The Home Journal having published a set of rather finical rules for the conduct of equestrians in Central Park, a writer in Vanity Fair supplemented and satirized them as follows:
ETIQUETTE OF EQUITATION.
When a gentleman is to accompany a lady on horseback,
1st. There must be two horses. (Pillions are out of fashion, except in some parts of Wales, Australia and New Jersey.)
2d. One horse must have a side saddle. The gentleman will not mount this horse. By bearing this rule in mind he will soon find no difficulty in recognizing his own steed.
3d. The gentleman will assist the lady to mount and adjust her foot in the stirrup. There being but one stirrup, he will learn upon which side to assist the lady after very little practice.
4th. He will then mount himself. As there are two stirrups to his saddle, he may mount on either side, but by no means on both; at least, not at the same time. The former is generally considered the most graceful method of mounting. If he has known Mr. Rarey he may mount without the aid of stirrups. If not, he may try, but will probably fail.
5th. The gentleman should always ride on the right side of the lady. According to some authorities, the right side is the left. According to others, the other is the right. If the gentleman is left handed, this will of course make a difference. Should he be ambidexter, it will be indifferent.
6th. If the gentleman and lady meet persons on the road, these will probably be strangers, that is if they are not acquaintances. In either case the gentleman and lady must govern themselves accordingly. Perhaps the latter is the evidence of highest breeding.
7th. If they be going in different directions, they will not be expected to ride in company, nor must these request those to turn and join the others; and vice versa. This is indecorous, and indicates a lack of savoir faire.