Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-04-03

An %instant's loss of balance made a fall
unavoidable. and of all saddles this appears
by far the most unsafe and the least fitted
for its purpose. Yet such were the saddles
on which our ~grandmothers rode till the
beginning of this century.
About the year 1sSo. by an accidental
reVolutionized. An Englishman made a
wager to ride a steeplechase on a side
saddle; a preliminary trial showed him the
rashness Of the attempt; So, to min
imize the danger by enabling him to sit
safely, the third pommel was invented.
1t was Immediately adopted. and a three
use. During the following fifty years the
weigh was gradually reduced. and every
unnecessary item cut away till, in course
OF time. the light hunting saddle now In
use was evolved. In this modern saddle the
long. narrow cantle is built over a sort OF
tunnel; which takes in the horses withers.
and allows the seat Of the saddle to lie fiat;
while the old-fashioned seat sloped up and
tilted the riders knee with much the same
emec. as riding up hill; All traces Of the
left-hand pommel is placed high up the
thigh. where the grip is strongest. the
pboVe the hI tnns ,o,m aSsy oeen placed Just
was necessary.
And now. at the end Of the nineteenth
century. another change has come, and
m are returning to the cross-saddle.
With all the improvements of the side-sad-
die. there still remain three serious draw
backs: First, the girthS have to be tight
Si.So, " II ulsSOIllOTI u LIE horse, lest
the saddle turn; second, the weight is so
much on one side that a horse ridden ex
clusiyely under the side-saddle is used up
at the end Of the fourth year, and last. but
not least, the equestrienne Is forced to sit
IN a most unnatural position to keep her
balance. She has either to look crooked
and sit straight. when she Is out Of balance
and hurts her mount, or look straight and
sit crooked. when she Injuries herself. Many
women in England VINO ride a great deal
now use two saddles. riding alternately on
the right and left side of the horse, to pre-
vent curvature of the spine and enlarge
ment Of the right hip. caused by the un-
natural position and many medical men for
bid women to ride except on the Cross
saddle.
The saddle generally used by ladies is
the Somerset, SO called because 1t was
invented for one of the Somerset family
who had lost a leg below the knee. It is
thigh, to fit the seat of the rider. and If
provided with a stuffed seat Of buckskin,
will give all the comfort and confidence
Of an armchair. The front roll of stufing
protection against a kicker. A great adj
vantage this saddle has over the side-sad-
die is that, with a heel each side to guide
the horse, and the weight equally distrib-
uted, the rider also sits much lower, 30
that she becomes. as It were. one with the
horse, instead Of being perched on top of
him.
The divided skirt worn by ladies' both
here and in Chicago so closely resembles
the common habit that not one person in
twenty notices HI rider is astride, except
while no unprejudiced beholder could hest
tate for a m as to which was the
more modest and becoming position who
had ever seen a stout woman try both
saddles.
It has always been the rule in riding
with a party that the woman sets the
pace. and man. a boy has declared that
1t was no fun to ride with women, they
wanted to walk the horse so much Of the
time; now. to the surprise Of all. II is
proved that 1t IS not the sex but the sad
die that sets the pace, and women can
ride as fast and as far as their brothers,
when they sit as comfortably.