I have the saddles divided up into three sections., English, Western and Other.  In some ways, this is incorrect, but it provides a more modern separation.

Sidesaddle is almost strictly a European idea.  The intermingling of the nobles and royalty provided a conduit for ideas to flow, and some common cultural elements.  Non European cultures didn't have women who rode sidesaddle. 

Prior to the Victorian era, France was the driving force behind many of the "pop culture" of the periods.  French was the language of the courts, and France set the fashions of the time.  There was a shift and England became the super power, and now England set the fashions.  So rather than the "European Saddle", the modern saddles are called "English Saddles".  This can also be attributed to the high quality production center (Walsall) that developed in England.

Like many things, sidesaddles saw a massive amount of innovative ideas tried in the Victorian and Edwardian times.  We will touch upon some of the major ones here, and you will see more of them pointed out in the exhibits.


So the modern English sidesaddle as we know it dates from after the invention of the leaping head in about 1830 by Frenchman Jules Pellier.  The leaping head didn't really catch on in England until the 1860's or so due to changing cultural norms involving hunting. 

These saddles still retained the very dipped seats characteristic of the "cow horn" saddles that preceded them.  They also had three horns, retaining both of the current horns and the new leaping head.  The tree was not cut back.

As the saddle progressed, the third horn became smaller and smaller, virtually disappearing by the 1890's, and the seats became more level and less uphill.

Around 1875, someone got the bright idea to cutback the trees.  This gave room for the horses withers to rise up in the saddle and reduced the amount of padding required to have both a level seat and clear the withers.  This allowed the saddles to sit closer to the horse's back which gives a better ride and reduces the tendency of the saddles to roll.

The cutback design is inherently weaker than the straight arch design on old saddles, so tree makers used a thick iron bar, called a hunting bar, to re-enforce the gullet on hunting saddles.  In America, there were also saddles called "Park Seat" saddles that were not re-enforced for jumping, they do not have a hunting bar.  If you jump in a saddle without a hunting bar, you will break the tree.

There are some small differences between hunting saddles and park saddles besides the hunting bar, but it can be tricky to determine in some cases.  Please take the saddle to a qualified sidesaddle specialist and/or have the gullet x-ray-ed.  Many beautiful park saddles have been ruined by jumping in them.

The last major development in the English sidesaddle tree was the Wykeham pad in the Teens.  This was a thick wool felt pad that replaced the panels on the bottom of the saddle.  This allowed the "panels" to dry more quickly, or have additional pads for horses in heavy use, and also allowed the same saddle to be used on different horses with different shaped pads.  This was a boon as women began to have less staff and were doing more themselves.


The stirrup also received a makeover during this time.  The slipper stirrup was seen in many forms on the sidesaddle in the beginning.  It served several purposes.  It kept the riders shoe somewhat cleaner.  It could be a display of wealth, many are highly decorated and made with silver.  It also prevented the riders foot from going through the stirrup and getting hung up in case of a fall.   They did have a longer foot plate which makes it difficult for the rider to use her ankle to absorb shock as when riding at speed or jumping.  But the platform does provide more of a foot rest function for long rides at a slow gate.

 Safety stirrups came on the scene around 1850.  These stirrups would open and release the foot in the case of a fall.  Their open design allowed greater use of the ankle giving riders a more secure seat.  This was significant as hunting in England was moving at a faster pace than ever before, with the jumps being taken from the gallop.

Around 1880, Champion & Wilton Saddlery and Harness invented the safety stirrup bar.  Other manufacturers soon followed suit, each developing their own patented design.  These bars allowed the entire stirrup and leather assembly to detach from the saddle in case of a fall.  Either the safety stirrup or the safety stirrup bar should be used when riding a sidesaddle.

Women who rode sidesaddle were of the upper classes, and would have had grooms and staff to saddle the horse, and because of the "weaker sex" status, she could reasonably be assured of finding someone to help her with her girth, or she would take someone with her that would assist.  She wouldn't usually be riding out and about by herself in an unpopulated area in the early 1800's.

She would have also been riding a smooth gaited horse like a palfrey.  As hunting began to speed up, she would have switched to a trotting type of horse, and the balance girth was invented.  This helped to secure the saddle and keep it from rubbing back and forth across the horse's loins.

As the pace picked up, the over-girth also became more prominent to hold the offside flap down, preventing it from "flapping" up and down while the horse moved.  This buckled underneath the horse, and had to be loosened to tighten the main girth.  The combination balance girth and over-girth was also tried.

As time passed, and women became more adventurous and independent, she needed to be able to adjust the girth herself.  The convenience feature was invented.  The over girth still went from under the offside flap and buckled under the horse, but instead for the flap being sewn down, now it had a short strap, frequently with elastic sewn in, an a hook which went to an eye on the over girth.  This allowed her to reach down, pop the tab, tighten the girth, and then re-secure the flap, without dismounting.

Martin and Martin, an American saddle maker invented the "garage door", a spring loaded metal fitting that held the flap down or up as needed.

In the teens and twenties,  the outside girthing system became popular on hunting saddles.  This allowed the girth to be adjusted easily, and it also holds the flap down.  Girths used with this system have keepers fitted to hold the billets down, as well as the usual keeper for the balance girth at the center.

Another girth that became popular in the teens and twenties is called the Fitzwilliam girth.  This is an extra wide girth with an additional narrow strap that runs along the center of the wider under-girth.  This uses 3 billets on each side and it helps the horse by distributing the pressure over a wider area, increases the security of the saddle in the case of billet failure, and it also reduces chafing of the horse.  This seems to be an effect of the reduced edge pressure.