Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1913 — Teaching Girls to Rids Horses. [ARTICLE]

Teaching Girls to Rids Horses.

Almost all the little girls who are taught to ride horses these days am put on cross saddles. They may or may not ride astride when they get bigger, but they all learn that way. It is a safer position in the first place and it gives confidence never acquired by a youngster in a side saddle. As a rule the small equestrienne is clad in bloomers and the briefest of skirts. Often she discards the skirt when ths lessons are given in the country. The instructor holds her pony by a leading strap and, of course, he rides a horse easily able to overtake her mount in the event of a bolt Only for the first few lessons is the child’s belt buckled to the pommel of her saddle. Until she acquires a firm seat she is kept close enough to the instructor to be caught by him if she starts to fall.