Outfit of the Month at the Whanganui Regional Museum is a stylish riding habit, made for side-saddle riding.
Outfit of the Month at the Whanganui Regional Museum is a stylish riding habit, made for side-saddle riding.
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Featuring in the latest Ko te Kakahu o Marama - Outfit of the Month at the Whanganui Regional Museum is a stylish riding habit, made for side-saddle riding.
In around 1890, Jeannie (Jane) Andrew made this plain yet elegant riding habit for her younger sister, Elizabeth Hall. Jeannie was a professional tailoress (as women tailors were called at the time) and her expertise shows in the style, set and finish of the outfit.
Jeannie migrated to the United States of America with her husband soon after making it.
The habit is made of heavy black worsted wool and is lined with brown cotton twill.
The fitted jacket is shaped with bone at the back and boned darts in the front with 23 buttons for fastening. The skirt has a curved back seam for riding aside, rather than astride. The outfit included two short leggings to cover the legs from knee to ankle to preserve the rider's modesty according to Victorian values.
Women riding side-saddle had been going on for millennia. In early 19th century Britain, however, the rise of women participating in field sports like hunting led to adjustments of both side-saddle and riding outfits.
A key adaptation to side-saddle riding in the 1830s was made by adding an extra pommel for better balance and grip. A woman would be lifted up onto the saddle, her left leg placed in a stirrup and wedged beneath a downward curving pommel and her right leg hooked around an upper pommel.
Her body faced forward while her lower half faced sideways. Her position meant, however, that she had little knee grip and small ability to guide with knee and foot, so she carried a whip in her right hand to cue the horse. Although fitted closely into the saddle by the pommels, she relied strongly on balance and technique to ride effectively.
The rider's twisted body gave rise to all sorts of back complaints and, if the horse fell, the woman had little chance of escaping being trapped under the heavy saddle and the horse.
By the late 19th century, elaborate riding habits were becoming simpler, more tailored and more like a man's riding wear. Elizabeth Hall's outfit reflects this trend.
Not all that many years later, women started riding astride, while wearing split skirts or breeches. By the 1930s side-saddles were rarely used and tailored outfits like Elizabeth's unneeded.
Elizabeth Hall's riding habit, about 1890. Maker: Jeannie Andrew. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Collection
Elizabeth Hall married George Symons in 1895 and the couple spent most of their married life in Whanganui.
Elizabeth's riding habit was never worn in the 20th century and remains in excellent condition. Isobel Symons, daughter of Elizabeth and George, donated the riding habit to the museum in 1982.
It is on exhibition for most of March and worth looking at closely. The museum is open from 10am to 4.30pm daily and entry is free.
