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.
The real medieval warhorse was maneuverable and relatively small, but packed a strong punch. Read The Warhorse, 1250 - 1600 by Ann Hyland and see the Destrier site.
Victor, the warhorse in my screenplay, is part Friesian and part Neopolitan (not unlike the modern-day Lippizan). Take a look at the most developed form of classical cavalry movements as performed by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the partnership between horse and man was just being discovered. Ironically, even as gunpowder, cannon, and small arms were changing warfare forever, horse training was evolving into an art form that could produce the most sophisticated warhorses ever seen. The character of Margit illustrates both this new, humane relationship with horses and the emergence of women as skilled horse handlers in early modern Europe. Yet, despite a century of female leadership in riding and training, it was not until 2008 that the Spanish Riding School broke with tradition and accepted women into it's performance program. |
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