesaddle instructor was one of these ladies. The late Dorcas Thurston spent her childhood trying to gain permission to ride astride rather than aside, as was considered proper for a young lady of her social class. Nearly 70 years later, at the height of the Women's Movement in the 70's, she taught me to ride aside. As she finished giving me my first sidesaddle lesson, she sighed "I spent a whole childhood trying to get out of the sidesaddle, and now YOU come along!" It's one of my favorite stories about her.

Modern riders are rediscovering the sidesaddle as an interesting way to show off the horse and rider. Crowds love the colorful costumes, and judges seem to like the historical connection. Many breeds have recently revised their rules to allow the use of the sidesaddle, and suddenly demand for sidesaddles exceeds the supply. Sidesaddle groups are becoming more and more popular, with memberships skyrocketing in the past ten years.

So what makes the sidesaddle different? Well, for one thing, a lady can ride in long skirts, because both legs are draped demurely around horns on one side of the saddle. Riding a sidesaddle for the first time is something of a challenge, because all of the muscles you've schooled so carefully for use in riding astride are useless. However, a good seat and hands will be immediately available, and in fact they comprise the most essential part of riding aside. Your rapport with your horse will remain (but be prepared for him to turn his head and look at you oddly, when you first get into the saddle.)

Most horses appreciate being ridden aside, because they are not held in the vise-grip of human legs. Many difficult horses actually go better aside, and they actually seem to enjoy the challenge of helping you keep your balance up there!

The art of riding sidesaddle was nearly lost for several decades however, as women turned to other forms of riding. In the 1950's in Europe, many tack rooms were cleaned out, and old ladies' saddles were burned. Modern riders shudder when they hear these stories, because the demand for sidesaddles has become so strong in Europe that any saddle in useable condition can bring the equivalent of several thousand US dollars.

In the United States we tended to keep Grandma's saddles in our attics and barns, but a mystique about riding aside grew up, as well as a myth that riding aside is dangerous.

Nothing could be further from the truth, if the saddle has the proper safety features and fits the horse. Remember that the sidesaddle was at its peak at a time when women were considered the fair, fragile sex. The sidesaddle enabled them to compete with men on equal footing in the hunt field and in cross country riding. A poorly fitting sidesaddle can cause problems - but we will tackle the subject of fit in another article.

Many of the older saddles lack important safety features however. The leaping horn allows the rider to keep a firm seat, even when the horse shies. The balance girth was a European invention which was developed for the hunt field. It prevents the back of the saddle from rubbing across the kidney area - a real problem when trotting horses are used.

A large number of the old sidesaddles lack the leaping horn, which in my opinion is the more important of the two safety features. One-horned saddles were never intended to be used on high-spirited horses, and especially never under show conditions. The leaping horn is a special brace which curves downward over the rider's left leg. If the horse should shy, or leap forward suddenly, the rider will instinctively ram her left thigh up into the leaping horn and maintain a secure seat. It is this feature which allows the sidesaddle rider to sit out a bucking horse, and makes it possible to jump in a sidesaddle, but on a saddle which lacks it she can be thrown and badly injured.

Many riders have mistakenly assumed that they were safe in saddles which lacked the leaping horn, then have later called me in desperation, asking where they can get one installed on their saddles. Please note that we do not ride or sell sidesaddles that lack the leaping horn, and in clinics we always require that the saddles used have this feature. Without it, the rider is a sitting duck, an accident waiting to happen.

Sidesaddles come in different styles and sizes, just as regular saddles do. It's possible to find English, Western, and Period saddles at many large shows. They are just as different in their own way as astride saddles are, and with a little practice it becomes easy to tell the difference. One of the most common novice aside rider mistakes is to mismatch the saddle with clothing from the wrong historical period. It's always a good idea to do some research before you put together a show outfit, or to wear street clothing as a riding habit. See the addresses below for information on where to get research materials.

The first thing that the sidesaddle rider should remember is that she does not sit sideways! You'd be surprised at the number of people who assume otherwise.

The aside rider sits facing squarely to the front, shoulders and hips in the same position as they would be if she were riding astride. Her weight should be carried on the right thigh and right seatbone, but the actual center of gravity will shift as she moves forward for more speed, then sits back to slow the horse down.

Her right toe should be relaxed and point downward, and she should be sure that her right foot is not flexed. Her primary grip in the sidesaddle will be the action of the right leg against the upright pommel and the shoulder of the horse.

The left leg hangs naturally in the stirrup, with the heel slightly down. Her hands should be held in a natural position, with her elbows close to her sides. There is another, lower hand position, which is commonly taught to sidesaddle riders, but owners of gaited horses should be aware that the lower hand position is not appropriate to the head carriage of most gaited breeds. Above all, the rider should sit straight in the saddle, not leaning right or left Her back should be slightly hollowed, and she should carry her head proudly.

The proper leg position for the leaping horn is the subject of many questions. The left leg should be carried about 1 inch below the underside of the horn - close enough to grip it easily in an emergency, but not in constant contact with it. Riding with a continuous "grip seat" may cause the rider's upper body to pivot in the saddle, making her sit dangerously sideways, and liable to lose her balance easily.

If you are planning to ride your horse sidesaddle, you should read up on the subject before plunging blindly into it. Many common mistakes can be easily rectified, and most riders only need to have them pointed out to see immediate improvement. You can view pages on riding aside at the web site of the World Sidesaddle Federation (http://members.aol.com/WorldSFI/sidesadl.htm).

There are links to other related sites as well, and you should gather all the information you can. You can write WSFI at PO Box 1104, Bucyrus, OH 44820 (419) 284-3176. WSFI maintains the largest sidesaddle library to be found anywhere, and most items are available through inter-library loan. The group also has sources for books, pamphlets and videos on the subject, including videos of past clinics in which a lot of problem-solving was done.

Don't buy the first sidesaddle you see, just because you think they are rare. They aren't common, but they aren't difficult to find if you look in the right places. The one rule to remember is that the saddle MUST fit the horse, and should fit the rider, as well. Using a poorly fitting sidesaddle is an invitation to disaster. The saddle will slip and roll, and we've also heard horror stories of horses whose backs were permanently injured by an ill-fitting saddle. I might note that any badly fitting saddle - astride or aside, can injure a horse.

Information on measuring and fitting a sidesaddle is available from Hundred Oaks, P O Box 886, Graham, NC 27253 or our Measuring page on the internet at http://members.aol.com/sidesadl/measuring.html

WSFI conducts yearly clinics and instructor certifications. Clinics are held at other sites around the country as well, with some planned for this fall. See you out there!

The author has been riding aside for 24 years. She and her husband conduct clinics in riding sidesaddle all over the country. Marti Friddle and Linda Bowlby are co-authors of "The Sidesaddle Legacy", published by the World Sidesaddle Federation.

For further information contact: Marti Friddle SIDESADL@aol.com