Ladylike: Rachel Miller Keeps Sidesaddle Moving Forward
Story by Dot Watson
with photography by Ritchie Rozzelle
There were women who believed in the freedom to speak their minds. Women who marched for the right to vote. Women who broke glass ceilings, burned bras and became the boss. There were women who fought just to wear pants. Then there were women who threw both legs precariously over one side of a saddle and risked their necks so that they could freely ride thefields to hunt and jump with the men. Today, the women who preserve the art of riding sidesaddle believe they are connected to all of these women. Here’s a symbol of overcoming hardships to prove that women were up to the challenge.
Rachel Miller, of Charlottesville, VA, competes in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Sidesaddle Division and is one of those women. She is an outspoken champion of the ancient riding style’s place in preserving a historical period of female equestrianism. She understands how the often overlooked style can provide an opportunity to riders that would like to make the most of a run at national competitions. EquuSSource got a chance to talk with Rachel before she mounted up side-style on her favorite steed, The Guardian (aka Gunner), and jumped back in time.
How did you get started riding sidesaddle?
“It was all Sally Lamb, the owner of Oakland Heights. She has a great love of sidesaddle, and she wanted someone to ride it at 4-H events years ago. So she popped me up on a horse and off I went. I took a few years off and then after college, I went to work for Sally. She had a horse that she wanted shown sidesaddle and she wanted me to do it. I had a month to really clean up my sidesaddle skills before my first show. We ended up doing well at the show, and I’ve continued from there.”
Can you compare jumping sidesaddle to other over fences events?
“Everything that the horse does is supposed to be the same, and everything I do jumping is supposed to look the same, except I’m sitting with two legs on the left side. And obviously, it’s a little tougher to maintain form over the fences like that.”
Sidesaddle dates back to ancient Greece, and women in the European Middle Ages adopted it as a way to enjoy riding while maintaining their ladylike composure and dress. Do you feel connected to these women?
“Definitely. It’s all about tradition. My division is one of the few that still has the appointments class. You are judged on the original habit of what you’d need while on period hunts – I have the white gloves, the top hat, the veil and the flask and the sandwich case for refreshment. I imagine women were excited to finally ride astride like men. And these days, young women are finding that sidesaddle is a tradition. It is interesting. It is something special. And to be able to be part of a small group of women doing the same thing as some of those ladies from years past is really incredible.”
Since sidesaddle is so niche, does it make for a tight group of riders?
“Everyone who rides sidesaddle is willing to help. It’s a small community. For example, a friend, Danielle Buchheit from New York, got a call from someone who knew she rode sidesaddle and had found a saddle in a tack trunk in their attic. She drove many hours to go look at it, and she knew immediately that it wouldn’t work for her, but she sent it down to me. Now I hope to repay the favor some day. Someone is always lending a hand to help out within the community.”
The older tack sounds hard to come by. Do you have to be half horseback rider, half antique collector?
“It really is that way. Some of the riders have incredible stuff, and I’m not sure how they ever found it. It really is antique collecting. I know riders who wear original habits that were passed down from their grandmothers. It takes a lot to get your appointment together, and it requires a lot of help – but once you have the whole outfit, you never give it up.”
What kind of benefit does sidesaddle offer young riders trying to go to bigger shows?
“Because it’s a division without a huge number of competitors, sidesaddle allows you to go to some of those big shows like Devon, Harrisburg, Washington International, that otherwise you would have to spend a lot of money and time traveling to qualify and get the points. If you are on a tight budget yet have a desire to compete and have a horse that can do sidesaddle, then you can go these shows. It can be good for a horse, too. Thanks to sidesaddle, Gunner got to go to some of the biggest horse shows in the country his first year showing. We had a great year, finishing third in the nation in the USEF Ladies Side Saddle division. He’s amazing.”
Rachel Miller is a Southern States Field Sales Associate and the Equine Specialist at the Charlottesville, VA Southern States store. She feeds Gunner Triple Crown® Complete and Legends® Pelleted Rice Bran.
