Don’t click this link at work, and please excuse me for confronting you with subjects like this!
Women’s horseriding was quite an issue in the nineteenth century. A special saddle was required so the woman could sit on the horse properly, and women’s horseriding in general was an easy target for crude jokes, as seen above. Special horseriding outfits were designed, but this was no reason for cartoonist to stop making fun of Victorian clothes and horseriding:
Please click here to see a collection of riding outfits for women, and read more about sidesaddle riding.
Hi! My name is Geerte, I'm a researcher of Nineteenth century history from the Netherlands. This blog is where I write about my favourite subject. Feel free to browse around! 
Oh, my. That was funny. Thanks for the warning! and for the link.
What a hoot! It took me a sec to figure the cartoon out, but wow is it hilarious. Subtle and very sensuous. I almost get the sense that the cartoonist is more intrigued than appalled by the girl on the horse. That left leg is drawn with particularly loving care.
By the way, this is printed proof that we didn’t invent all things crude and sexual in the last thirty or forty years, as many people in our society seem to think. Chaucer, the Decameron, half the ancient canon, and most things written in French throughout history tell the same tale!!
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So in the early 19th century it seems as though women sometimes did “ride astride” even though (as in the cartoon) it was occasion for ribald comment.
I assume by the 1880s that women only ever rode sidesaddle. Is that correct, and if so do you know when non-sidesaddle riding started to become fashonable again? I’m curious because I want to know whether someone in the late 1800s would refer to a lady riding sidesaddle, or would he take it for granted that’s how she would always ride?
Hi Dave,
It seems riding astride only became common from the 1910s onwards, even though it was known earlier. In America, there was a time gap between the east coast and the west coast (you can read about it here: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/features/sidesaddle-159.shtml). I think it’s safe to say that in the late 1800s, unless a woman was particularly liberated or trying to provoke reactions, she would have ridden sidesaddle.
Thanks! This is a really interesting blog btw.
When women astride becomes accepted largely depends on where you’re looking. In the American West, by the 1890s, nobody really even raised an eyebrow. On the east coast, even in the 20s at the biggest and oldest (read: “most traditional”) shows it was frowned upon, but it was certainly done. England, I think, lagged a little behind the east coast in accepting women astride. Coco Chanel in the 20s really helped it gain popularity in polite society, as she rode astride (designing her own clothes for it, of course!).
It should be noted that “lower sorts” of women might ride astride at any time in history. A sidesaddle is and was a specialized piece of equipment that your average farm girl wasn’t going to own just to ride into town.
Incidently, that O’Reilly article linked to above really doesn’t do sidesaddle justice. He preferred to focus on the scandal and poor horsemanship of a few while ignoring the sound practices of the many.
Hi Jeannie, thank you for your comment! It was hard for me to find some good information about this on the internet, since it’s all quite new to me, so it’s good to hear from someone who knows more about it!