Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-24
Mabel Jenness Defends Herself for Riding
Man Fashion.

The road the reformer treads is rough and
stony. When pretty Mabel Jenness announced
to few friends that she was tired of riding side
saddle, and in bifurcated garment would gallop
her horse astraddle. she had no idea of the
storm she was about to bring down upon herself
She has been charged with lmmOdeSty, lack of
feminity, breach OF decorum, a desire to create
a sensaSion and a dozen other offenseS against
the usages of society. To-day she consented TO
reply to her critics. Her dark brown eyes
sparkled and her voice assumed an earnest tone
when she referred TO the unpleasant things
that have been said about her. She is
a young woman to face such storm OF oppo-
sition. She is only twenty-five. A little above
the medium height, with abundance of fluffy
symmetrical features, and well-rounded figure
that illustrates the success of physical culture,
she presents q pretty picture OF glrllsh simple
ity. She began by declaring that she never in
tended the public to know anything about her
experiment. She arranged to have no one pres
ent except her riding master and four friends.
riding master gave the story away to a
gosslping woman reporter, and all the
world knows the result. Miss Jenness said
that she made the experiment in the search
Of better mode of riding than ia now in vogue
among women. A short time ago she sustained
a serious injury to her hip by being tripped up
by her conventional riding habit while dis
mounting from horse that was kicker. This
fact, and her study of physical culture, which
convinced her that riding in side saddle devel-
oped one side of the figure more than the other,
convinced her that reform was needed. She
first tried riding with saddle on the left side
one day and on the right side the next, but
neither the horse nor the rider satisfied with
this. Then came the determination to set
astride, Just to see how it would seem.
1 rode for an hour and half, said Miss
Jenness. ''My saddle was the ordinary man
saddle. Ny costume resembled the conventional
habit, except that the skirt was a divided gar
ment of the accordion-plaited variety. My seat
in the saddle much more comfortable than
the cramped position necessary with side sad
die. When dismounted was no more fatigued
than would have been riding the old way the
same length of time. Yet I was not entirely
satisfied with the experiment. I made up my
mind TO try it again with smaller saddle be-
fore deciding that it is the best way for women
to ride.
81 never said that would appear in Central
park in the divided habit. That would only
make sensation, and if there is anything 1
abhor it is that. / shall go with my expert
ments, and if I finally decide that women ought
to sit the saddle like men, / shall have the
courage of my convicJions, and shall ride in
that manner. As to its being indicate, 1 think
the divided skirt is less SO than the present
costume. If there is anything improper in out
lining the figure, the ordinary habit does that
more than the divided costume. The divided
skirt hangs down at both sides, and is soft and
full, and not tightly strapped to the figure like
the present style. The women who saw me ride
declared that the costume was graceful and be-
coming
And as Miss Jenness arose her eyes snapped
and in her face WAS plainly written tho deter
mination to go on. no matter what the world
may say.