ASIDE RIDING IN DECLINE
Although the Goodnight saddle was
designed for hard riding in the west,
women’s attitudes toward riding
aside changed as they encountered life
on the range. Western horses were not
always gentle or well-trained. As one
woman wrote of her mount, “He
only bucked on starting out.�
Not only the horses, but rough terrain
could prove dangerous to aside riders.
When faced with narrow mountain
paths, sidesaddles could be dangerous
or even deadly. Far from civilization,
some women adopted divided skirts or
bloomers under their skirts and rode
men’s saddles.
DIVIDED GARMENTS
It took the popularity of the bicycle,
however, to make divided garments
acceptable for women to wear in
public, and even this took place
gradually. While bicyclists adopted
very full bloomers, a few women riders
in society cautiously adopted divided
skirts. Magazines assured readers that,
from the side, the skirts made it appear
that the woman was riding a
sidesaddle. Many skirts featured
panels that could be buttoned when on
the ground to hide the split in the skirt.
The split riding skirt was common
during the 1910s, and by the late
1920s, the sight of a young woman
wearing riding breeches was not
uncommon. As it was now socially
acceptable for women to ride menâ
€™s saddles, many sidesaddles were
dispatched to the attic or the burning
barrel. Men’s saddles were less
expensive, lighter, easier to fit to both
horse and rider, and less likely to cause
injury to the horse. Although a few
women continued to ride aside, the
practice became increasingly rare as
the decades passed.
Pictures Coming Soon (I hope!)