Women rarely rode astride in the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period -- the sidesaddle was considered more proper and no doubt conducive to the long skirts worn by women of the time. But on occasion, women could be admired for their daring and courage, as Joan of Arc was in France, if the end result was in the service of men. Women certainly rode horses with great skill, as in modern times, riding in hunts and on long pilgrimages. Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath, from The Canterbury Tales, may have been a critique on enterprising women, but she nevertheless represents a woman who bent society's rules, and got away with it. Even sidesaddle, women rode on hunts and in company with men. Clearly, galloping across rough country chasing hounds required a good seat, perhaps even better, in a sidesaddle. And other than the saddle itself, the horsemanship required was the same.
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