The side-saddle introduced to this country by Ann of Bohemia, differed, materially, from that now used by British ladies; having, no doubt, been a mere pillion, on which the rider sate, as in a chair.
At what period our fair countrywomen first began to ride with the knee over the pommel, we are not enabled to state: it is, however, clear, according to the original of the above sketch, which occurs in one of the historical illustrations of equestrianism, given by Audry, that the courtly dames of England did so, about the middle of the seventeenth century. Our author describes the figure, as being that of the Countess of Newcastle.
It may be conjectured, that a single crutch, only, for the advanced leg, was at first used; and this, it is not improbable, was fixed on the centre of the pommel, as in the lady’s saddle, now, or at least very lately, common in some parts of Mexico; where the women, it would seem, ride with the left hand towards the animal’s head. This, also, appears to have been, sometimes, the case, down to a recent period, in our own country; for, in rather a modern description of the side-saddle, the crutches are spoken of as being moveable, in order to afford a lady, by merely changing their relative positions, the means of riding, as she might please, on either side of her horse.[18-*] That a second crutch was used about the middle of the last century (we are unable to state how much earlier), in France, at least, is evident from a plate of the lady’s hunting saddle, at that period, given by Garsault; in which, it is curious, a sort of hold-fast is provided for the fair equestrian’s right hand. But, even so recently as Garsault’s time, the saddle in ordinary use, by French women, was, we learn from his work on equitation, still, a kind of pillion, on which the rider sate, diagonally, with both feet resting on a broad suspended ledge or stirrup. The pillion in this country has not yet become obsolete; being still, frequently, to be seen, on the backs of donkies and hack ponies, at watering places. During the early part of the present century, its employment continued to be general. It was fixed behind a man’s saddle, on the croup of a steady horse, trained to go at an easy though shuffling pace between a walk and a trot. The groom, or gentleman, equipped with a broad leathern belt buckled about his waist—by which the lady secured her position, in case of need—first mounted; and his fair companion was then lifted, backwards, and behind him, into her seat. In an old work on horsemanship, written by one William Stokes, and published at Oxford, it is not, perhaps, unworthy of notice, directions are given for vaulting into the saddle, after the lady has been placed on the croup; together with a plate illustrative of so exquisitely nice and marvellously absurd an operation. In Mexico “they manage these things,” if not “better,” at all events, with more gallantry, than our forefathers did, for with them, “the pisana, or country lady,” we are told, “is often seen mounted before her cavaliero; who, seated behind his fair one, supports her with his arm thrown around her waist.” Our illustrative sketch of this custom (in the preceding page) is taken from a beautiful model,—the work of a native Mexican artist.
Having, now, offered our fair readers a slight and unpretending historical sketch of female equestrianism, we shall proceed, after a few preliminary remarks, to the practical details of the art.