Featured Video: Side Saddle Jumping World Record

“Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.”

This popular quote is used to illustrate how women in history often worked harder for less acclaim than their male counterparts. The same idea could apply to equestrianism.

Women were once only permitted to ride aside, even after they began participating in the cross-country gallops and jumps of the hunt. Today, fortunately, all riders can have the benefit of a leg on each side of the horse. But some women, like Susan Oakes, keep the old side saddle tradition alive with pretty impressive results. In this video from 2013, Oakes attempts a world-record side saddle jump at 6′ 7.5″. Try that, Fred Astaire.

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