Having finished the “prepare to mount” stage, she straightens her left knee by lightly springing upwards off the ground by means of her right foot, and at the same time pressing on her cavalier’s shoulder so as to straighten her left arm. The moment he feels her weight on his hands, he should raise himself into an erect position, so as to bring her on a level with the saddle, on which she places herself by turning to the left while she is being raised, and bearing on the upper crutch with her right hand. It will be difficult for the gentleman to do this lift properly, unless the lady keeps her left knee and left elbow straight during the ascent. The gentleman’s task will be greatly facilitated if he takes advantage of the lady’s spring; but even if he lets that helpful moment pass by, he can do the lift in a satisfactory manner with the small drawback of an extra expenditure of muscular effort. The fact of the lady exerting a strong downward pressure on the gentleman’s left shoulder, makes the lift much easier for him than if he had to do it entirely by his arms. It is most important for the beginner to understand this extremely simple method of mounting, so that, if failure results, she may know who is in fault. Her only serious error is that of neglecting to straighten her knee. His crimes in this respect are many. First, he may catch hold of the heel of her boot in the preliminary stage, and will thus prevent her utilising the play of her left ankle joint in her spring. Experiment will show that this trick of catching the heel hampers a lady’s movements in mounting much more than might at first be thought possible. Second, from knowing no better, or from a desire to show off his strength, he may use only one hand to lift the lady, and will then almost always have cause to regret his superfluity of self confidence. Third, he may stand too far away from her, and thus bring her left foot too much forward, in which case it will be almost impossible for her to straighten her left knee. Fourth, he may also prevent her from doing this indispensable part of the performance, by trying to raise her before she has put her weight on his hands. Fifth, he may stand too far away from the side of the horse, in which case he is liable to throw her over to the off side of the horse (as happened once to me), by giving her an oblique instead of a vertical propulsion. A minor form of this mistake is attempting to put the lady on the saddle, instead of raising her to the height at which she can easily take her seat. After a lady has suffered from clumsy attempts to put her up, it is not to be wondered at if she regards the feat of mounting as one which requires some peculiar knack to accomplish; and, as failure in mounting is particularly ungraceful, she naturally becomes nervous about attempting it. If she has any doubts as to her capability to mount easily, she might make some preliminary attempts to stand and support herself for a few seconds on a gentleman’s hands, with her left hand on his shoulder and her right hand on the upper crutch. When she finds that she can do this successfully, she may, when her leg is again straight, give him a signal (or take one from him) to raise her to the necessary height, so that she may sit in the saddle. If she be very timid, she may practise mounting indoors, with her right hand on the top of an upright piano, and her left on a gentleman’s shoulder as before. Although it is usual for the gentleman to give the words, “One, two!” as a signal for her to make her spring and straighten her knee before he raises her, no such caution is necessary; for he will know, by feeling her weight on his hands, when she is in a proper position to be raised.
Having arrived on the saddle, the lady places her right leg over the crutch, while her attendant puts her left foot in the stirrup, adjusts any elastic loops that may be present, and straightens her skirt, as may be required. She then takes up the reins. It is advisable for the lady not to touch the reins until she is securely placed in the saddle and is ready to use them, because the act of placing her right hand on the crutch while holding the reins in it, is liable to render the horse unsteady, and the reins are of no use to her until she is firmly seated.
If there is only one man to help the lady to mount, he should place his left arm through the snaffle reins, so as to prevent the animal from getting away while putting her up.
I think all hunting men should know how to put a lady up, because accidents in the field are constantly occurring, and some poor Diana who has had a tumble is always grateful to any good Samaritan who renders her this small service. A well-meaning sportsman who kindly offered me his help on such an occasion, knew so little about the mysteries of side-saddle riding, that he attempted to give me a “leg up,” as if I were a man!
It would be well for every school where riding is taught to be supplied with a wooden horse, on which pupils could learn the method of getting into the saddle, and would thus avoid becoming flurried or nervous when mounting, especially if the horse is a stranger. Also, a dummy horse would be an admirable subject on which to do preliminary practice in other details of riding, such as grip, length of stirrup, leaning back (as when going over fences), position of the hands, holding and handling the reins, etc. In this way, beginners would learn what they had to do, before getting on a horse.
Mounting from the ground unaided depends for its success chiefly on the respective heights of horse and rider, although a lady can be helped considerably in this attempt by letting out the stirrup leather, which she will have to shorten after climbing into the saddle. Unless a lady is tall and athletic, it will be almost impossible for her to perform this feat on a full-sized horse. This method of mounting should, as a rule, be avoided, because, apart from its not being very graceful, it is apt to disarrange the position of the saddle, by pulling it to the near side, and the animal would then be liable to get a sore back, especially if he had to go through a long day with hounds.