SHOULD WOMEN RIDE ASTRIDE?

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 14, 30 September 1908, Page 46

SHOULD WOMEN RIDE ASTRIDE?

By

ELIZABETH YORK MILLER

A DISUUSSION OF A FASHION - THAT APPEARS TO BE. GAINING GROUND. IN WHICH . SAFETY, HEALTH, AND PROPRIETY ARE CONSIDERED, AS WELL AS THE QUESTION OF COSTUME.

SHOULD woman ride astride? Well, humanly speaking, why shouldn’t she do what she wants to? One never, finds men deep in solemn conclave as to whether man (should do this.or that. Each decides for himself to the best of his lights, and there is no tedious debate on the subject.. But women, by instinct, yearn for external authority by which to direct their ways, and it is this tendency to act as a body that has given rise to all the general aphorisms about “woman.” You don't hear "man” described in this collective way. Men seem to have a recognized right to their individuality; but "woman'’ is heldwp as a composite embracing the whole sex, aval then proverbs are made about her which no individual can escape. She might ignore the .proverbs, but the. laws that bind her individual will in -utterly unimportant matters are harder to avoid. Should she bicycle? Should she wear short skirts —corsets—•

From the very fact that, her scat depends more on her own adroitness in balancing than on mechanical aids, her body adjusts itself to the demands of the exercise, and learns a valuable independence. 1 have seen a pupil of this saddle, confronted with a broken stirrup, t>vist her knees together and gallop cheerfully home without foot rest of any kind. Still, learning in this fashion is undeniably more difficult; and the timid will make much faster progress with two good stirrups under her feet .-■nd her body in a normal position for balancing. Of the two cross saddles, the Mexican was .certainly the more .comfortable. This was largely due to the high pom-: mel, which gave a reassuring sense of security, of something fixed that might he resorted to in time of upheaval. And then, too. it felt, a trifle “dashing,” with its carved leather and flying fringes: and such unpractical advantages are not to be scorned. A pinch of stimulation

bloomers? Should she smoke? There is eeasgles* flacking as to whether 'she ought or ought not, in matters where the decision should rest entirely on personal preference and conviction. ‘ But does she want to ride astride? '1 hat; is a different matter altogether; and recent indications seem to suggest that, under the right conditions, ' she does. If she is ‘sensible, she Wants to do all things in the most comfortable and healthful way that is consistent with good taste. To find this way is not always easy, and it is here that the experience of others may help. j Personally, I have ridden a two and a 1 hree horn side saddle, a flat English cx;ss saddle that was little more than a bather pad, a Mexican saddle as big as a rocking ehair, with a four inch pommel and stirrups like starch boxes, and bareback. The last is not to be commended for comfort, for the average horse has a ribbed and notched backbone that makes no concessions. A blanket strapped on is a slight alleviation, though the anpual’s jig sawed spinal column seems to penetrate even that in time. It is at best an uneasy seat, only endurable to those wdwhave’ practised it from childhood. ■ ■ FiDE SADDLE AND I ROSS SADDLES. Tlie side saddle lacking the third horn, which fits closely down over the left knee, is far less secure than any other saddle, entailing the disadvantages of both methods of riding. Yet the girl who learns on that, without the ■teadying and reassuring third horn, gains a poise and soreness That the contcntional side saddle does not teach.

doubles the courage ’ of the average woman,'and trebles her •injoyinenf. Of course riding astride makes the unaccustomed rider very.lame, at first, and a big, hard saddle increases the painful results. One should begin on a. horse with a narrow barrel, so that the knees are not forced apart any further than necessary. 1 he round body of a well fed pony is anything but comfortable for a first experience. So far as health is- - concerned, both methods of riding are condemned by voices of equal authority, and some physicians go so far as to say that women should not ride on horseback at all. This is an extreme opinion, probably due to instances where women have ridden unadvisedly and without proper moderation. If a women sits on a side saddle correctly, there is no twist given to her vital organs; and with careful choice of cross saddle ami horse, and wisdom in not overdoing, riding astride need riot injure a sound physique. It is in positions of sudden danger that the cross saddle shows its marked advantages. Those who have ridden over rough mountain trails; where the slipping of a girth meant imminent peril, have discovered this; sometimes at great cost. For it must be accepted as the truth that a side saddle which will not turn lias never l>een constructed. No matter how tightly the girth is cinched, if the weight of the laxly is thrown to’oi# side or the other with great force, the saddle will follow, and onee it begins to turn, the rider is well nigh helpless. Riding astride, one can grip the horse with the knees and lessen the strain On the girths. So far as safety in riding is

