How this Research Came To Be 
Like most girls in north Louisiana, I grew up riding Western. Riding was a necessity, rather than a sport or luxury, for rounding up cattle. I knew about aside riding from my great-grandmother, though, and sometimes would put my leg around the horn of my Hereford saddle and see what it was like.

In graduate school at the Museum of Texas Tech University I finally got my chance to explore my interest in sidesaddles and aside riding. I was able to buy my first rideable sidesaddle, and I also had access to an excellent library and archives. I intended to complete a thesis on sidesaddles and aside riding as part of my Master's degree in Museum Science. An empolyee at the museum rode aside, and we sometimes went riding together.
Parts of the Sidesaddle
Seat
2nd Horn
Leaping Horn
Cantle
Pommel
Safe
Stirrup
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Tree: The wooden or fiberglass foundation on which a saddle is built.

The First Horn (found on some older saddles) is not visible in this photo

Note: Not all sidesaddles had a leaping horn. "Two horned" sidesaddles (with the leaping horn) were made into the 20th century, and were relatively cheap.)

The girth is the band that goes around the horse's chest or belly to secure the saddle.  A balance girth is a diagonal band found on the off-side of some park/level-seat type of sidesaddles.

Planchette: The wooden footrest found on medieval and Renaissance sidesaddles.

Slipper Stirrup: a stirrup that is shaped rather like a house-slipper or mule. The enclosed toe portion prevents the rider's foot from slipping through the stirrup.
As fate would have it, I ended up doing an internship rather than writing a thesis. For almost a decade, my research on sidesaddles sat in a closet gathering dust.

Now I've brought my research out from the boxes. This brief article is intended for young people and aside beginners. More advanced researchers will want to look at my bibliography (sorry, it isn't correctly formated.)  NOTE: Aside terminology differs from resource to resource, especially between American and British books. Also, sidesaddle types have only recently been named, and authors differ in what particular saddle-types are called.

Hope you enjoy studying this fascinating artifact: the sidesaddle!
Me in my habit with the YR saddle (see below).
BELOW: The "YR" saddle c. 1865 or earlier.  Most sidesaddles are made so that the rider's legs are on the near (left) side of the horse. A few saddles, like mine, are "off-sided" (right side). My YR saddle was probably custom made. It's owner's initials (YR) are embroidered in copper thread. This saddle also has a balance bar and a hand-made attachment for a crupper. The leaping horn is a later addition.