August 31: The End of Side-Saddle Riding

Emily Ladenburg, an intrepid horsewoman and a regular in the New York Times society columns, introduced ankle-length split skirts (culottes) for horseback riding in Saratoga Springs on this date in 1902. She was the widow of a millionaire banker, Adolph Ladenburg, who drowned at sea in 1896. While the split skirt had been worn by Annie Oakley and other celebrated women of the West, Ladenburg introduced it to wealthy circles in the East and helped end the status quo of side-saddle riding for women. The side-saddle style, de rigueur for Victorian women, was rooted in male obsession with women’s virginity and reinforced myths about women’s frailty and helplessness (though several technological innovations eventually enabled side-saddle riders to perform amazing feats). In the 1900s, riding astride became a symbol of women’s liberation, and several suffragist parades/demonstrations were led by women on horseback, riding astride.

“If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle.”—Rita Mae Brown