Did women have the right to ride on their own to participate in the male-dominated horse riding culture of horses? This ancient custom didn't only apply to women. Women and men of different cultures had different views about riding. For example, the Greeks were afraid of women who rode side-by-side. While the rules forbidding women to ride astride lasted until the early twentieth century, riding schools had to adapt to the changing times. At the age of eleven or twelve, little girls started lessons in astride and moved on to sidesaddle riding.

One woman who fought for women’s suffrage rode on her horse in 1913 to protest the practice. She fought for equal participation and the right of women to vote. The question, therefore, "Why Did Women Ride Side Saddle?" The topic has been a matter of much debate. And the answer may be as simple as you think. In 1913, Two-Gun Nan Aspinwall rode a horse from San Francisco to New York, wearing a split skirt and a long, white cape.

The saddle with a side is one of the oldest types of saddle that riders use. It was first used by the royal court, where it was advertised as a way to preserve a woman's modesty. Side saddles were created to protect women from being ridden on their backs or astride horses. They were at risk of injury as their long skirts caught on the horses' legs. The side saddle was also an option because they could not get out from the saddle in the event of a horse falling.

Side-saddle horse riding was banned in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but it has returned in recent decades. Lady Mary, an American horse; and the Flying Foxes - a group consisting of women who ride sidesaddle - revived interest. Michaela Bowling, a side saddle rider, broke in 2011 the British sidesaddle high jump record.

Although women rode astride less often than men, this style of riding was more popular with royal women. Catherine the Great was the first to ride astride. She demanded that all women of her court use . This practice soon became a common European norm, and only strong women were allowed to ride astride. Here are some facts for side saddle riding enthusiasts who have strong personalities.

The first sidesaddle was chair-like. The woman rode with her knees together and her feet on a footrest. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici developed a more functional design, placing her right leg over the saddle's pommel. This side saddle allowed a woman to safely trot her horse and control her horse easier. The side saddle was also safer.