concerned, a good horse-woman who rides astride has an advantage over a better one who uses a side saddle. Even the best trained horse is disconcerted by an unequal distribution of weight. When an emergency arises, the side saddle rider is very likely to discover, too late for remedy, her inability to maintain her poise as well as her control of her horse. Serious accidents have resulted which prove the inadequacy of the conventional woman's saddle, and it is, probably from this fact, together with the natural character of the country, that the Western woman is a readier convert to cross saddle riding than her more conservative Eastern sister. The fearless little Westerner in sombrero and buckskin divided skirt, dashing across the plains or elimbing steep mountain roads on her cow pony, knows how to ride. She can stick to her saddle like a burr. Usually she lias mastered the side, saddle as well, but she uses it as a concession, not from preference.

Those who ride only along well ordered country roads need not be so much concerned about danger. But although the emergency arises less frequently, when it does present itself the eharibes of injury, are very great. And as for women who follow the hounds, the greater safety in riding astride is beyond question. WHERE WOMEN RIDE ASTRIDE. In the large riding academies, little girls are almost invariably taught to ride on a boy’s'saddle, changing .to the side saddle when they beecqne sufficiently skilled, or continuing with the boy’s saddle until, they become what is considered too big to ride in that fashion. Not infrequently these little equestrians are seen on the park roadways striding their ponies with all the cheerful abandon of the new woman; and it is not strange that some of them rebel, when the time conies to make a change in their method

•f riding, and give up the saddle which Jiae been a source of security to them for so long. THE QUESTION OF COSTUME. The costumes designed specially for the cross saddle rider offer a relief from the conventional and trying habit, but are in many cases rather too striking to be widely adopted. In this country the Woman who rides astride .usually makes some futile effort to conceal the fact. She will array herself in a long buttoned front and back, which, of course, must lx? unbuttoned whenever she mounts het horse. Underneath this skirt she‘weirs ordinary riding boots and short knickerbockers. The jacket is the familiar one of the riding habit. The skirt, which falls evenly on both sides, is prevented from flapping by means of weights sewed in the hem. Miss Rahe, who has braved criticism in Central Park, Wears an ordinary divided skirt, which makes her look as if she was riding a side saddle bn the side from which one sees her.

The Englishwoman and the Parisienne make no attempt at skirts. Their style of dress is frankly intended for striding a horse. Th,? favourite basis for the costume is a pair of bloomers. of the same material as the coat, cut rather full and plaited,' and reaching-half. way between the knee and ankl?. . These are met by leather legging^’..worn over low patent leather shoes. (hie rather striking costume seen in Paris at til? time of hist year’s exposition was of black cheviot, with long plaited bloomers, and a tight fitting, semi-military jacket braided with gold. The cap was of black silk felt, with gold bands, and the leggings of black patent leather. A more sensible and more conventional dress coiiSKrtk of blobmers worn under a long divided coat, tightly buttoned to the waist, and hanging'free from, the waist down. This costume does away.with' the necessity of buttoning and unbuttoning a divided ’ riding skirt, and practically serves the same purpose. For rough riding .in parts of the country where comfort is niore to be desired than looks, nothing is more serviceable than a Norfolk jacket of rough cloth and loose knjekerbockera of the same material. With this suit are worn either leather leggings or heavy golf stockings, according to the preference of the rider. ’A woman who adopted this style of costume for a Western riding trip carried in lier clothes kit a divided golf skirt, of the same, material £$ the bloomers .and gaoket, and donned the skirt when She

neared civilisation, or when she was not actually in the saddle, ■ Little girls who ride astride usually wear short bloomers, or, if they are very young indeed, they come to the riding academy in their school dresses, and do not trouble to make a change of costume. As for the mtestion of impropriety, it is hard for a'trtie modern to sec any in the simple act of striding a horse, while it is impossible for the old fashioned to see anything else. The old and the new must fight it out /together till the fittest survives.; The result is libt hard to foresee, in a generation when women’s shoes are no longer sppposed to be fastened to their petticoats. The heads of several prominent riding academies have taken a decided stand against cross saddle ’riding for women, averring that- it is unhygienic, unnecessary, and generally undesirable. Their authority would be a serious argument against the innovation, were it not for the fact that riding astride is much easier than the other wav —and so may be

mastered in a very much fewer number of lessons. Naturally, the profession is not going to encourage such changes. It is said that Buffalo Bill indorses the "new idea so heartily that he has offered a bet that in ten years the side saddle will be almost extinct.